Steve Daines
RDefeatedIncumbentFEC S2MT00096
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Raised this cycle$4.7M
Cash on hand: $4.3M
All Montana races
2026 race
MT — U.S. Senate
9 active candidates on file with the FEC. Incumbent: Steve Daines.
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See where these candidates stand — and who's funding them.
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Democratic primary · Tuesday, June 2, 2026
Called by manual backfill (AP/Wikipedia/state SOS)
Alani Ines BankheadWon43.7%
- DReilly NeillDefeated33.1%
- DMichael James BlackwolfDefeated13.0%
- DChristopher KehoeDefeated6.3%
Republican primary · Tuesday, June 2, 2026
Called by manual backfill (AP/Wikipedia/state SOS)
Kurt AlmeWon76.2%
- RLee CalhounDefeated14.1%
- RCharles WalkingchildDefeated9.7%
Currently held by
Steve Daines (R) — not seeking re-election in 2026. They've publicly announced their retirement; their committee is still on the FEC's 2026 roster for routine compliance, but this is effectively an open seat.
Election day
135days
Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Make sure you can vote
Disclosed money in race
$7.9M
Candidate + outside spending. See finance breakdown below.
Incumbent
Currently in office
Challengers
Sorted by fundraising
Seth Bodnar
IChallengerFEC S6MT00287
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Raised this cycle$1.4M
Cash on hand: $1.1M
Kurt Alme
RChallengerFEC S6MT00295
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Raised this cycle$925K
Cash on hand: $909K
Kyle Austin
IChallengerFEC S6MT00261
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Raised this cycle$262K
Cash on hand: $36K
Alani Ines Bankhead
DChallengerFEC S6MT00253
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Raised this cycle$15K
Cash on hand: $11K
4 defeated candidates — show
Reilly Neill
DDefeatedChallengerFEC S6MT00238
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Raised this cycle$273K
Cash on hand: $104K
Michael James Blackwolf
DDefeatedChallengerFEC S6MT00246
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Raised this cycle$26K
Cash on hand: $528
Michael Hummert
DDefeatedChallengerFEC S4MT00217
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Raised this cycle$11K
Cash on hand: $9K
Lee Calhoun
RDefeatedChallengerFEC S6MT00329
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Raised this cycle—
Cash on hand: —
Local signal
Early read on MT — U.S. Senate
A directional read on where this seat is trending, from the signals we have so far. This is an early scaffold — more inputs light up as coverage and constituent activity accrue.
Coverage tone · the matchup
Recent news coverage of the nominees heading to the general election.
Kurt Almemixed
0 pos10 neutral0 neg10 articles
Alani Ines Bankheadlimited coverage
No tracked coverage in the last 90 days yet.
A media signal, not a poll of the district.
Constituent stakes
No one here has staked a position on a tracked vote yet. As neighbors weigh in on /pressure campaigns, the district's lean will show up here.
Money in the race
Finance breakdown
Disclosed funding shaping this race — both the money candidates raise themselves and the outside spending dropped by independent groups. Issue-ad spending by 501(c)(4) groups is excluded; the FEC doesn't require disclosure of it. See the note below for details.
Total disclosed
$7.9M
Candidate fundraising + independent expenditures (FEC).
Candidate-direct (Schedule A)
$7.6M
Raised by candidate committees themselves.
