Federal race · November 3, 2026
U.S. Senate
One of Montana's two U.S. senators, who write and vote on federal laws, confirm presidential nominees and approve treaties.
6-year term. Open seat: no incumbent is running. Regular election for the Class 2 seat held by Republican Steve Daines, who withdrew his re-election filing on March 4, 2026, the last day of candidate filing. Kurt Alme (R), Alani Bankhead (D) and Kyle Austin (L) won the June 2 primaries; Seth Bodnar qualified as an independent by petition. Jami Woodman (nonpartisan) is a declared write-in candidate; write-in candidates for federal office must file a declaration of intent with the Secretary of State at least 90 days before the election. Montana has no governor's race in 2026.
The candidates
Listed alphabetically by last name.
Kurt Alme
Former U.S. Attorney for the District of MontanaKurt Alme is a Billings attorney who served twice as U.S. Attorney for Montana and as state revenue director and budget director under two Republican governors. He filed for the seat the day Sen. Steve Daines withdrew and won the Republican primary. He is campaigning on affordability, public safety, tax cuts and a balanced federal budget.
Kyle Austin
Pharmacist; owner, Pharm406Kyle Austin is a Billings pharmacist and pharmacy owner who also owns his grandfather's farm on the Hi-Line. He ran twice in the Republican primary for Montana's eastern U.S. House seat before winning the 2026 Libertarian Senate primary. He is campaigning on health care, agriculture, gun rights and reducing the size of the federal government.
Alani Bankhead
Retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel; founder, Mighty Sparrow CoachingAlani Bankhead is a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and former federal special agent from Helena who later founded a leadership coaching business. She won a five-way Democratic primary on June 2, 2026. She is campaigning on the cost of living, keeping rural hospitals open, government accountability and protecting children and other vulnerable people.
Seth Bodnar
Former President, University of MontanaSeth Bodnar is a former Army Green Beret and General Electric executive who served as president of the University of Montana from 2018 until he resigned in early 2026 to run for the Senate. He qualified for the ballot as an independent by petition and says he would not caucus with either party. He is campaigning on lowering costs, ending the war with Iran, public lands and changes to how Congress operates.
Compare on the issues
Summaries of each candidate's stated positions. See each profile for sources and details.
| Issue | Kurt Alme Republican | Kyle Austin Libertarian | Alani Bankhead Democratic | Seth Bodnar Independent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guns | Lists defending the Second Amendment among his priorities. | Says Americans should have unrestricted access to bear arms. | Says she is a gun owner who respects firearms for hunting, sport and self-defense. | Supports Second Amendment rights and opposes a federal assault weapons ban, a new universal background check mandate and a federal red-flag law. |
| Energy & Environment | Lists protecting public lands and supporting farmers and ranchers among his priorities. | No public position found yet | Opposes any sale of public lands, supports corner crossing and opposes data centers on public lands. | Opposes any sale or transfer of public land, supports full funding of federal land agencies, and opposes data centers that raise power bills or proceed without local approval. |
| Foreign Policy | Supports President Trump's military action against Iran, saying Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons. | No public position found yet | Opposes the war with Iran, says Congress must reclaim its war powers, and says blanket tariffs raise grocery costs and hurt farm exports. | Opposes the war with Iran without congressional authorization, supports a War Powers Resolution vote and diplomacy, and opposes further strikes or ground troops without a vote of Congress. |
| Health Care | No public position found yet | Says the 2025 federal Medicaid changes could remove coverage from eligible Montanans, while supporting work requirements for benefits, especially SNAP. | Supports universal health care, pointing to the military's TRICARE program as a model, and opposes Medicaid work requirements. | Supports restoring the expired enhanced ACA subsidies, capping insulin at $35 a month for everyone, expanding Medicare drug price negotiation and defending Medicaid expansion; opposes Medicaid work-requirement rules. |
| Abortion | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | Supports abortion rights and points to Montana voters adding a right to make pregnancy decisions to the state constitution. | Supports writing Roe v. Wade into federal law and protecting access to contraception and IVF. |
| Economy & Jobs | Says deficit spending drives inflation; supports requiring a balanced federal budget and says cutting fraud in programs such as Medicaid, Medicare and SNAP is the first place to reduce spending. | Says President Trump's tariff policies are misdirected and supports zero tariffs on trade with U.S. allies. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet |
| Elections & Democracy | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | Supports restoring the Voting Rights Act and keeping elections under state and local control. | Supports term limits for Congress and the Supreme Court, overturning Citizens United and ending partisan gerrymandering; says he supports Montana's existing voter ID law and opposes federal mandates over state-run elections. |
| Housing | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | Says a Montana paycheck should be able to buy a Montana home; proposes raising the capital gains exclusion on home sales and expanding the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit. | Supports zoning and code reform to expand supply, tax incentives for workforce housing, and stopping private equity firms from buying single-family homes at scale. |
| Immigration | Supports securing the border and backs President Trump's border policies. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | Supports operational control of the border, enforcing existing immigration laws and fixing the legal immigration system for farms, ranches and hospitals. |
| Taxes | Supports the tax cuts in the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act and says he wants to keep cutting taxes. | No public position found yet | Supports an annual tax on fortunes over $50 million, closing the carried-interest provision and removing the Social Security wage cap. | No public position found yet |
| Agriculture | No public position found yet | Says rural communities are struggling and makes agriculture one of his top priorities. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet |
| Education | Lists "keeping boys out of girls' sports" among his priorities and says he opposes diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet |
| Government Spending | No public position found yet | Says he is unhappy with the growing size of the federal government and the national debt, and wants to reduce government overreach. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet |
| Public Safety | Supports prosecuting violent criminals and drug trafficking organizations "all the way up to the cartels," along with drug prevention and treatment to reduce demand. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet |



