The Full Record

U.S. Senate · Montana

Statewide, Montana.

General election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

✓ Fact-checked 2026-09-25: 24 claims re-checked against their sources

A second, independent research pass re-opened every cited source for this race and corrected or removed anything the source didn’t support.

On the ballot · 4 candidates

Kurt AlmeRFormer U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana (Oct. 2025–March 2026)

Raised $2.0M · spent $534K · $1.5M cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗

Alani BankheadD

Raised $59K · spent $37K · $21K cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗

Seth BodnarINDFormer president of the University of Montana

Raised $3.2M · spent $2.3M · $978K cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗

Kyle AustinLIB

Raised $251K · spent $242K · $8,751 cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗

The candidates, in full

Kurt Alme

RFormer U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana (Oct. 2025–March 2026)

Advanced from the Republican primary on June 2, 2026; entered the race March 4, 2026 after Sen. Steve Daines withdrew and endorsed him.

Kurt Alme is the Republican nominee for the open Montana U.S. Senate seat. He is an attorney who served as U.S. Attorney for Montana, budget director under Gov. Greg Gianforte, and director of the Montana Department of Revenue under Gov. Judy Martz, before entering the race when Sen. Steve Daines withdrew and endorsed him.[1]

Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.

In their words — priorities

  • Says he is running to protect veterans, defend the Second Amendment, keep transgender girls and women out of women's and girls' sports, support farmers and ranchers, protect public lands, and secure elections.[1]

Background

  • Earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado in 1989 and a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1992.[2]
  • Was a partner at the law firm Crowley Fleck.[1]
  • Served as director of the Montana Department of Revenue under Gov. Judy Martz (R) and as budget director under Gov. Greg Gianforte (R).[1]
  • Served as U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana from October 7, 2025 until leaving office on March 4, 2026 to run for Senate.[2]

Campaign money

Raised $2.0M · spent $534K · $1.5M cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗

Shareable profile page

Alani Bankhead

D

Advanced from the Democratic primary on June 2, 2026.

Alani Bankhead is the Democratic nominee for the open Montana U.S. Senate seat. She is a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel and counterintelligence agent who later founded a life-coaching company, running on housing, healthcare and government accountability.[1]

Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.

In their words — priorities

  • Running on housing, healthcare, and government accountability.[1]
  • "After 21 years of serving, I was looking at my beautiful state and country burning and I knew I had a special set of skills to offer the people of Montana."[1]

Background

  • Earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and Latin American studies from Pennsylvania State University in 2004 and a graduate degree from Troy University in 2012.[3]
  • Served in the U.S. Air Force from 2004, working as a counterintelligence agent and rising to lieutenant colonel over roughly 21 years of service.[1][3]
  • Founded a life-coaching company called Mighty Sparrow Coaching.[1]

Campaign money

Raised $59K · spent $37K · $21K cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗

Shareable profile page

Seth Bodnar

INDFormer president of the University of Montana

Filed as an independent on March 4, 2026, the same day Sen. Steve Daines withdrew.

Seth Bodnar is an independent candidate for the open Montana U.S. Senate seat. He is a former Green Beret, General Electric executive and University of Montana president who argues both major parties have failed the state.[1]

Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.

In their words — priorities

  • "This country is in crisis, and our national political parties are failing us. Montanans are an independent people, and they deserve an independent voice fighting for them in Washington, DC. I'm not a politician, I'm a soldier, a businessman, a husband, a father."[1]

Background

  • Earned a bachelor's degree in economics from the United States Military Academy at West Point and two master's degrees from the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar and Truman Scholar.[4]
  • Served as a Green Beret in the U.S. Army beginning in 1997.[1][4]
  • Worked as a manager and executive at General Electric.[1]
  • Served as president of the University of Montana.[1]

Campaign money

Raised $3.2M · spent $2.3M · $978K cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗

Shareable profile page

Kyle Austin

LIB

Advanced from the Libertarian Party primary on June 2, 2026; previously a Libertarian candidate in 2022 and 2024.

Kyle Austin is the Libertarian Party nominee for the open Montana U.S. Senate seat. He is a pharmacist and founder of the pharmacy company Pharm406.[1]

Little public record found for this candidate.

Background

  • Born in Havre, Montana, and graduated from Havre High School in 2001.[5]
  • Earned a doctorate in pharmacy from the University of Montana Pharmacy School in 2008.[5]
  • Worked as a pharmacist and founded his own company, Pharm406.[5]

Campaign money

Raised $251K · spent $242K · $8,751 cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗

Shareable profile page

Research notes & limits

Basic-tier research relying primarily on Ballotpedia's race and candidate biography pages, as no incumbent is running and no personal campaign websites were consulted in the time available. Write-in candidate Jami Woodman was excluded.

Sources · 5

Researched 2026-09-25. Green citations are official government records.

  1. 1.United States Senate election in Montana, 2026 · Ballotpedia Reference
  2. 2.Kurt Alme · Ballotpedia Reference
  3. 3.Alani Bankhead · Ballotpedia Reference
  4. 4.Seth Bodnar · Ballotpedia Reference
  5. 5.Kyle Austin (Montana) · Ballotpedia Reference