Micah Drew

(Daily Montanan) Twenty-two Democratic members of the Montana Legislature are officially asking Alani Bankhead, the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate race, to drop out and support the independent in the race, Seth Bodnar.

In a letter dated Aug. 7, seven senators and 15 house members say they are “united in believing that Seth Bodnar is the candidate who shares our Democratic values and has the experience, knowledge, resources and capacity” to take on Republican Kurt Alme.

The letter was first reported by CNN’s Patrick Svitek.

A month ago, 17 lawmakers wrote a letter to both Bankhead and Bodnar, asking them to meet and discuss a way to unite voters against Alme. That letter did not explicitly ask either candidate to drop out, but highlighted that Bodnar appeared better positioned at the time to run the strongest general election campaign.

On Friday, Bodnar held a press conference assuring his supporters he would not drop out of the race, regardless of whom else was in it.

Bankhead told the Daily Montanan she is also committed to staying the course.

In their letter, the lawmakers argue the most important consideration for the U.S. Senate election is to elect someone “who will oppose the destructive policies of the Trump Administration, while advancing an agenda that benefits all Montanan.”

“It is this concern for our constituents, the direction of our country and our American Democracy that motivates our support for Seth at this time,” they wrote. “…A prolonged three-way contest — and the resulting divisions among voters, volunteers, donors, allied organizations and candidates — will weaken Democratic and allied campaigns across the ballot.”

The signatories represent more than a third of all elected Democrats in Montana.

Four representatives — Mike Fox, Shelly Fyant, Jennifer Lynch, Luke Muszkiewicz — signed the first letter asking the two candidates to discuss options, but not the latest one.

In reliably Republican states across the country, Democratic candidates dropping out of U.S. Senate races has become a trend, giving independent candidates a clearer path to head-to-head matchups with Republicans.

In recent polling, Bodnar has shown strength in a face-off with Alme, but the Republican easily wins a crowded field.

The idea is modeled on Dan Osborn in Nebraska, who ran as an independent in 2024 against a Republican incumbent without a Democrat in the field — coming within seven points of winning even as Trump carried the state by 21 points. Osborn is running again in 2026 and the state Democratic Party has supported not fielding a candidate.

Democratic candidates in Idaho, Alaska, and South Dakota have all dropped out of their respective races this cycle.

A Montana Democratic Party spokesperson told the Daily Montanan this week that the party supports Bankhead as the winner of the primary.

Bankhead won the Democratic primary by 12,000 votes more than her closest competitor, and was buoyed by more than $2.5 million in outside spending on her behalf.

As a general election candidate, she has failed to gain endorsements from traditionally left-aligned organizations and the state’s biggest Democratic players while fundraising just $60,000.

Meanwhile Bodnar outraised all federal candidates in each reporting period and has stacked up support from unions, environmental and veterans organizations, and former elected officials from both parties, including former Democratic U.S. Senators Jon Tester and Max Baucus, and former Republican Gov. Marc Racicot.

If Bankhead did drop out of the race, it is likely to spark a legal battle over whether the Montana Democratic Party is required in state law to name a replacement.

A group of Democratic lawyers wrote a memo to the state party last month laying out the legal framework behind not choosing a new candidate.

On the other side, Republicans, including Alme’s campaign, circulated a memo written by the state’s former solicitor general, arguing why Democrats would be required to name a successor.

The deadline to withdraw from November’s ballot is Monday at 5 p.m.