Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) will not run for a third term in the Senate, a shock decision that came minutes before the filing deadline in Montana.
Daines, who served a single term in the House before his election to the Senate in 2014, announced on Wednesday that he will retire in January, giving another Republican a chance to vie for his Senate seat. He quickly endorsed Kurt Alme, a U.S. attorney for Montana who filed to run shortly before the 7 p.m. ET deadline.
“Serving the people of Montana in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate the past 13 years has been the greatest honor of my professional career, and I am grateful to God for allowing me to serve,” Daines said in a statement. “After wrestling with this decision for months, I have decided I will not seek re-election. It is time for … new leaders like Tim Sheehy to spearhead the fight for Montana in the United States Senate.”
The decision is a surprise turn of events in Montana’s Senate race, where Daines, 63, was facing challenges from several Democrats and one independent. Polling favored Daines in the race, and as recently as this week, he was sending fundraising appeals for his campaign. He beat his 2020 competitor, Steve Bullock, by 10 points.
It’s also the latest departure for Senate Republicans. So far, seven GOP senators have announced their retirement. On the Democratic side, that tally is five. His decision comes two days after another Montana Republican, Rep. Ryan Zinke, announced he would step down at the end of his term.
President Donald Trump quickly rallied behind Alme, joining Daines and Montana’s other senator, Tim Sheehy (R-MT), in offering his “Complete and Total Endorsement.” Senate Republicans voted to confirm Alme as the U.S. attorney for the District of Montana in October.
“Kurt Alme is an exceptional person, and will do a fantastic job as your next United States Senator from the Great State of Montana — HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
The timing of Daines’s withdrawal from the race drew immediate comparisons to the succession plan Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-IL) orchestrated when his chief of staff filed for his seat an hour before the Illinois filing deadline. The move was criticized as an undemocratic attempt to bar other Democrats from competing for the seat.
Days later, the House voted to reprimand Garcia after a fellow Democrat brought a censure resolution to the floor.
STEVE DAINES CARVES OUT SHUTTLE DIPLOMACY LANE AS ASIA EXPERT FOR TRUMP
Daines made his mark in Washington as the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee in 2024, helping Republicans retake the Senate and unified control of government with Trump at the top of the ticket.
He worked for more than two decades in the private sector before entering politics, leveraging his time in China to advocate on behalf of the president on foreign policy. Daines is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
