Theres less than one week left before the deadline for any candidates in Montanas 2026 elections to withdraw from their race and the debate over whether one of the candidates for U.S. Senate should drop out is not going away.Am id speculation that having them both in the Senate race could split the vote, Democratic candidate Alani Bankhead and independent candidate Seth Bodnar have met, but theres been no agreement for one of them to withdraw.(Watch the video to hear more on the current state of the Senate race.) Bodnar, Bankhead meet, but still not in alignment on way forward for U.S. Senate raceSofia Perez, a spokesperson for the Montana Democratic Party, told MTN Bankhead and Bodnar met twice last week, with MDP executive director Emily Marburger present as an observer.I would characterize the meetings as two adults coming to the table, just trying to see how they can navigate a very difficult situation, said Perez.Perez said the discussions were inconclusive.Bankheads campaign declined to comment Tuesday about the reported meetings. However, Bodnar confirmed he met with Bankhead when MTN caught up with him at a campaign event in Helena.Bodnar said the meetings came in response to a group of Democratic state lawmakers, who had called for the two candidates to get together and try to find a way to unite their efforts to improve the chances of defeating Republican nominee Kurt Alme. He said the discussions were cordial, but he and Bankhead still werent fully in alignment.We talked about the visions for our campaign, our various approaches, he said. We agree that we both want what's best for Montana; we have different views about the best way to go about that.Bodnar said he continues to see his independent campaign as the best positioned to win in November.For me, this campaign has always been about making sure that Montana has a strong voice fighting for them in the United States Senate, he said. I believe that Kurt Alme will not be that strong voice, and to be frank, if I thought there were an alternative that were able to beat Kurt Alme, I would support that alternative.Bankhead has consistently said she has no interest in dropping out of the race. Shes argued withdrawing would be disrespecting the primary voters who supported her and that there wouldnt have been a split vote without Bodnar entering the race as an independent.One open question has been, if Bankhead withdrew, would the Democratic Party be required to replace her on the ballot, or could they choose not to field a candidate giving Bodnar a clearer path to run against Alme.In an article last week from the national news platform Semafor, a spokesperson for Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen, a Republican, said state law requires a party to pick a new candidate if their nominee withdraws.Thats the law, not a suggestion, the spokesperson said. Were not interested in political games.However, some have argued the party still has options. Perez confirmed MDP leadership were presented over the weekend with a memo from the Elias Law Group, a national firm that has become known for representing Democrats and Democratic-leaning organizations in election cases. In the memo, attorneys said if MDP didnt name a replacement candidate, the party could defend that decision based on their First Amendment right to freedom of association.Of course, all of that will be a moot point unless Bankhead changes her mind about staying in the race.Whatever the final result, the debate over dropping out wont last much longer. The last day for any candidate to withdraw will be next Monday, Aug. 10. ...read more read less