This story is excerpted from Capitolized, a weekly politics newsletter featuring expert reporting, analysis and insight. Want to see Capitolized in your inbox every Thursday? Sign up here.  Sign up Democrats in Montana’s U.S. Senate race are struggling mightily to keep up with the fundraising of independent candidate Seth Bodnar and Republican Kurt Alme, both of whom reported having roughly a million to spend after the first federal fundraising period.  Alme is in a walk-off primary against two candidates, Charles Walking Child Sr. and Lee Calhoun, both of whom have zero dollars to report. Bodnar is gathering signatures to qualify for the November election and doesn’t have a primary. Wednesday marked the deadline for the campaign finance reports for all congressional candidates. Records show the five Democratic U.S. Senate hopefuls holding a combined $131,759 cash on hand, with roughly $104,000 belonging to Reilly Neill, a former state legislator from Livingston who has been campaigning since November 8, 2024. Bodnar, the former University of Montana president who registered his candidacy March 4, leads all-comers with $1.14 million. As an independent, Bodnar must gather 13,327 signatures from qualified voters to make the November ballot. He has until May 26 to get those signatures to local election offices. Bodnar’s ledger includes receipts totaling $26,050 from six political action committees, four of which were players in previous federal elections for Montana Democratic candidates. Way Back PAC, League of Conservation Voters Action Fund and The American Association for Justice PAC previously backed former U.S. Sen. Jon Tester and two-time Western District House candidate Monica Tranel. ActBlue, the small-donation conduit for Democratic campaigns is also present.  With the exception of ActBlue, PACs in Bodnar’s report aren’t showing up in the records of Montana Democrats running for Congress this year. Because of contribution limits, direct donations to campaigns aren’t where PACs make their biggest impact in elections. The biggest impact comes from independent expenditures.  Alme, who registered his candidacy eight minutes before the March 4 deadline, reported having $908,956 to spend. He is the former U.S. attorney for the District of Montana twice appointed by President Donald Trump and backed by U.S. Steve Daines. Montana’s senior Republican senator withdrew his candidacy in the last minutes before the deadline, and then lent Alme an endorsement and campaign staff. “Democrats still believe in democratic choice — that’s why we have a slate of working-class candidates running to improve the lives of everyday Montanans,” said Emily Marburger, Montana Democratic Party executive director, in a prepared Thursday statement about the fundraising totals. “As big, corporate money pours in for wealthy elites like a fence-sitting independent and a MAGA hand-picked successor, we are proud that our candidates for U.S. Senate are traveling the state, meeting with Montanans, and earning every vote and dollar.” Marburger’s statement continued: “We’re excited for the upcoming election and looking forward to helping the winner of the Democratic primary win in November.” Aaron Flint, running for Congress in Montana’s Western District to replace retiring Rep. Ryan Zinke, spoke to the Pachyderm Club in Missoula on Friday, April 10, 2026. Flint, a longtime talk radio host and veteran, spoke to the crowd of about 15 people on affordability, housing, and preserving Montana’s way of life. Credit: John Stember The last time Montana Democrats in a U.S. Senate race posted less than $150,000 for the first quarter of an election year was 1988 (incumbent John Melcher and Bob Kelleher combined for $144,059). That election was the first win for former Republican U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns. Once the primary election is over, money will flow to the Democratic candidate if that candidate has a chance of winning, former Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer, who was a longshot challenger to Burns in 2000, told Capitolized. “I didn’t have any chance of winning. I didn’t have the support of the Washington D.C. insiders or even our elected officials back there. And I’d raised a couple hundred thousand dollars and it was August, the year of the election. So, I went on TV. I was all by myself. I bought TV [ads] in August, and Burns didn’t go up until September. I raised a hell of a lot of money and lost by [3.3]%.”  Four years after losing to Burns, Schweitzer was elected governor. The money brought in during the first few months of Montana’s competitive Western District U.S. House race was a little more balanced. Republican Aaron Flint led all filers with $429,399 in the bank. His Republican challenger Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen posted $253,387 cash on hand. Al Olszewski, a former state lawmaker from Kalispell, posted $282,121 cash on hand. Ryan Busse, a 2026 Democratic primary candidate for Montana’s Western Congressional District, responds to a question during a debate at the Mother Lode Theater in Butte on Mar. 10, 2026. Credit: Lauren Miller, Montana Free Press, CatchLight Local/Report for America A quarter of Flint’s funds come from political action committees, including several with direct ties to Montana politicians. U.S. Rep Ryan Zinke’s PAC, formally titled “SEAL PAC Supporting Electing American Leaders PAC,” Sen. Tim Sheehy’s Send in the SEAL PAC, Sen. Steve Daines’s Big Sky Opportunity PAC and the Leadership in Action PAC, chaired by Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, are among the 20 PACs on Flint’s ledger. Democrat Ryan Busse was second among all candidates for cash on hand, with $368,145. Busse was also the Democrat’s 2024 candidate for governor. Sam Forstag reported $212,542. There are 15 PACs, mostly identified as labor PACs, supporting Forstag. There were two major party candidates who reported having less than $100,000 by the filing deadline: Russ Cleveland, with $65,102, and Matt Rains, with $46,411. A candidate must file a finance report if they spend or receive $5,000. No Libertarian or independent in the Western District race hit the reportable minimum. For Democrats, the finances in the Eastern District resembled the Senate ledger. Incumbent Republican Rep. Troy Downing had $445,919 to spend, including $132,000 from PACs. His closest competitor was independent Michael Eisenhauer. A Great Falls cardiologist, Eisenhauer reported $133,710 cash on hand. The Democrats in the race, Sam Lux, Brian James Miller and Jonathan Windy Boy, reported a combined $2,675. The post Republican, independent candidates outraise Democrats in federal races appeared first on Montana Free Press. ...read more read less