Montana US Senate 2026
Election day is November 3, 2026. A statewide contest in Montana.
Who is favoured in Montana US Senate?
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What the Montana US Senate election decides
The Senate confirms federal judges and cabinet officers, ratifies treaties, and can stop legislation the House passes. With a six-year term and a hundred-member chamber, a single seat is a larger share of the institution than any House district, which is why Senate races draw national money into state contests.
Each state sends two senators regardless of population, so this seat carries the same weight as California's or Wyoming's. Montana voters fill it alongside all 2 of the state's House seats, and a Senate term runs six years, spanning two future Congresses and, in this case, the next presidential election.
How Montana votes
Montana's small population and vast geography give its politics a personal character. Public lands, agriculture and energy dominate, Republicans lead federally, and statewide races have stayed competitive when candidates fit the state. That backdrop is the ground any Montana campaign fights on, and it is what the Electorate HQ simulation reads first when it weighs a ticket's platform against this contest.
About this race
The 2026 United States Senate election in Montana was held on November 3, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Montana. Republican U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme defeated independent former University of Montana president Seth Bodnar and Democratic Air Force officer Alani Bankhead. Republican incumbent Steve Daines did not seek a third term.
In the Republican primary, Daines announced he would seek re-election, but withdrew minutes before the filing deadline and endorsed Alme, who filed to run the same day. As the only major Republican candidate, Alme was nominated with 76.2% of the vote. Bankhead won the Democratic nomination with 43.7% of the vote over former state representative Reilly Neill and tribal historic preservation officer Michael Black Wolf. Bodnar, supported by former Democratic senator Jon Tester, launched an independent campaign shortly after resigning from the University of Montana.
Background
Latest coverage of the Montana US Senate race
Montana US Senate candidates share debate stageMontana U.S. Senate Election 2026: Latest PollsMontana 2026 U.S. Senate Race CandidatesOpinion | Democrats can ask and ask. I won’t drop out of Montana’s Senate race.Big win, big loss for Democrats in MontanaButtigieg endorses independent over Democratic nominee in Montana Senate raceMore outside groups getting involved in Montana U.S. Senate raceThe rest of the Montana ballot
Every Montana House district, the counties inside each one, and an address lookup that resolves your exact districts are on the Montana state page.
Analysis covering Montana
One seat covers 34 square kilometres. One seat covers 1,713,379.
New York's 12th and Alaska's at-large seat each elect one member of the House. On the ground, one is fifty thousand times the size of the other.
The 2026 Senate map covers 62% of the country and 70% of the states
Thirty-five of fifty states vote for Senate this year. Weighted by people rather than states the share drops, and that gap is the design of the chamber.