Kurt Alme

Kurt Alme is the Republican nominee for the open U.S. Senate seat in Montana. A Montana native and attorney, he has worked in private practice, as director of the state Department of Revenue, as state budget director and as U.S. Attorney for Montana, and says he has never run for office before. He entered the race on March 4, 2026, when Sen. Steve Daines withdrew and endorsed him, and is running on affordability, public safety and what he calls the Montana way of life.[1][2][3][4]

Alme was born on October 7, 1966, in Great Falls, where his parents were educators, and his family later lived in Dillon, Victor and Helena before settling in Miles City, where he graduated from Custer County District High School.[2][5] He earned a bachelor's degree in business from the University of Colorado in 1989, graduating summa cum laude and as a Truman Scholar, and a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1992, graduating cum laude.[2][4]

After law school Alme clerked for U.S. District Judge Charles Lovell in Helena and practiced at the Crowley Fleck law firm in Billings, where he became a partner.[2][4] He served as director of the Montana Department of Revenue under Gov. Judy Martz, and his campaign says he led the state's largest income tax rate cut, lowering the top rate by almost 40%.[2][4] He was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Montana from 2003 to 2010, prosecuting financial crimes, and served as First Assistant U.S. Attorney from 2006 to 2010.[3][2][5]

Alme also worked in the nonprofit sector, as vice president and general counsel and later president of the Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch Foundation and as an executive vice president for planned giving at the National Christian Foundation.[2][4] He served as Montana's budget director under Gov. Greg Gianforte, a Republican, during Gianforte's first legislative session in 2021.[3][4][5] President Trump nominated him as U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana, and he was confirmed in 2017 and served until December 2020; he held the post again from March 2025 until March 4, 2026, when he left to run for the Senate.[3][5] Ballotpedia and Wikipedia give different start dates for his second term, October 7, 2025 and March 17, 2025.[4][5]

Alme lives in Billings with his wife Sandra, and they have two grown children.[2] He advanced from the Republican primary on June 2, 2026.[4]

Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.