2026 Montana Primary Election- Full Results

Montana voters follow the expected path in setting up this fall's showdown to replace U.S. Senator Steve Daines, with front-runner Kurt Alme showing strength in his first outing in the polls.

But a three-way race, and a much larger turnout in November than we saw last night could set the stage for a competitive showdown this fall.

Alme, the former U.S. Attorney for Montana who entered the race within minutes of Daines withdrawing his re-election bid, was far out in front as soon as the first ballot results were released at 8 pm, holding 76% of the votes over Lee Calhoun and Charles Walking Child by late last night.

The Democratic contest was more competitive, with newcomer Alani Bankhead making a strong showing, with 44% of the vote statewide over former Livingston legislator Reilly Neil, who was trailing with just 33% of the vote. It was a rough night for Neil, as she saw Bankhead secure an even higher total, 48% of the ballots, in Neil's home of Park County. Michael Black Wolf did manage a double digit finish, holding at around 13% of the ballots statewide.

Kyle Austin was winning the Libertarian nomination with 54% of those votes.

Of course, the big question mark for November will be the performance of Independent candidate Seth Bodnar, who had the advantage of a "bye round" yesterday because of Montana's laws giving voters a ballot restricted to the major parties. But that means his campaign also doesn't have polling results to use for planning to win in November.

District 1 race to replace Zinke

In the House District 1 race, rookie candidate Aaron Flint was able to see himself declared the winner early, as he dispatched both Secretary of State Christi Jacobson, and former lawmaker and often-candidate Al Olszewski despite their greater name recognition. Flint held 50% of the votes in the 4-way race, roughly doubling what Jacobson was winning. The two had locked horns early over who actually had the endorsement of outgoing Congressman Ryan Zinke, and President Trump, who cut a hastily-produced video clip for the Flint campaign that was playing in the final weekend of the campaign.

On the Democratic side, there was a flip-flop overnight.

Ryan Busse had opened an early lead over firefighter Sam Forstag, although the Missoula firefighter was closing the gap later in the evening. And by Wednesday morning, Forstag was holding the edge, 37% to 33%, a margin of about 3,000 votes. Forstag came on strong in the late count for Missoula County, capturing 47% of the vote. Busse's edge was in Flathead County with 41%, and he had led early in the Bitterroot. But the late count in the Bitterroot gave Forstag the margin with 35% of the vote.

 With nearly 86% of the votes tallied, it would appear Forstag has the win.

No surprises in District 2 race

There was little drama in the east, as freshman Congressman Troy Downing was running unopposed on the GOP side and hitting a full 100% of votes cast, showing Republican voters weren't skipping the District 2 race.

Brian Miller will be the Democratic challenger, with Patrick McCracken carrying the Libertarian banner.