BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) 鈥� Republican U.S. of Montana dropped his bid for a third term on Wednesday in a surprise withdrawal just minutes before a filing deadline for candidates.
Daines, 63, said in a statement that he wrestled with the decision for months before deciding to retire. He said he looked forward to spending time with his seven grandchildren and more time in Montana.
Montana U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme, also a Republican, entered the race shortly before the state’s deadline for major party candidates.
The maneuver appeared to be carefully orchestrated. Alme was almost immediately endorsed by President Donald Trump, who praised Daines 鈥� and essentially confirmed the senator鈥檚 role in engineering Alme to become his successor.
鈥淪adly for our Country, Steve鈥檚 Term is up,鈥� Trump said, 鈥渁nd he has decided to leave the Senate and, 鈥榩ass the torch鈥� to Kurt Alme, my TRUMP 45 and TRUMP 47 U.S. Attorney.鈥�
Other lawmakers also have used last-minute withdrawals to set up a handpicked successor. Last fall the House censured Rep. Chuy Garcia, an Illinois Democrat, for how he engineered his retirement to clear a path for his chief of staff.
Daines’ announcement closely followed another shake-up in Montana’s Republican field for November: On Monday, four-term announced his retirement because of health problems. Zinke quickly endorsed a former member of his staff, radio talk show host Aaron Flint, who also got backing from Trump.
Al Olszewski, a former state senator who is running for Zinke’s seat, accused both Daines and Zinke of betraying the people of Montana and urged voters to reject their handpicked successors.
鈥淲e don’t simply accept replacements selected by the deep state and D.C. for them to lord power over us,鈥� said Olszewski, a Republican.
An independent candidate is also running
The maneuvering among the state’s Republicans came on the same day that former University of Montana President Seth Bodnar launched an independent campaign for Daines鈥� seat.
Bodnar鈥檚 decision to run without party backing underscores Democrats’ diminished status. The party hasn’t controlled any statewide offices following the defeat of three-term incumbent two years ago.
No well-known Democrats entered the Senate race by Wednesday鈥檚 deadline.
Republicans have a slim majority in the Senate, holding 53 seats to Democrats鈥� 45 plus two independents. Daines is the 15th senator to announce his retirement since the 2024 election, the most in any single term going back to 2013.
Following Daines鈥� announcement, Bodnar said the lawmaker had 鈥渟o little respect for Montana Republicans that he withdrew at the last minute to coronate his handpicked successor, instead of giving them a voice at the ballot box.鈥�
Bodnar, a native of Grove City, Pennsylvania, graduated first in his class from West Point and served in the Army special forces before working as an executive at GE Transportation.
He said in a video message that America鈥檚 political system is broken and elected officials in Washington are looking out only for people who are wealthy and connected.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee called Bodnar a 鈥渇ake independent鈥� and criticized him as a 鈥渃hampion鈥� of allowing transgender athletes to participate in college sports.
A spokesperson for Bodnar sidestepped questions about whether he would caucus with Democrats or Republicans if elected.
鈥淲hen Seth gets into the Senate, he will fight for new leadership and negotiate a role that gives Montanans the strongest possible voice,鈥� Roy Loewenstein said.
Republicans have solidified their hold on Montana
Alme was a federal prosecutor before being named U.S. attorney during both of Trump鈥檚 terms. He served under two Republican governors as a budget director and revenue director.
鈥淎s a native Montanan, I have always been committed to serving our communities, upholding the rule of law, and fighting for the safety and prosperity of every family in our state,鈥� he said in a statement.
Daines served one term in the House before a successful 2014 run for the Senate seat formerly held by Democrat Max Baucus. He won by a wide margin over a little-known opponent after Baucus鈥� would-be Democratic successor, former Lt. Gov. John Walsh, dropped out of the race following reports that he plagiarized parts of his thesis while attending the U.S. Army War College.
In 2020, Daines beat Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock by 10 percentage points. At that time the campaign was the political history.
Federal Election Commission campaign filings show Daines had raised more than $8 million since his last election in 2020. He had about $5 million in cash on hand as of Dec. 31, according to the filings.
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Associated Press writers Bill Barrow in Atlanta and Maya Sweedler in Washington contributed.
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