Alme cruises through U.S. Senate primary
Micha Drew
(Daily Montanan) In the swiftest race call among Montana’s contested federal primary election results, Republican Kurt Alme has won the primary race for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat.
The Associated Press called the race at 8:23 p.m. on Tuesday, with Alme the presumed winner over Charles Walking Child and Lee Calhoun. Alme has received around 77% of the early vote count.
In a statement, Alme said winning the primary is the “honor of my life.”
“Tonight, Montanans made clear that we believe in commonsense conservative policies to secure our borders, defend our Second Amendment rights, keep boys out of girls’ sports, take care of veterans, protect our public lands, and secure our elections,” Alme said. “With President Trump’s endorsement, we’re ready to go win this thing and make life more affordable for Montanans, make our communities safer, and protect our Montana way of life.”
Alme is a first-time candidate and the former U.S. attorney for Montana, filed to run for the U.S. Senate with just minutes left before the state’s filing deadline in early March.
Sen. Steve Daines, who had filed for reelection to seek a third term on the first day candidates could submit paperwork, withdrew in the final minutes of the final day, clearing the way for his chosen successor to enter the race, while preventing state Democrats from fielding a top candidate.
Alme picked up endorsements from Daines, Sen. Tim Sheehy, Gov. Greg Gianforte — who previously tapped Alme to run the state Department of Revenue — and President Donald Trump, who reiterated his support for Alme in a Monday post to his social media site Truth Social.
The move by Daines and Alme has drawn criticism from Republicans, Democrats and independent candidate Seth Bodnar. The switch has led to some Montana lawmakers considering legislation to prevent similar moves in the future.
Since filing, Alme has campaigned as the presumed GOP nominee, focusing on the general election, which will be against Bodnar, former University of Montana president, and the winner of Tuesday’s Democratic primary.
Another Republican, incumbent U.S. Rep. Troy Downing, faced no Republican primary challengers and advances to the general election.