Alani Bankhead said in late September that she would finish the Montana U.S. Senate race instead of withdrawing before the deadline. Her decision kept her in the contest as Democrats and Republicans waited to see whether she would step aside for Seth Bodnar.
Alani Bankhead in late September
Bankhead’s campaign entered July with less than $22,000 in the bank. Even so, she told Montana Free Press that she would stay in the race and later ramped up campaign events after deciding not to leave.
She cast the campaign in national terms. “I think the administration is the biggest national security threat that we have right now, and the response is impeachment,” she said to Montana Free Press in late September. She also said she was the only candidate in the race who would vote to impeach Donald Trump.
Democrats and Republicans
Many Democrats had considered Seth Bodnar the best chance to break Republicans’ grip on Montana’s statewide elections, and some expected Bankhead to withdraw to clear the path for him. A super PAC better known for supporting Kurt Alme also solicited donations for her before the withdrawal deadline, while GOP-associated pollsters publicized suggestions that she still had a chance.
That split left Bankhead running against pressure from within her own party. Republicans in Montana had won every statewide contest since 2018, and since 2014 they had lost only two of 26 statewide contests.
Faith and health care
Bankhead also tied her campaign to universal health care. “What you're seeing around the country is you have populist candidates that are being voted past primaries and are winning, even though they're grossly underfunded, because the people are saying we want universal healthcare,” she said. She said restoring Affordable Care Act subsidies could be a first step toward universal health care, and that military spending and administrative costs could be trimmed to help pay for it.
Her faith became part of that message. Bankhead said her healthcare platform dovetailed with her religious faith, and that faith informs her moral compass on protecting vulnerable people and feeding the hungry. She said faith is core to her current professional work as a Christian life coach.
Bankhead also wrote The Least of Us: How Your Imposter Syndrome Points to Your Greatest Power. She said she had not regularly attended the church since 1999 and last visited in 2019, after her faith drew attention in the race.
With Bankhead still in the contest, Democrats hoping for a clearer field around Seth Bodnar have to keep running against her campaign through the vote.
