With just minutes before filing deadline closes, Daines shocks Montana by withdrawing
Daines left the Senate race shortly before the filing deadline and backed Alme as his successor.

SOURCE CHECK
TAP FOR WHYCredibility rates Yahoo News, which republished this story. The other scores rate the article itself.
Yahoo News is an established news platform, but this article appears to originate with the Daily Montanan rather than reflect Yahoo’s own reporting. The article attributes statements and includes an analyst’s assessment, though it offers limited independent verification of the reported political maneuvering.
- Source type — An established national news platform, though the article appears to be partner content.
- Transparency — The story attributes statements to named candidates and officials and identifies an analyst’s assessment.
- Author attribution — A named author is credited.
- Editorial standards — The text provides no direct evidence about corrections practices or the originating newsroom’s standards.
The report gives a clear sequence of events and includes statements from Daines, Alme, Trump, and opposing candidates, along with an analyst’s assessment. It does not explain the reported back-room-deal criticism in depth or provide independent corroboration of the motives behind the last-minute change.
HOW WE SCORE ↗The article includes statements from Daines and Alme, endorsements from Trump, and criticism from independent and Democratic candidates. It also reports an analyst’s changed race rating, but gives limited space to the reasoning behind the shift and does not include an immediate comment from the Montana Republican Party.
- Counterarguments presented — The article includes rival candidates’ criticisms as well as statements from Daines and Alme.
- Source diversity — Sources include candidates from different parties, the President, and an analyst.
- Omitted context — The report gives little detail about the alleged back-room deal or the analyst’s reasoning.
- Loaded language — The headline emphasizes the surprise and timing, while most critical language appears in attributed statements.
The story reports the withdrawal, endorsements, and candidates’ reactions in largely neutral language. Critical characterizations are attributed to candidates or analysts rather than presented as the article’s own judgment.
- Language tone — The reporting is mostly matter-of-fact; quoted criticism is attributed.
- Source selection — The article includes statements from the departing senator, the new candidate, and rival candidates.
- Framing — The story centers on the deadline and the political consequences of the withdrawal without endorsing a side.
Republished with credit
Republished from Daily Montanan, with credit to the original publisher.
22 stories · 69–76 · updated Oct 10, 2026
This is Daily Montanan's own score, and this article is credited to Daily Montanan. The host score in the Source Check is Yahoo News's.
Steve Daines withdrew from Montana’s Senate race shortly before the filing deadline and endorsed Kurt Alme, who had just filed to run. The late switch drew criticism from rival candidates and prompted an analyst to shift the seat from safely Republican to lean Republican.
Daines withdrew from his re-election campaign after serving in the House and Senate for 13 years, saying he had wrestled with the decision for months. He did not give a specific reason and endorsed Alme, Montana’s U.S. attorney, who filed for the seat shortly before the deadline. Alme announced his candidacy, and President Donald Trump also endorsed him.
Community verdict
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People in this story
SWIPE →Montana senator who withdrew from his re-election campaign and endorsed Kurt Alme
Montana Senate candidate who filed shortly before the deadline and received Daines’s endorsement
Alme's version of this story ↗President who thanked Daines and endorsed Alme
Montana senator whom Daines named as a leader in the fight for Montana and whom Trump said endorsed Alme
Former Montana governor and Daines’s opponent in the 2020 Senate race
Democratic Senate candidate who criticized Daines and the Montana Republican Party
Independent Senate candidate who criticized Daines’s withdrawal and endorsement
Part of a bigger story
23 OUTLETSDaines withdrew from his reelection bid shortly before Montana’s filing deadline. Kurt Alme entered the race around the deadline, and Daines endorsed him as his preferred successor. Left-leaning outlets focus on whether Daines’s timing and endorsement narrowed the primary or kept potential recruits out. Center outlets mainly recount the exit, Alme’s entry and endorsements, while also reporting claims about the effect on competition. Right-leaning outlets generally pair Daines’s departure with his support for Alme, though their coverage also includes criticism of the timing.
- ARTICLES
- 44
- OUTLETS
- 23
- AVG CRED
- 71
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