HELENA, Mont. — In an op-ed on MS Now, the Montana Democratic Party chair resigned and endorsed Independent candidate for U.S. Senate Seth Bodnar.
In the article, Shannon O’Brien, says in part, “right now, the Montana Democratic Party is more divided than ever not because of our values but because of the race for the U.S. Senate.”
O’Brien says she hopes the party can agree that Republican candidate Kurt Alme “does not share our values” while pointing to U.S. Sen. Steve Daines’ last minute decision to pull out of the race and endorse Alme.
She also threw a jab at U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy saying President Donald Trump “already has an automatic yes-man.”
She also said the decision to resign and endorse Bodnar, was for the “greater good.”
O’Brien also criticized Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Alani Bankhead, while raising questions about her beliefs.
In the article, she says, “there are real questions about Democrat Alani Bankhead’s commitment to protecting a woman’s right to choose, her support of working people and her views of people living in poverty.”
Bankhead sent NBC Montana the following statement:
“Shannon didn’t switch sides today. She’s been working against the Democratic nominee since the summer. This summer she got a legal opinion, without a vote of her own board, on whether the party could refuse to replace me if I quit, and her own board members wanted her performance reviewed for it. Now she’s using her exit to campaign for a man who never ran in our primary. Montana Democrats chose their nominee, and Montanans are voting right now.”
The Democratic nominee also sent a press release responding to all the claims O’Brien made in her Op-Ed:
Bankhead campaign – response to Shannon O’Brien (Oct 12 2026)PDF previewPreview PDF
The Montana Democratic Party tells NBC Montana vice chair Bruce Knutson is assuming the role of party chair effective immediately.