Alani Bankhead (D), Kurt Alme (R), Kyle Austin (L), and Seth Bodnar (I) are running for the U.S. Senate in Montana in the November 3, 2026 general election. Alme, Bankhead, and Bodnar lead in polling and media attention.

On March 4, 2026, incumbent Steve Daines (R) withdrew his candidacy and endorsed Alme, who filed to run the same day. Bodnar also filed as an independent on the same day. With four candidates total, Montana Free Press' Tom Lutey wrote that the race would be a test of the question, "Can a well-financed independent candidate notch an unprecedented win by tapping the state’s large reservoir of voters who claim to reject party labels?"

According to the Daily Montanan's Keila Szpaller, "Bankhead has repeatedly been asked if she will step down to clear the way for Bodnar, who could appeal to some Republican voters in a red state." Bankhead said Bodnar was "absolutely the last person on the face of this earth I would ever drop out of this race for." Bodnar rejected Bankhead's calls to drop out of the race on the basis of what Bankhead described as "a pattern dismissing and discriminating against women and allowing a culture of discrimination" during Bodnar's tenure as president of the University of Montana, citing a gender discrimination lawsuit. Bodnar campaign representative Abigail Tracy said Bodnar took discrimination claims seriously and that "Seth is getting attacked from the left and the right because he will never pay allegiance to Party bosses or political elites." On July 8, 2026, 17 Democratic state legislators sent a letter to Bankhead and Bodnar urging them to decide which one would end their campaign: "Every week that passes makes it more difficult to unify supporters, consolidate resources and mount the strongest possible campaign for November."

Bankhead earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and Latin American studies from Penn State University and served as a counterintelligence agent and lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force. She later founded a life coaching company called Mighty Sparrow Coaching. Bankhead is running on housing, healthcare, and government accountability and highlighted her military background, saying: "After 21 years of serving, I was looking at my beautiful state and country burning and I knew I had a special set of skills to offer the people of Montana."

Alme earned a bachelor's degree in business from the University of Colorado and a law degree from Harvard Law School. He was a partner at the law firm Crowley Fleck, director of the Montana Department of Revenue under Gov. Judy Martz (R), budget director under Gov. Greg Gianforte (R), and U.S. Attorney for Montana. Alme said, “I’m running to protect our Montana way of life with common-sense policies. That means taking care of our veterans, defending the Second Amendment, keeping boys out of girls sports, supporting farmers and ranchers, protecting public lands, and securing our elections."

Bodnar earned his bachelor's degree in economics from the United States Military Academy at West Point and earned two master's degrees from the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar and Truman Scholar. He served as a Green Beret in the U.S. Army, as a manager and executive at General Electric, and as president of the University of Montana. Bodnar is running as an independent and argues that both major parties have failed Montana, saying, "This country is in crisis, and our national political parties are failing us. Montanans are an independent people, and they deserve an independent voice fighting for them in Washington, DC. I'm not a politician, I'm a soldier, a businessman, a husband, a father."