Republican Kurt Alme and Democrat Alani Bankhead won their respective Montana U.S. Senate primaries Tuesday, according to the Associated Press, which called both races after polls closed at 8 p.m. The two will face independent candidate Seth Bodnar in the November general election.
Alme Dominates Republican Field
Alme, a former Montana U.S. Attorney who was appointed to that position twice by President Donald Trump, captured 77% of the early vote in the Republican contest. Lee Calhoun finished second with 14%, while Charles Walking Child took 9%. The race carried added significance because U.S. Sen. Steve Daines had been expected to seek re-election before withdrawing from the contest on March 4. Daines subsequently endorsed Alme, and Alme’s campaign absorbed much of Daines’ former staff.
Outside Money Reshapes Democratic Race
Bankhead’s path to the Democratic nomination was far more contested, and more heavily influenced by outside spending. A political committee with no formal ties to Bankhead’s campaign invested $3.2 million in advertising and voter outreach on her behalf, while the More Jobs PAC spent an additional $1.8 million in support of her candidacy. The combined outside effort dwarfed the fundraising totals of her opponents — and of Bankhead herself, who had less than $10,000 available when the absentee voting window opened on May 4.
Bankhead, a retired Air Force special agent, finished with 44% of the Democratic primary vote. Reilly Neill, who raised $294,000 including an $88,000 personal loan to her campaign, placed second at 33%. Michael Black Wolf received 12%, Christopher Kehoe took 7%, and Michael Hummert finished with 4%. The remaining candidates combined to raise roughly $65,000.
More Jobs PAC is not new to Montana Senate races — the group spent approximately $22 million two years ago supporting Republican U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy.
Bodnar Waiting in the Wings
Both primary winners will need to account for Seth Bodnar, the former University of Montana president who resigned from that position earlier this year to mount an independent Senate bid. Bodnar submitted more than double the required number of signatures to qualify for the November ballot, a sign of organizational strength unusual for an independent campaign. Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen is expected to certify those signatures later this summer.
What Comes Next
With primaries settled, the general election campaign formally begins. Turnout among Montana’s registered voters during the primary’s absentee period — which stretched across a full month beginning May 4 — will offer strategists early data on voter engagement heading into the fall. The November 3 general election will feature an unusual three-way dynamic, with Alme running as the Republican nominee, Bankhead as the Democratic standard-bearer, and Bodnar competing outside either party structure.
The open seat, created when Daines stepped aside in March, has drawn national attention and significant outside money, a pattern that is likely to intensify as the November contest takes shape.
