BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Republican U.S. Sen. Steve Daines of Montana dropped his bid for reelection to a third term Wednesday.

Daines withdrew his name just minutes before the deadline for candidates to file for the November election with the Montana Secretary of State’s office. A spokesperson for Daines confirmed his withdrawal and said a statement would be forthcoming.

Montana U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme, who is also a Republican, entered the race shortly before the deadline.

The moves came the same day former University of Montana President Seth Bodnar launched an independent campaign for Daines’ seat.

Democrats have been broadly sidelined by the state’s voters in recent years, and Bodnar’s decision to run without party backing underscores their diminished status. Montana Democrats control no statewide offices following the 2024 defeat of three-term incumbent Sen. Jon Tester.

No well-known Democrats have entered the Senate race.

Daines is a former business executive and close ally of President Donald Trump.

Republicans have a slim majority in the Senate, holding 53 seats to Democrats’ 45 plus two independents.

Bodnar said in a video message that America’s political system is broken and elected officials in Washington are looking out only for people who are wealthy and connected.

“The American dream is getting crushed, and both parties are to blame. They pit us against each other while they line their own pockets,” Bodnar said. “We need a new approach, an independent senator who will fight for hardworking Montanans.”

The 47-year-old native of Grove City, Pennsylvania, graduated first in his class from West Point and served in the Army special forces before working as an executive at GE Transportation.

The GOP’s Senate fundraising group, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, criticized Bodnar Wednesday as “an early champion” of allowing transgender athletes to participate in college sports during his eight years leading the University of Montana.

“Now, Both Ways Bodnar wants Montanans to believe he’s transitioning from a Democrat to a fake independent,” the committee said.

A spokesperson said Bodnar’s allegiances are to the people of Montana, not a political party, when asked if he would align with Democrats or Republicans if elected.

“When Seth gets into the Senate, he will fight for new leadership and negotiate a role that gives Montanans the strongest possible voice,” Roy Loewenstein said.

If he collects the 13,327 voter signatures needed to qualify, Bodnar would appear on the general election ballot, not during the primary.

Federal Election Commission campaign filings show Daines raised more than $8 million since his last election in 2020. He had about $5 million in cash on hand as of Dec. 31, according to the filings.

Total spending in the 2024 Senate race between Tester and Republican Tim Sheehy topped $300 million, a record for a congressional race on a per-voter basis, according to party officials.

Daines, 63, who was born in Van Nuys, California, and grew up in Bozeman, Montana, was an executive at Right Now Technologies before his election to the House in 2012.

He served one term before a successful 2014 run for the Senate seat formerly held by Democrat Max Baucus. Daines won by a wide margin over a little-known opponent after Baucus’ would-be Democratic successor, former Lt. Gov. John Walsh, dropped out of the race following reports that he plagiarized parts of his thesis while attending the U.S. Army War College.

In 2020, Daines beat Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock by 10 percentage points. At that time the campaign was the most expensive in Montana political history, only to be eclipsed by the Tester-Sheehy race.

From 2023 to 2025, Daines led Senate GOP fundraising efforts as chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Montana until recent years had a history of “ticket splitting” among voters willing to back officials from both major parties. That purple streak faded as national issues including immigration and health care took a more central role in Treasure State politics.

The shift came at the expense of Democrats, who since 2014 lost control of the governor’s office, the state’s two Senate seats and all other statewide positions they once held.

In 2022 independent Gary Buchanan outperformed Democrat Penny Ronning in the general election for a Republican-held U.S. House seat representing eastern Montana. Republican former Rep. Matt Rosendale received more votes than Buchanan and Ronning combined.