Montana GOP Sen. Steve Daines won’t seek reelection in shock announcement at filing deadline
Sen. Steve Daines of Montana speaking to the media on Capitol Hill in Washington
(CNN) — Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines ended his reelection campaign suddenly on Wednesday in a move that left a political ally as the only major candidate in the GOP primary.
The announcement came as filing closed for the race and President Donald Trump was quick to endorse a successor, saying on social media that Daines had decided to “pass the torch” to Kurt Alme, who had filed for the seat eight minutes before the deadline.
The timing of the announcement quickly drew criticism from another candidate in the race, independent Seth Bodnar, who said in a statement that Daines “has so 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.”
Alme touted endorsements from Trump and Daines in a press release Wednesday evening announcing his last-minute entry into the race.
Daines’ exit from the race was unexpected. The two-term GOP senator was elected to the Senate in 2014 and went on to win reelection in 2020 against former Montana Gov. Steve Bullock. He also previously ran the Senate GOP’s campaign arm and worked closely with Trump and his team to help Republicans take back control of the upper chamber in 2024. He is close to the Senate’s leadership and a close ally of the president.
“Serving the people of Montana in the US House and the US Senate the past 13 years has been the greatest honor of my professional career,” Daines said in a video released on social media.
“I’m grateful to God for allowing me to serve, but after much careful thought. I’ve decided not to seek reelection,” he added.
Trump said in a post on social media that “Steve Daines, of Montana, is one of our truly Great United States Senators. He honorably served for 12 years in the Senate, and 2 in the House of Representatives. He did a job like few others are capable of doing but, sadly for our Country, Steve’s Term is up, and he has decided to leave the Senate and, ‘pass the torch’ to Kurt Alme, my TRUMP 45 and TRUMP 47 U.S. Attorney.”
In November last year, Illinois Democrat Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia announced his retirement shortly after his state’s filing deadline — after his chief of staff had declared her own candidacy, setting the staffer up as the only Democrat running in a primary for a deep-blue Chicago seat.
The move prompted a formal reprimand from the House amid accusations Garcia had been trying to pick his replacement.
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