Montana's Democratic Senate candidate, Alani Bankhead, faces a Monday, Aug. 10, deadline to remove her name from the ballot, with prominent Democrats and voters pressing her to step aside.
The push aims to clear the field for independent Seth Bodnar. Supporters believe consolidating anti-Republican votes behind Bodnar gives the opposition its best chance to defeat Republican Kurt Alme in November.
Bankhead, who won the state primary, has refused to go. During a campaign stop in Townsend, a voter identified as Cara Keleher asked Bankhead directly whether she would withdraw to unify opposition against Alme. "I'm not going to drop out," Bankhead said.
The strategy has played out in three other states this year. Democrats in South Dakota, Idaho and Nebraska have exited races to support independent candidates.
Republicans currently hold all federal seats in Montana. Some state Democrats argue the party's brand is too weak to win a U.S. Senate seat outright, making an independent the only viable path to victory.
Bodnar has already raised more money than Bankhead and Alme combined, giving him a financial edge that would grow more significant if the opposition rallied behind him.
Alme left his post as U.S. attorney for Montana to run for the seat. He has never held elected office, leaving him with less name recognition than a typical candidate entering a competitive race.
The seat opened when Republican Sen. Steve Daines announced he would not seek reelection, removing the advantage of incumbency from the GOP column.
Bodnar argues that Alme's low profile and President Donald Trump's poll numbers create an opening. He frames the race as a choice between "the extreme and the rest of us," contending that Montanans are skeptical of both major parties.
Voters who backed Bankhead in the primary are wavering. Jim and Terry Gundersen, who voted for her, said they might not stay with her in November if doing so helps Alme win. "We just want to see Alme be defeated, and whatever that takes might be the way it has to go," they said.
Bankhead's decision by Monday will determine whether the anti-Republican vote in one of the country's most watched Senate races fragments or holds together.
