HELENA — In just over two days, Montana’s political scene was completely reshaped, as the state’s two longest-tenured members of Congress both dropped out of their races for reelection and threw their support behind new candidates – leaving a lot of questions in the aftermath.
(Watch the video for more on the Montana reaction to Daines' decision.)
Republican U.S. Sen. Steve Daines ended his reelection campaign in a last-minute move Wednesday, giving his endorsement to former U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s office confirmed Alme had resigned Wednesday, with First Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Racicot taking over on an acting basis.
Daines’ move came after Republican U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke left his own reelection race in Montana’s western congressional district, backing talk radio host Aaron Flint as his successor.
While Alme and Flint each got endorsements from President Donald Trump, Gov. Greg Gianforte and other top Republicans, they still have contested primaries. Two other Republican candidates filed for Senate: Lee Calhoun, of Whitefish, the former owner of a solar energy installation company, and Charles Walking Child, of Helena, who ran for U.S. House in 2022 and U.S. Senate in 2024.
Three other candidates entered the Republican primary for the western U.S. House seat: Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen, former state senator and 2022 House candidate Al Olszewski, and a final candidate, who filed Wednesday afternoon, Ray Curtis, an educator from Bonner.
On Thursday, the Montana Republican Party announced it wouldn’t get involved in the federal primaries.
“The Montana Republican Party isn't endorsing any of the federal candidates at this time,” said party communications director Ethan Holmes. “We're going to let them make their cases to Montana voters, and after those Montana voters decide, we really look forward to getting behind whoever comes out on top and getting them across the finish line come November.”
The other federal race, for the eastern congressional district, does not have a contested Republican primary, as U.S. Rep. Troy Downing is unopposed for the party’s nomination.
One remaining question was the reasoning behind Daines’ last-minute maneuver. A CNN article Thursday cited sources who claimed it was intended to keep Democrats from bringing in a well-known candidate for Senate – naming former U.S. Sen. Jon Tester and former Govs. Steve Bullock and Brian Schweitzer as possibilities. Later on Thursday, the news website Semafor published an interview with Daines, in which he confirmed that was his motivation.
“This was all about preventing this race from escalating into another $200-300 million race,” Daines told Semafor.
However, Tester told Semafor he didn’t believe that reasoning, saying none of those prominent Democrats would have run. Schweitzer agreed, telling MTN Thursday he had no interest in Congress, and if he did, he’d have made his decision regardless of what Daines did.
Schweitzer said he believed voters, including many Republicans, might react badly to the late candidate switch.
“I think Republicans agree with me all across Montana that we don't have royalty in Montana,” he said. “We don't think it's the right thing for a king to anoint the next king. And that's what Daines just did.”
Schweitzer, who had already endorsed former state Rep. Reilly Neill, a Democratic candidate for Senate, said he remains skeptical of the independent campaign of former University of Montana president Seth Bodnar. He argued the idea that an independent candidate might have a better chance at unseating a Republican in Montana came from a “consultant-industrial complex,” and that Bodnar’s campaign would only split the vote and allow a Republican to win.
Neill is one of five Democratic candidates who filed for Senate, along with tribal preservation officer Michael Black Wolf, of Hays; 2024 candidate Michael Hummert, of Helena; leadership coach Alani Bankhead, of Helena; and the newest candidate, Christopher Kehoe, of Missoula, who filed on Wednesday.
