Republican Sen. Steve Daines drops reelection bid
Alme filed to join the Republican primary shortly before Daines withdrew and received endorsements from Daines and Trump.
SOURCE CHECK
TAP FOR WHYCredibility rates Yahoo News, which republished this story. The other scores rate the article itself.
The reporting is attributed to USA TODAY, an established national news organization, and includes direct statements and confirmation of the withdrawal timeline from the Secretary of State’s office. Yahoo News republishes the article, so the assessment reflects the reporting outlet rather than Yahoo’s own reporting.
- Source type — The reporting is from an established national news organization.
- Author attribution — The article identifies a USA TODAY reporter.
- Transparency — The article attributes key statements and identifies the Secretary of State’s office as confirmation of the timeline.
- Editorial standards — The reporting is presented as straightforward news with sourced claims and no evident advocacy.
The article includes direct statements from several political figures and reports independent confirmation of the withdrawal timeline. It leaves open whether Daines is retiring from politics and offers limited context about the race beyond the candidacy changes and scheduled primary.
HOW WE SCORE ↗The article includes Daines’s explanation, praise from a Republican colleague, endorsements from Daines and Trump, and criticism from Bodnar and Tester. It does not include a substantive response from Daines to that criticism.
- Source diversity — Statements from Republican, independent and Democratic figures appear in the story.
- Counterarguments presented — The article includes both praise for Daines’s decision and criticism of the succession arrangement.
- Omitted context — Daines’s representatives had not clarified whether he was leaving politics altogether.
The article reports the withdrawal, endorsements and criticism in attributed language without adopting a discernible partisan framing.
- Language tone — The narration is matter-of-fact; evaluative phrases appear in attributed quotations.
- Source selection — The article includes statements from Republicans, an independent candidate and a Democrat.
- Framing — The story centers on a Senate candidate’s withdrawal and the resulting race developments.
Republished with credit
Republished from USA Today, with credit to the original publisher.
21 stories · 79–81 · updated Oct 11, 2026
This is USA Today's own score, and this article is credited to USA Today. The host score in the Source Check is Yahoo News's.
Sen. Steve Daines said he will not seek reelection in Montana, and Kurt Alme entered the Republican primary shortly before Daines withdrew. Daines endorsed Alme, who also received President Donald Trump’s endorsement.
Daines announced his decision in a video and cited his service in the Senate. Sen. Tim Sheehy praised him for stepping aside, while USA TODAY reported that Daines’s withdrawal and Alme’s filing occurred minutes apart; the outlet said it confirmed the timing with the Montana Secretary of State’s office. Daines endorsed Alme, and Trump endorsed him shortly afterward. Daines’s representatives had not clarified whether he was retiring from politics.
Independent Senate candidate Seth Bodnar called Alme Daines’s “handpicked successor” and criticized the senator’s role in the transition. The article also reported that Rep. Ryan Zinke had recently ended his reelection bid and endorsed Aaron Flint, and quoted former Sen. Jon Tester saying the timing of the withdrawals “wasn’t an accident.” Montana’s primary elections are scheduled for June 2.
Community verdict
17 VOTES
Counts every outlet’s report of this story. See all 23
Votes cast on this page
Votes cast on this page: ▲ 0 · ◆ 0 · ▼ 0
People in this story
SWIPE →Republican Senate candidate who entered the Montana primary after Daines withdrew
Montana senator who withdrew from the reelection race and endorsed Kurt Alme
Daines's version of this story ↗
President who endorsed Alme
Montana senator who praised Daines’s decision
Former Montana senator commenting on the timing of the withdrawals
House candidate endorsed by Ryan Zinke
Montana representative who ended his reelection bid and endorsed Aaron Flint
Independent Senate candidate who criticized Daines’s role in Alme’s candidacy
Part of a bigger story
11 OUTLETSOutlets agree Steve Daines withdrew from Montana’s Senate race shortly before the filing deadline, and Kurt Alme filed to run; Daines endorsed Alme. Left-leaning outlets present the timing as potentially coordinated to give Alme an advantage and keep a prominent Democrat out of the primary. Center outlets mostly recount the withdrawal, filing and endorsements, while some examine claims about limiting Democratic recruitment and the effect on the contest. Right-leaning outlets emphasize Alme’s entry and Daines’s endorsement, with coverage also noting Trump’s endorsement.
- ARTICLES
- 23
- OUTLETS
- 11
- AVG CRED
- 75
- Los Angeles Times · Montana Republican U.S. Sen. Steve Daines drops reelection bid in surprise move
- AOL.com · GOP Sen. Steve Daines' last-minute withdrawal from Senate race was meant to block Democrats from fielding a top-tier recruit
- United Press International · Montana Sen. Steve Daines won't seek re-election
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