In a shocking announcement, lawmaker Steve Daines (R-Mont.) revealed Wednesday that he will not seek reelection to a third term in the US Senate.
“Serving the people of Montana in the US House and US 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 video message posted on X.
“But after much careful thought, I have decided not to seek re-election.”
Daines, 64, is the sixth Republican senator to decide against running for reelection ahead of the critical November midterm elections, joining Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
First elected to the upper chamber in 2014, Daines served as the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee between 2023 and 2025, helping Republicans flip four Senate seats in the 2024 cycle.
President Trump described the Montana Republican as “one of our truly Great United States Senators,” in a Truth Social post after Daines’ announcement.
“He honorably served for 12 years in the Senate, and 2 in the House of Representatives. He did a job like few others are capable of doing but, sadly for our Country, Steve’s Term is up,” the president said, before endorsing Daines’ possible successor.
“[H]e has decided to leave the Senate and, ‘pass the torch’ to Kurt Alme, my TRUMP 45 and TRUMP 47 U.S. Attorney.”
The president argued that if Alme “didn’t have the highest level of aptitude and talent, Steve would have remained exactly where he is.”
“But, Kurt is exceptional,” Trump asserted, “and I will be giving him, based on Steve’s strongest recommendation, my Complete and Total Endorsement.”
Alme, the US Attorney for the District of Montana, filed to run for Daines’ seat after the senator formally withdrew from the race, and just minutes before a Tuesday night filing deadline for candidates to enter the race, according to Politico.
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report favors Republicans to win the now open Senate race in Montana, rating the state “solid R.”
Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), who flipped one of Montana’s Senate seats red in 2024 by defeating Democrat Jon Tester, praised Daines on X for “doing something we don’t often see in modern politics: stepping down at the height of his power to clear the way for a new generation of leaders.”
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