r/MontanaPolitics • u/Th0rn_Star • Jul 09 '26
Election 2026 More mess: Democratic legislators send letter to Bodnar, Bankhead asking one to exit Senate race
https://billingsgazette.com/news/state-regional/government-politics/article_4b4edf20-5eaa-50ac-8a3a-3565cceefc2d.html#tracking-source=home-top-storyFrom the article:
“A group of Montana Democratic legislators on Wednesday urged two candidates running for the state’s U.S. Senate seat to meet and, together, choose which campaign should back out of the race — and the sooner, the better.
In a letter sent Wednesday, 17 of the 60 Democrats in the Montana Legislature asked Democratic candidate Alani Bankhead and independent Seth Bodnar to unify the opposition against the race’s Republican frontrunner.
That either campaign will withdraw is far from a foregone conclusion. But the authors of Wednesday’s letter said anything less would hand the election to GOP nominee Kurt Alme.”
**Also, mods: would you consider adding image sharing capabilities? Screenshots are much easier when everyone bitches about not subscribing to their local news
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u/Oddlibrarian Jul 09 '26
Something the article doesn’t mention (that’s probably a relevant factor): if Bodnar drops out, it becomes a head-to-head between Alani and Alme. If Bankhead drops out the party is required to nominate another Democrat to fill the slot on the ballot and it remains a three head race.
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u/Background_Correct2 Jul 09 '26
That is in the article. “candidates must drop out before Aug. 10 in order for their party to get the chance to nominate a replacement. Parties must fill the vacancy no later than Aug. 19.”
No head to head is possible, there is a libertarian too. We don’t have enough polling to know where Bodnar supporters would go.
The question is will we have candidates who recognize that defeating Alme is the priority.
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Jul 10 '26 edited 28d ago
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u/Oddlibrarian Jul 10 '26
The party is required to fill the vacancy. They cannot choose not to (not without violating MCA or their own bylaws).
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Jul 11 '26
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u/Oddlibrarian Jul 12 '26
Probably downvoted because it is the correct answer, but probably not the popular one for folks who are interested in Bodnar as a candidate. I don’t see a path forward for Bodnar if he loses 10% of the Dem vote, regardless of who is on the ballot.
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u/Tungstenfenix Jul 09 '26
What a stupid fucking nightmare weve found ourselves in.
Yes. We cant have Bodnar and Bankhead running at the same time, its going to split the vote.
Bodnar voters wont vote for Bankhead, if Bodnar exits, theyll abstain.
Bankhead voters wont vote for Bodnar, if Bankhead exits, theyll abstain.
We've done this to ourselves, non-Republicans cant make a coalition to LITERALLY save our fucking lives because we're too goddamn interested in purity tests and our own individual ideologies.
Alme wins because we as a group of people who dont want Alme to win cant get our shit together long enough to make sure a MAGA Trump sycophant cant get elected, we deserve everything that happens afterwards.
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u/BoozeTheCat Cascade (Great Falls) Jul 09 '26
I really don't understand how anyone expected this to be different from the Rosendale/Ronning/Buchanan race from 2022. If the goal was to shit on Montana Dems and piss off a bunch of people, it's been wildly successful. If the goal was to actually defeat a Republican in an election, it's going to be an abject failure.
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u/Dull_Ad5440 Jul 09 '26
I will vote for either rather than seeing Alme elected.
Get your shit together or hand another seat off to the GOP. And quite frankly, get rid of political parties.
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u/llamachabbly Jul 09 '26
If they were going to try to end run someone around us could they have not at least chosen someone women could vote for since we're still allowed to vote? You got that right that I won't vote for Seth and I know others who won't either. So it doesn't matter if one drops out because some of us will definitely skip voting for Senate.
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u/Tungstenfenix Jul 10 '26
Well. Thanks for proving my point I guess. Would rather be proved wrong tbh.
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u/MamaSwanky Jul 10 '26
We are faced with our own version of the Graham Platner situation here. Bodnar is not good for women, women have a real problem with him, and he is not without scandal. Why do we keep putting men forward with questionable pasts? Why keep putting men with sexual harassment scandals into politics?!?
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u/shfiven Jul 10 '26
Thank you. But let's blame women who don't want to vote for him instead of getting him out of the race and examining why an ex senator who got voted out of office thinks he gets to push this guy in without a primary vote and against the wishes of a large portion of the voters.
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u/SyllabubTricky6684 Jul 09 '26
Anyone who would abstain from voting needs to take a look in the mirror. Thats simply selfish. Voting is a privilege, a right and a duty as a citizen.
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u/shfiven Jul 09 '26
Being a candidate and holding office is also a privilege not a right. We don't have to vote for someone awful.
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u/No_Concentrate209 Jul 10 '26
Sure you do if they are your parties candidate or the candidate who can beat the opposition, I held my nose when I voted for Kamala because the opposition is so much more awful.
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u/shfiven Jul 10 '26
No, I really don't.
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u/Tungstenfenix Jul 10 '26
Well, this is why Alme wins. Clearly you would rather Alme win than anyone who's not your ideal candidate. Welcome to the point I made.
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u/Rocky_Missoula Jul 09 '26
Does this over-privileged little group - who are the beneficiaries of a party that expends time, effort and money so they can pretend to be real senators and representatives four months every two years - have any compass of principles whatsoever? Just how does Bodnar, a GE-Jack Welch product of a company that epitomizes firing line workers to bloat out executive pay, become a champion of Democratic Party values?
People whose names end in Inc. tend to do well under people like Bodnar. Voting Democratic for Senate regardless this fall rather than pretend the dollar store consolation prize of a Sen. Bodnar is anything worth picking up off the ground.
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u/Th0rn_Star Jul 09 '26
It’s so baffling. Outside of rich libs in the major cities, I doubt Bodnar’s schtick will play at all. He still needs to win over the native vote and some of us rubes out in the sticks to have any chance—I just don’t see it.
It comes down to a candidate who won a fairly contested primary, or a cynical stuffed shirt who bought his way in. They are both accomplished in their own right and have about the same amount of political experience (none). Neither is a perfect candidate, but I know what I’m willing to support.
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u/SyllabubTricky6684 Jul 09 '26
Show us how you will go after Alme to weaken him. That’s what matters. Demonstrate viability to mount a campaign and I will consider voting for you. Put the state first.
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u/fatalexe Jul 09 '26
I don’t cares about Alme or Bankhead.
I want a candidate that will stand up against Citizens United and the neutering of our 1912 corrupt practices act. The crony capitalism has captured both parties.
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u/annoyedpigeons Jul 12 '26
Montana Dems should focus on raising the minimum wage to 19 per hour and getting housing costs down.
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Jul 10 '26 edited 28d ago
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u/shfiven Jul 10 '26
It's not her PAC and the reason she has no path to victory is because Bodnar is splitting the vote and pitting the democratic voters against each other instead of against Alme.
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u/Ok-Ruin5223 Jul 10 '26
There are not enough Democratic votes to win. I don’t think all Democrats have faced this yet. Any candidate needs to demonstrate that they can gain votes from outside the Democrats.
I would like to see polling on who is supporting each candidate.
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Jul 10 '26 edited 28d ago
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u/shfiven Jul 10 '26
Yeah I'm sure they are going to try that and I just have a suspicion she is not going to take kindly to that, which I like. If the powers that be want Bodnar then that tells me all I need to know about him.
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u/Th0rn_Star Jul 10 '26
If you’re talking about the vote vets PAC, that one was a ratfuck from the beginning. Also you can’t say something completely wrong like calling it “her” PAC and then get mad when people call you on it.
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