Former U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme won the Republican Senate primary in Montana on June 2.
The Associated Press called it for Alme at 10:23 p.m. ET. He defeated mechanical engineer Lee Calhoun and Charles Walking Child.
Alme will face retired Air Force Lt. Col. Alani Bankhead on Nov. 3. University of Montana President Seth Bodnar, an independent, will also be on the ballot.
The Associated Press called the Democratic primary for Bankhead at 11:49 p.m. ET.
The winner in November will succeed Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), who decided not to run for reelection. Given that Montana is a heavily Republican state, Alme, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, is the heavy favorite.
Daines will leave Congress after two terms in the Senate and one term in the House of Representatives. He began his congressional tenure in 2013. Daines, along with Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, endorsed Alme.
Daines’s withdrawal from the primary in March appeared to coincide with the start of Alme’s candidacy, which happened just before the filing deadline.
“Steve’s Term is up, and he has decided to leave the Senate and, ‘pass the torch’ to Kurt Alme,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “In fact, if Kurt didn’t have the highest level of aptitude and talent, Steve would have remained exactly where he is but, Kurt is exceptional, and I will be giving him, based on Steve’s strongest recommendation, my Complete and Total Endorsement.”
Alme ran on affordability, balancing the budget, combating fraud, securing the border, supporting law enforcement, taking care of veterans, defending the Second Amendment, keeping biological boys out of girls’ sports, backing farmers and ranchers, protecting public lands, and securing elections.
Alme, 59, was born in 1966 in Great Falls, Montana. He graduated with a business degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a law degree from Harvard Law School.
After graduating from law school, Alme clerked for U.S. District Judge Charles Lovell in Montana. He later became a partner at the regional law firm now known as Crowley Fleck and served as director of the Montana Department of Revenue under Gov. Judy Martz.
He served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Montana from 2003 to 2010, where he specialized in financial investigations involving white collar fraud, tax evasion, bankruptcy fraud, government program fraud, and money laundering. He also served as the First Assistant U.S. Attorney from 2006 to 2010.
Prior to becoming a U.S. Attorney, he served as president and general counsel of the Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch Foundation, an organization that supports treatment programs for youth struggling with mental health challenges and substance abuse.
Alme served as Montana’s U.S. Attorney from 2017 to 2020. In 2021, Gianforte appointed him director of the state Office of Budget and Program Planning.
Bankhead’s platform included responsible governance; term limits for members of Congress; protecting the vulnerable and strengthening families; improving access to healthcare, education, and mental health care; supporting small businesses and rural communities; workforce development; and supporting agriculture and public lands.
