Moments before filing for the 2026 general election closed, incumbent U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., withdrew his bid for re-election.
“Serving the people of Montana in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate the past 13 years has been the greatest honor of my professional career and I am grateful to God for allowing me to serve,” Daines said. “After wrestling with this decision for months, I have decided I will not seek re-election. It is time for new leaders like Tim Sheehy to spearhead the fight for Montana in the United States Senate.”
In a video message and press release, Daines did not point to any further factors that swayed his decision. He had been the first candidate to file for re-election when candidate filing opened on Feb. 17.
Now Montana’s elder statesman, Daines was first elected to public office when he won the 2012 race for Montana’s at-large U.S. House seat. In 2014, he ran for the U.S. Senate, handily defeating Democratic challenger Amanda Curtis. He won re-election over former Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock in 2020.
In the video, Daines lauded the work he’s done with the Trump administration, pointing to the Supreme Court’s conservative majority and the Great American Outdoors Act, which Daines was a sponsor on. He also highlighted Republican control of the U.S. Senate. Daines in 2024 served as head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, helping to oust former U.S. Sen. Jon Tester by handpicking Sheehy to challenge him.
Daines’ departure from the race came alongside the last-minute filing of U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme, who will run as a Republican. Alme served as an assistant U.S. Attorney in Montana from 2003 to 2010, before being unanimously confirmed as Montana’s U.S. Attorney in September 2017 after a recommendation from Daines. Charles Walking Child, a somewhat perennial Republican primary challenger, is also competing to take Daines’ seat.
In a press release announcing his retirement, Daines backed Alme’s Senate bid, praising the longtime prosecutor’s record on crime.
“I’ve known Kurt Alme for years,” Daines said. “He was appointed U.S. Attorney by President Trump in his first term and then reappointed when President Trump was reelected because he did such a good job cracking down on crime.”
The last-minute shift to the Senate race comes amid a week of shakeups to the state’s highest-profile races.
University of Montana president Seth Bodnar officially entered the fray, announcing his bid for the U.S. Senate seat as an independent on Wednesday morning, despite concerns from Democrats that he would split the vote with Daines and outcry from Republicans, who labeled him an “Independent in Name Only.”
And, on the House side, long-time U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke similarly made a last-minute announcement Monday that he wouldn’t seek re-election to his seat, clearing the path for a three-way Republican primary between Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen, conservative radio show host Aaron Flint and Flathead County Republican Central Committee chair Dr. Al Olszewski.