Veteran Candidates in Montana’s US Senate Race Clash as Major Deadline Nears

The pressure is on in Montana, where two candidates from different parties and with military backgrounds are attempting to defeat a Donald Trump-backed Republican in a U.S. Senate race. Concerns are rising about potential vote splits come November, with a pivotal deadline fast approaching.

Seth Bodnar, an independent, graduated from West Point two months before the Sept. 11 attacks and studied at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar prior to becoming a U.S. Army Green Beret and being deployed to Iraq as an infantry officer.

Alani Bankhead, a Democrat, served 21 years in the Air Force and retired as a lieutenant colonel. She went after spies, terrorists and child predators, while also running human-intelligence operations against Al-Qaeda in Iraq, commanding a unit in Kuwait, and serving as the head bodyguard for a senior official at the Pentagon.

While both have decorated service backgrounds, each is vying for a coveted Senate seat that could seriously hinder Republicans’ chances to maintain control of the chamber in this November’s midterm elections. The GOP candidate, Kurt Alme, resigned as a U.S. attorney to keep the seat red after incumbent Republican Steve Daines announced he was leaving Congress. Trump has supported Alme since he entered the race.

The fears of those campaigning for both Bodnar and Bankhead are time, money and turning a three-person race into a head-to-head contest. The deadline for Montana Senate candidates to withdraw from the contest and not be on the November ballot is Aug. 10.

While Bankhead has said on numerous occasions that she would not exit the race, the push in recent days has hit a crescendo considering the circumstances. Bodnar has heavily out-raised her in fundraising, as has Alme.

The Daily Montanan, citing July quarterly reports covering May 14 through the end of June, showed Bodnar—the former University of Montana president—reporting total contributions of $1.12 million, including $62,000 from political committees such as PACs. His campaign reported cash on hand of just less than $1 million.

Alme reported raising a total of nearly $801,000, including $202,000 from political committees and $162,000 transferred from other committees. His campaign reports cash on hand of $1.4 million.

Meanwhile, Bankhead reported raising just $35,000 that quarter, with just $21,000 on hand.

Bankhead, Bodnar Reportedly Met to Discuss Race

News outlet KTVH in Helena, Mont., reported Wednesday that Bankhead and Bodnar met twice last week regarding the withdrawal deadline and finding a path forward, with Montana Democratic Party (MDP) Executive Director Emily Marburger present as an observer.

“I would characterize the meetings as two adults coming to the table, just trying to see how they can navigate a very difficult situation,” said Sofia Perez, a spokesperson for the MDP, who added that the results from the conversations were “inconclusive.”

On Aug. 3, the Montana Free Press reported that the MDP has sought legal options should Bankhead drop out and no Democratic candidate is on the ticket come November.

The state party’s executive board was reportedly briefed last weekend that it cannot be forced to produce a replacement if Bankhead withdraws before the Aug. 10 deadline.

The advice was solicited by party Chair Shannon O’Brien and delivered by Washington D.C.-based Elias Law Group after Republican Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen suggested she could require the party to name a replacement.

Bankhead Remains Resolute: I ‘Will Be on Ballot’

A Bankhead campaign spokesperson told Military.com on Thursday that their candidate focuses more on grassroots fundraising than PACs, and that perhaps the narrative centered around her and Bodnar is more convoluted than it seems.

A press release issued by the campaign says that Bankhead and Bodnar sit within half one half-point of one another in polls, with Bodnar’s average of 23.8% support barely dwarfing Bankhead, at 23.3% for Bankhead—a statistical tie.

Bankhead “will be on the ballot in November,” the release adds.

“Establishment Democrats have spent millions telling Montanans that no Democrat can win, rather than actually helping a Democrat win,” Bankhead said in a statement. “The problem isn’t the label ‘Democrat.’ The problem is that in both parties, the only real test anymore is whether you’re acceptable to the interests funding the spending.

“You can call yourself an independent, or you can actually be independent. I choose the latter. This is Montana. We aren’t fooled by political labels, and we want leaders accountable to all of us. I’m running on real positions, published so that anyone can hold me to them. That’s why I believe Montanans will choose me in November.”

Efforts to reach the Bodnar campaign before press time were unsuccessful.

Veteran Organization Calls for Bankhead to Drop Out

One veteran-run group, Veterans for Responsible Leadership (VFRL), on Thursday called for Bankhead to exit the race.

In a post on X, VFRL praised Bankhead’s military background and career in service, saying that she “has given more to this country than most ever will.” But they also said that they’re speaking out to due to the organization’s five principles on which it was founded: civility, service, integrity, optimism and strength.

“The reality in Montana is sobering,” the post states. “Colonel Bankhead’s polling has not moved. Her fundraising has not materialized at the level a Senate race requires. And having chosen Montana as her home only a few years ago, she has not built the grassroots foundation—the doors knocked and relationships earned—that carries a candidate across the finish line.”

“Meanwhile, independent Seth Bodnar has out-raised both major-party candidates and consistently runs significantly ahead of Bankhead, standing as the strongest challenger to Republican control of this seat.”

The post also criticized Alme and the way in which he ascended into his current position, with Daines dropping out and immediately endorsing him—along with the president—without giving Montana voters a say.

For now, though, the focus is on Bankhead.

“Responsible leadership means knowing when to hold and when to fold, for the good of something larger than ourselves,” the post concluded. We thank @AlaniBankhead for her extraordinary service, and we trust her, as one of our own, to lead once more — this time by stepping aside so Montana’s voters come first.”

Campaign Deadline Demands ‘Urgency’

Scott Peoples, executive director of VFRL, told Military.com on Thursday that the timing of the organization’s call for Bankhead to drop out is directly correlated with the looming Aug. 10 deadline.

“There is urgency with this call because the anti-MAGA movement needs every possible chance to retake the Senate and provide a much-needed check on President Trump’s lawlessness and corruption,” Peoples said.

He said the strategy is in sync with others they’ve seen in predominantly red states like Idaho, Nebraska and South Dakota, where Democratic candidates have “patriotically” dropped out of certain races to provide independent candidates with head-to-head matchups with Republicans.

Military.com previously reported how military veterans alone have composed roughly 750 candidates across the country in 2026.

There’s also the politics associated with this race in Montana, according to Peoples.

“The national brand of the Democratic Party is severely underwater in these states and polling and fundraising have shown that the independent candidates have a better shot to win in a head-to-head matchup,” he said. “If both Bodnar and Bankhead stay in the race, they will almost certainly split the anti-MAGA vote and hand the seat to Alme.

“Now is the crucial time for the anti-MAGA coalition to try new tactics to be competitive in as many states as possible, and we urge Alani Bankhead to do the right thing and step aside.”