Establishment Democrats have reportedly been pressuring the family of Alani Bankhead in order to push her into dropping out of the Montana Senate race so independent Seth Bodnar can step in.
As Breitbart News reported in July, Seth Bodnar, who has the backing of former Democrat Montana Sen. Jon Tester, has been actively weighing whether or not to stay in the race prior to the August 10 deadline.
“Independent Montana Senate candidate Seth Bodnar could withdraw from the state’s U.S. Senate race before the Aug. 10 filing deadline if Democrat nominee Alani Bankhead remains on the ballot,” said the report.
“Republican strategists and political operatives told Breitbart News that Bodnar’s campaign has struggled to gain traction despite spending by both the campaign and an allied super PAC,” it added.
Over the weekend, NPR noted that Democrats have been scrambling to pressure Bankhead to leave the race in the hopes of paving the way for Bodnar.
“Bankhead won the state primary, but both voters and some prominent Democrats are pressuring her to drop out of the race to make room for a prominent independent candidate, Seth Bodnar, who has already raised more money than her and Republican Kurt Alme combined,” reported NPR.
“Since 2024, Republicans have held all of Montana’s federal seats. This spring, some prominent Montana Democrats started saying that the party’s brand is so weak here that the only way to beat a Republican is to back an independent candidate,” it added.
On Sunday, Matthew Foldi of the Washington Reporter posted on X that he came into possession of several leaked documents “from a dark money group showing how Democrats have an organized harassment campaign targeting” Bankhead’s family to secure her withdrawal from the race.
“The document is titled: ‘Montana Senate Seat: How to Help.’ It urges Democrats ‘who have relevant relationships’ to urge Bankhead to drop out of the race,” reported Foldi.
“The document goes on to list Bankhead’s father, mother, brother, stepdaughter, and friends as targets of the harassment campaign. It includes their names and information about their background,” he added.
The alleged leaked documents stressed that Democrats were mostly concerned that Bankhead staying in the race would lead to an easy victory for Republican Kurt Alme if it came down to a three-way race. The documents even go so far as to instruct Democrats on how to downplay or discard a past sexual discrimination lawsuit against the University of Montana while Bodnar served as president.
August 10 is the deadline for either Bankhead or Bodnar to drop from the race.