Twenty-two Democratic members of the Montana Legislature have signed a letter asking Alani Bankhead, the party's nominee for U.S. Senate, to withdraw from the November race and throw her support behind independent candidate Seth Bodnar. The move represents a significant public break within the Montana Democratic Party less than three months before the general election.
Bankhead won the Democratic primary in June, appearing at a Lewis and Clark County Democratic watch party at the Rialto in Helena on election night. The legislative Democrats making the ask argue that Bodnar, running without a party label, has a stronger path to defeating the Republican in the race — a calculation that reflects ongoing anxiety within the party about its ability to win statewide in Montana.
The letter puts Bankhead in an uncomfortable position: stay in the race as the duly nominated Democratic candidate, or defer to a bloc of her own party's elected officials. As of Friday, Bankhead had not publicly announced any change to her plans. The deadline for candidates to withdraw from the November ballot loomed within days of the letter's release.