Montana Democrats are backing Seth Bodnar over Alani Bankhead in Montana’s Senate race. The push comes as Bankhead says she will stay in the race through Nov. 3, even after calls for her to step aside.
Four polls released since the start of September showed Kurt Alme at 43.5% support, Bodnar at 27.9%, and Bankhead at 20.1%. Since the start of July, Bankhead has not reached 24% in any of 11 public surveys, while Bodnar has ranged between 22% and 37%.
Shannon O’Brien and Jon Tester
Former Democratic senators Jon Tester and Steve Bullock have endorsed Bodnar, along with former Democratic Sen. Max Baucus, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, VoteVets, labor unions, Reproductive Freedom for All, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and Stephanie Schriock. Shannon O’Brien resigned as chair of the state’s Democratic Party earlier this month and also backed Bodnar.
In her resignation letter, O’Brien said there are “real questions” about “Bankhead’s commitment to protecting a woman’s right to choose, her support of working people, and her views of people living in poverty.” Tester told The Washington Post this month, “I wish the Democrat who is really a Republican would get out,” a line aimed at keeping the anti-Alme vote from splitting between two candidates.
Alani Bankhead in Montana
Bankhead said in August, shortly before the deadline to remove her name from the ballot expired, “I’ll never bow down” and “I am in this race to win it and I am staying through Nov. 3.” She had faced pressure to withdraw so Bodnar could have a clearer path against Alme.
Her decision keeps the race in a three-way setup that has already shaped the available polling. Since the start of July, no public survey has shown Alme above 46%, while Bodnar has consistently polled ahead of Bankhead in the recent nonpartisan polls.
That leaves Democrats in Montana with a narrower tactical choice than a normal primary-to-general-election handoff. Bankhead remains on the ballot, and Bodnar is now the candidate drawing the formal and informal support of multiple Democrats who think the vote should consolidate behind him before Nov. 3.
