HELENA — In recent U.S. Senate elections, Montana has seen hundreds of millions of dollars spent on political ads from outside groups. Things have been much quieter so far this election cycle – but with Election Day just six weeks away, more independent organizations are starting to get involved.
(Watch the video for more on some of the groups working to get their messages out about candidates.)
Last week, a group called Independent PAC began airing TV ads in support of Seth Bodnar, running for Senate as an independent. The PAC is affiliated with the national Independent Leadership Council, which is backing congressional candidates who promise not to align with either major party in Congress if elected.
“The American system isn't working as it's supposed to right now, because it's putting partisanship in front of good policy,” said Adam Brandon, a co-founder of the group. “Our effort is to try and reverse that.”
Brandon is the former president of the conservative organization FreedomWorks. The ILC is also backed by former moderate Democratic U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, of West Virginia, and his daughter Heather Manchin.
Brandon told MTN he believes there’s an underserved group of voters who want more “live and let live” policies on social issues but are concerned about things like federal spending – and he believes Montana is particularly ready for that type of alternative message.
“The idea is not just to get an independent elected; the idea is to get an independent elected who can lead, and we know the values and the policies that Seth Bodnar wants to lead with are going to be radically popular in the state across Republicans, Democrats and independents,” said Brandon.
Over the last month, Independent PAC has reported $1.8 million in spending for Bodnar – for ad production and placement, phone calls, text messages and canvassing.
Despite the weeks of controversy earlier this year as some political leaders argued Democratic Senate candidate Alani Bankhead should drop out of the race in favor of Bodnar, Brandon said that wasn’t the only way for Bodnar to find a path to victory.
“We think it's very important for this movement to prove you can win a three-way race where there is a Republican, a Democrat and an independent on the ballot,” he said. “We believe this is the future, because what Seth Bodnar is going to start in Montana is going to be an avalanche heading into 2028 of many, many more candidates running for Senate and House.”
Meanwhile, outside groups have also been spending money in support of Republican Senate candidate Kurt Alme. Americans for Prosperity Action ran ads on his behalf during the GOP primary, and they’ve again paid for ads during the general election campaign. All together, AFP has reported more than $2 million in spending for Alme since May.
The National Rifle Association endorsed Alme earlier this month, and when the NRA Institute for Legislative Action visited Dillon on a national “Battle Bus Tour” to rally gun owners, they reported that as in-kind spending on Alme’s behalf.
Alme has also touted endorsements from business groups, like the National Federation of Independent Business and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
“He's someone who cares about his constituents, and he cares about free enterprise, and he cares about growing our economy,” said Rodney Davis, head of government affairs for the Chamber.
Davis, a former Republican U.S. House member from Illinois, visited Montana Monday, where Alme celebrated the Chamber’s endorsement during a tour of GL Solutions in Kalispell.
Davis said he and the Chamber had long relationships with U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, who tapped Alme as his preferred successor, and Gov. Greg Gianforte, who named Alme as his first budget director.
“Kurt Alme’s not only going to go to Washington to be a great senator, he's going to be an effective senator on behalf of his constituents,” said Davis.
Davis said, as the Chamber engages in races around the country, one of their goals is to spark voter turnout.
“There aren't too many Senate races that are competitive right now, and Montana is one of them, which is why Kurt Alme needs every single voter to go out and vote in this general election,” he said. “Don't sit it out because it's not a presidential election. Every single vote counts.”
During this year’s Democratic primary, there were heavy independent expenditures in support of Bankhead. So far, that hasn’t been the case in the general election. The committee Progressive Vet PAC spent roughly $2.5 million to boost Bankhead in the primary, before announcing in a July news release that the Democrat “does not have a viable path to winning the Montana Senate seat.”
Most of Progressive Vet PAC’s money came from Contours, Inc., a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization not required to disclose its donors. Contours also donated this year to several other committees supporting independent candidates challenging Republicans – in one case, to the Working Class Heroes Fund, which itself later made a $3,500 donation to Bodnar’s campaign.
Bankhead did receive an endorsement last week from the National Organization for Women, or NOW. The group cited not only her views on reproductive rights and other issues considered specific to women, but also her support for universal health care.
Jan Strout, president of NOW’s Montana chapter, said they were impressed with Bankhead’s policy proposals and with her experience investigating crimes like human trafficking.
“Part of what we had to ask ourselves is – this qualified, remarkably talented, experienced leading woman, if we can't endorse her, who will?” she said.
NOW does not only endorse women; they’ve also given their support to Democratic candidate Sam Forstag in Montana’s western congressional district.
Strout said NOW leaders will be touring Montana next week. While it’s not specifically a campaign tour for Bankhead or the other candidates they’ve endorsed, she said they will be educating voters about what is on their ballot.
“Given, let's say, quite a bit of misinformation and disinformation – a variety of things that have been said about all of the candidates, quite honestly – we are very committed to making sure people know who she is, what she stands for,” she said.
NOW’s endorsement is a divergence from some groups they’ve frequently been allied with. Planned Parenthood Action Fund endorsed Bodnar, calling him a champion for reproductive rights.
Strout said the Senate race has been challenging for many groups, and she did not want to speak ill of groups that made a different decision than NOW. However, she said she disagreed with arguments that Bankhead’s campaign couldn’t be viable because of polling or fundraising.
“I think it's very difficult to set those qualities as predictors,” Strout said. “The voters are notoriously independent.”
The one candidate in the Senate race who hasn’t had any reported independent spending for him or against him is Libertarian nominee Kyle Austin.
Despite the new groups getting involved in the race, outside spending is still nowhere near what Montana saw in the 2024 U.S. Senate election, when groups put more than $155 million into independent expenditures by the end of October.
This year, there’s also outside spending taking place in the western U.S. House race. No Going Back PAC, a group tied to President Donald Trump’s campaign, has reported almost $150,000 this month on mailers supporting Republican candidate Aaron Flint and opposing Forstag. Progressive Turnout Project, which spent almost $240,000 on field organizing for Forstag during the Democratic primary, has reported nearly $70,000 more for him since Aug. 30. Another Super PAC, Moving Montana Forward, reported another $26,000 for canvassing for Forstag.
