Sen. Steve Daines (R-Montana) announced Wednesday night that he would not run for reelection this year, opening up his Senate seat eight months before the midterm elections.
“I’m grateful to God for allowing me to serve,” Daines said in a video. “But after much careful thought, I’ve decided not to seek reelection.”
Daines, 63, had filed to run for reelection but withdrew minutes before Montana’s filing deadline of 5 p.m. Mountain time on Wednesday, according to a spokesperson for the Montana secretary of state’s office. Eight minutes before the filing deadline, Kurt Alme, the U.S. attorney for the District of Montana, filed to run and almost immediately received President Donald Trump’s endorsement.
“Kurt is exceptional, and I will be giving him, based on Steve’s strongest recommendation, my Complete and Total Endorsement,” Trump wrote Wednesday night on social media.
Alme also served as U.S. attorney during Trump’s first administration and worked for Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) as state budget director.
Daines’s announcement came hours after Seth Bodnar, a former University of Montana president, said that he would run for Senate. Bodnar is running as an independent — though he is using the Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue to raise money. The Montana Democratic Party said it would not back him.
“The mission of the Montana Democratic Party is to support candidates who run as Democrats. Full stop. We do not support candidates outside of the party, and our bylaws prevent us from doing so,” Montana Democratic Party Chair Shannon O’Brien said in a statement.
At least one Democrat, former state representative Reilly Neill, is also running for the seat.
Daines’s decision to leave the race unexpectedly right before the filing deadline drew immediate criticism from his opponents — and at least one Republican.
“Steve Daines has so little respect for Montana Republicans that he withdrew at the last minute to coronate his handpicked successor instead of giving them a voice at the ballot box,” Bodnar said in a statement Wednesday night.
“The backroom dealing that allowed an also-ran like Kurt Alme to ‘win’ a primary is precisely what people are tired of and what makes an independent candidate so attractive right now,” Matt McKenna, a longtime Democratic consultant in Montana, wrote in a text message to The Washington Post.
Al Olszewski, a Republican running in Montana for retiring Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke’s seat, wrote on social media that “Steve Daines just betrayed the trust of all Montanans.” Zinke announced that he would not run for reelection on Monday, days before the filing deadline — but not as close as Daines.
“This practice cannot be accepted by the people of Montana,” Olszewski wrote.
The manner in which Daines quit the race — what looked like an apparent attempt to help a successor — is reminiscent of a similar maneuver by a House Democrat last year.
Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Illinois) announced his retirement in November after his state’s filing deadline. His chief of staff, Patty Garcia — who is not a relation — was the only candidate who knew about it with enough time to collect 2,500 signatures to run for the seat. The move prompted one of García’s own colleagues, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Washington), to introduce a resolution to rebuke him, which the House passed on a bipartisan vote.
Daines is the 10th senator to decide not to seek reelection in November. Three other senators are running for governor and are expected to resign their seats if they win.
Democrats hailed Daines’s decision not to seek reelection as an indicator that Republicans are nervous about the midterms — even in a state like Montana that Trump won by 20 points in 2024.
“Republicans’ midterm prospects are so bleak in 2026 that yet another senator is running for the hills,” Monica Robinson, a spokeswoman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said in a statement.
But Democrats face a tough road to retaking the Republican-controlled Senate. They would need to pick up four seats, including at least two in states that Trump won by double digits in 2024. Democrats have not made Montana a priority so far, focusing their energies instead on flipping Maine, North Carolina, Ohio and Alaska.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-South Carolina), the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, praised Daines on Wednesday night on X for helping Republicans take back the Senate majority in 2024 while Daines was NRSC chair.
“The NRSC looks forward to keeping Montana red this November, and welcoming Kurt as the state’s next U.S. Senator,” Scott added.
Liz Goodwin contributed to this report.
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