{"id":2682365,"date":"2026-10-12T22:51:01","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T02:51:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/montana-democratic-party-chairwoman-quits-backs-independent-in-senate-race\/"},"modified":"2026-10-12T22:54:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T02:54:13","slug":"montana-democratic-party-chairwoman-quits-backs-independent-in-senate-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/montana-democratic-party-chairwoman-quits-backs-independent-in-senate-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Montana Democratic Party chairwoman quits, backs independent in Senate race"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmontana-democratic-party-chairwoman-quits-backs-independent-in-senate-race%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2682365&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Shannon O\u2019Brien, Chairwoman of the Montana Democratic Party, announced her resignation and endorsed an self-reliant candidate over her party\u2019s nominee in Montana\u2019s upcoming Senate race. She stated in an op-ed that she couldn\u2019t support the Democrat Alani Bankhead due to her lack of momentum and resources, favoring independent Seth Bodnar instead to challenge Republican Kurt Alme. Shannon O\u2019Brien, Chairwoman of the Montana Democratic Party, has announced her resignation and expressed her support for independent candidate Seth Bodnar in Montana\u2019s upcoming Senate race. In an op-ed, O\u2019Brien explained that she couldn\u2019t back the Democratic nominee, Alani Bankhead, citing her perceived lack of momentum and resources. Rather, O\u2019Brien endorsed Bodnar\u2019s challenge against Republican Kurt Alme, signaling a significant shift in the state&#8217;s political landscape and highlighting internal disagreements within the local Democratic Party.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-first wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shannon O\u2019Brien, the chairwoman of the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/montana\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"551\">Montana<\/a> Democratic Party, announced her resignation on Monday as she simultaneously endorsed an independent candidate over her party\u2019s nominee in the state\u2019s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/senate\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"8765\">Senate<\/a> race.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">O\u2019Brien made the announcement in an <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ms.now\/opinion\/montana-democrat-resigns-endorses-independent-seth-bodnar\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.ms.now\/opinion\/montana-democrat-resigns-endorses-independent-seth-bodnar\">MS Now op-ed<\/a>, telling readers she could not back Montana Democrat Alani Bankhead because she \u201cdoes not have the momentum, resources or will to win this race.\u201d Instead, O\u2019Brien prefers Montana independent Seth Bodnar to take on Republican nominee Kurt Alme in November.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<style>.explore-more-section { background: var(--wex-bg); border-top: 1px solid #ffffff; border-bottom: 1px solid #ffffff; margin: 24px 0; margin-top: -20px; }<\/style>\n<style id=\"mos-08bdf6b3-9807-4673-994c-02f4d087243b-style\">@scope (#mos-08bdf6b3-9807-4673-994c-02f4d087243b) { .we-meter {   --we-red: #DB3745;   --we-charcoal: #323E48;   --we-blue: #15BEF0;   --we-slate: #85A0AB;   --we-gold: #ECC270;   --we-text: #323E48;   --we-border: #85A0AB;    max-width: 800px;   margin: 0 auto;   padding: 1.5rem;   border: 1px solid rgba(33, 39, 42, 0.4);   border-radius: 12px;   background: #fff;   color: var(--we-text);   font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif !important; }  .we-grid {   display: grid;   grid-template-columns: 1fr 200px;   gap: 1.5rem;   align-items: center; }  .we-title {   margin: 0 0 0.5rem;   font-family: Constantia, \"Lucida Bright\", \"DejaVu Serif\", Georgia, \"serif\" !important;   font-size: 1.75rem !important;   line-height: 1.1 !important;   letter-spacing: -0.02em !important; }  .we-title span {   display: block;   color: var(--we-red); }  .we-copy {   margin: 0;   font-size: 1rem !important;   line-height: 1.4 !important; }  .we-actions {   text-align: center; }  .we-cta {   display: flex;   align-items: center;   justify-content: center;   gap: 8px;   width: 100%;   padding: 12px 16px;   border-radius: 8px;   background: var(--we-red);   color: #fff !important;   text-decoration: none;   font-size: 0.9rem !important;   font-weight: 700 !important; }  .we-arrow {   font-size: 1.2em !important; }  .we-member {   margin: 12px 0 0;   font-size: 0.85rem !important;   line-height: 1.4 !important; }  .we-member a {   color: var(--we-red);   text-decoration: none; }  @media (max-width: 600px) {   .we-grid {     grid-template-columns: 1fr;     gap: 1rem;   }   .we-meter {     padding: 1.25rem;   }   .we-cta {     padding: 14px;   } } }<\/style>\n<p><script>if (typeof CSSScopeRule == 'undefined') { const style = document.getElementById('mos-08bdf6b3-9807-4673-994c-02f4d087243b-style'); if (style) { style.textContent = style.textContent.replace(\/^@scope (#mos-08bdf6b3-9807-4673-994c-02f4d087243b) { \/, '').replace(\/}$\/, '');}}<\/script><\/p>\n<div id=\"mos-08bdf6b3-9807-4673-994c-02f4d087243b\" style=\"display: contents;\">\n<section class=\"we-meter\" aria-label=\"Washington Examiner subscription meter\">\n<div class=\"we-grid\">\n<div>\n<h2 class=\"we-title\">Stay informed.<span>Stay ahead.<\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"we-copy\">                  Join Washington Examiner for unlimited access to the news, analysis, and commentary that matter most.       <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"we-actions\">       <a class=\"we-cta\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/subscribe\/digital\/\">         <span>See Options<\/span>         <span class=\"we-arrow\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\u203a<\/span>       <\/a>       <\/p>\n<p class=\"we-member\">Already a member? 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