Montana Republican US Sen. Steve Daines drops reelection bid in surprise move

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Republican U.S. Sen. Steve Daines of Montana dropped his bid for a third term on Wednesday in a surprise withdrawal just minutes before a filing deadline for candidates.

Daines, 63, said in a statement that he wrestled with the decision for months before deciding to retire. He said he looked forward to spending time with his seven grandchildren and more time in Montana.

Montana U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme, also a Republican, entered the race shortly before the state’s deadline for major party candidates.

The maneuver appeared to be carefully orchestrated. Alme was almost immediately endorsed by President Donald Trump, who praised Daines — and essentially confirmed the senator’s role in engineering Alme to become his successor.

“Sadly for our Country, Steve’s Term is up,” Trump said, “and he has decided to leave the Senate and, ‘pass the torch’ to Kurt Alme, my TRUMP 45 and TRUMP 47 U.S. Attorney.”

Other lawmakers also have used last-minute withdrawals to set up a handpicked successor. Last fall the House censured Rep. Chuy Garcia, an Illinois Democrat, for how he engineered his retirement to clear a path for his chief of staff.

Daines’ announcement closely followed another shake-up in Montana’s Republican field for November: On Monday, four-term Rep. Ryan Zinke announced his retirement because of health problems. Zinke quickly endorsed a former member of his staff, radio talk show host Aaron Flint, who also got backing from Trump.

Al Olszewski, a former state senator who is running for Zinke’s seat, accused both Daines and Zinke of betraying the people of Montana and urged voters to reject their handpicked successors.

“We don’t simply accept replacements selected by the deep state and D.C. for them to lord power over us,” said Olszewski, a Republican.

An independent candidate is also running

The maneuvering among the state’s Republicans came on the same day that former University of Montana President Seth Bodnar launched an independent campaign for Daines’ seat.

Bodnar’s decision to run without party backing underscores Democrats’ diminished status. The party hasn’t controlled any statewide offices following the defeat of three-term incumbent Sen. Jon Tester two years ago.

No well-known Democrats entered the Senate race by Wednesday’s deadline.

Republicans have a slim majority in the Senate, holding 53 seats to Democrats’ 45 plus two independents. Daines is the 15th senator to announce his retirement since the 2024 election, the most in any single term going back to 2013.

Following Daines’ announcement, Bodnar said the lawmaker had “so little respect for Montana Republicans that he withdrew at the last minute to coronate his handpicked successor, instead of giving them a voice at the ballot box.”

Bodnar, a native of Grove City, Pennsylvania, graduated first in his class from West Point and served in the Army special forces before working as an executive at GE Transportation.

He said in a video message that America’s political system is broken and elected officials in Washington are looking out only for people who are wealthy and connected.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee called Bodnar a “fake independent” and criticized him as a “champion” of allowing transgender athletes to participate in college sports.

A spokesperson for Bodnar sidestepped questions about whether he would caucus with Democrats or Republicans if elected.

“When Seth gets into the Senate, he will fight for new leadership and negotiate a role that gives Montanans the strongest possible voice,” Roy Loewenstein said.

Republicans have solidified their hold on Montana

Alme was a federal prosecutor before being named U.S. attorney during both of Trump’s terms. He served under two Republican governors as a budget director and revenue director.

“As a native Montanan, I have always been committed to serving our communities, upholding the rule of law, and fighting for the safety and prosperity of every family in our state,” he said in a statement.

Daines served one term in the House before a successful 2014 run for the Senate seat formerly held by Democrat Max Baucus. He won by a wide margin over a little-known opponent after Baucus’ would-be Democratic successor, former Lt. Gov. John Walsh, dropped out of the race following reports that he plagiarized parts of his thesis while attending the U.S. Army War College.

In 2020, Daines beat Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock by 10 percentage points. At that time the campaign was the most expensive in Montana political history.

Federal Election Commission campaign filings show Daines had raised more than $8 million since his last election in 2020. He had about $5 million in cash on hand as of Dec. 31, according to the filings.

___

Associated Press writers Bill Barrow in Atlanta and Maya Sweedler in Washington contributed.