Outside spending (Schedule E)
$313K
$3K for · $309K against
| Candidate | Raised directly | Outside for | Outside against | Net in corner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Seth Bodnar(I) + MONTANA FREEDOM PAC $3K − MORE JOBS, LESS GOVERNMENT $96K − LEADERSHIP IN ACTION $10K | $1.4M | $3K | $106K | $1.3M |
Kurt Alme(R) − MONTANA FREEDOM PAC $200K | $925K | — | $200K | $725K |
Kyle Austin(L) | $262K | — | — | $262K |
Alani Ines Bankhead(D) | $15K | — | — | $15K |
5 defeated candidates — show finances
| Candidate | Raised directly | Outside for | Outside against | Net in corner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Steve Daines(R)incumbentdefeated + SENATE CONSERVATIVES FUND $0 − PLANNED PARENTHOOD VOTES $2K − REALLY AMERICAN PAC $1K | $4.7M | $0 | $3K | $4.7M |
Reilly Neill(D)defeated | $273K | — | — | $273K |
Michael James Blackwolf(D)defeated | $26K | — | — | $26K |
Michael Hummert(D)defeated | $11K | — | — | $11K |
Lee Calhoun(R)defeated | $0 | — | — | $0 |
Where the money comes from
In-state vs out-of-state
Share of each candidate's itemized individual contributions from donors inside MT versus the rest of the country. Excludes sub-$200 unitemized donations (no geography on file) and PAC money — see note below.
Seth Bodnar(I)36% in-state · $1.8M itemized
$647K in-state$1.2M out-of-state
Kurt Alme(R)45% in-state · $756K itemized
$343K in-state$413K out-of-state
Kyle Austin(L)100% in-state · $1K itemized
$1K in-state$0 out-of-state
Alani Ines Bankhead(D)48% in-state · $9K itemized
$4K in-state$5K out-of-state
4 defeated candidates — show
Steve Daines(R)defeated15% in-state · $3.3M itemized
$483K in-state$2.8M out-of-state
Reilly Neill(D)defeated53% in-state · $58K itemized
$31K in-state$28K out-of-state
Michael James Blackwolf(D)defeated94% in-state · $18K itemized
$17K in-state$1K out-of-state
Michael Hummert(D)defeated0% in-state · $1K itemized
$0 in-state$1K out-of-state
What's counted, what isn't
Candidate-direct is each campaign's reported receipts on FEC Schedule A — individual contributions plus PAC contributions to the candidate's own committee — through the most recent filing.
Outside spending is independent expenditures on FEC Schedule E: money spent by PACs, super PACs, and party committees for or against a candidate, without legal coordination with the campaign. The committees listed under each candidate are the largest disclosed spenders on either side.
In-state vs out-of-state covers only itemized individual contributions — donations over $200, which are the only ones that carry a contributor address at the FEC. Sub-$200 unitemized donations (often a large share for grassroots campaigns) have no geography on file and are excluded, as is PAC money. So the percentages describe where a candidate's itemized individual money comes from, not where every dollar raised comes from.
Not counted: 501(c)(4) "social welfare" organizations run issue ads that frequently mention candidates by name but aren't classified as express advocacy under FEC rules — they file no Schedule E and don't appear in this breakdown. Press reporting on a race may cite figures that include this dark-money spending; ours doesn't.
Recent coverage
In the news
Seth Bodnar
- Takeaways from primaries featuring Spencer Pratt, a missing congressman and a rare Trump setbackAnchorage Daily NewsJun 3
- Takeaways from the primary elections in california iowa and elsewhereCNNJun 3
- Takeaways from the primary elections in california iowa and elsewhereCNNJun 3
- Montana Senate showdown emerges as Trump-backed Republican faces independent challengeFox NewsJun 3
Kurt Alme
- At the Races: Artificial interferenceRoll CallJun 18
- Takeaways from primaries featuring Spencer Pratt, a missing congressman and a rare Trump setbackAnchorage Daily NewsJun 3
- Takeaways from the primary elections in california iowa and elsewhereCNNJun 3
- Takeaways from the primary elections in california iowa and elsewhereCNNJun 3
About this race page
Candidate roster is sourced from the FEC's active-candidate list for the 2026 cycle. Fundraising totals reflect committee filings through the last reporting period.
Alignment % compares the candidate's extracted policy positions against your quiz answers. Positions are pulled from the candidate's campaign issues page by AI; we save the source quote for each position so you can verify the extraction. Candidates without a campaign issues page show position data pending — we're working through the roster and re-checking stale extractions every 90 days.
News coverage is from the GDELT 2.0 global news feed, filtered to a curated list of national, political, and regional outlets.