Montana attorney general says his office will look into Bankhead's claim of a DNC job offer

As of 12:39 a.m. ET, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said Wednesday that his office will reach out to Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Alani Bankhead, independent candidate Seth Bodnar and the Democratic National Committee after Bankhead said she had been offered a DNC job to drop out of the race.

"This is extremely concerning. If this is true, it appears to be a violation of Montana Code Annotated 13-35-221," Knudsen wrote on X at 3:23 p.m. ET. "My office will be reaching out to @AlaniBankhead, @SethBodnarForMT and @DNC to investigate."

A DNC official told The Hill on Wednesday that Bankhead was never offered a job by the committee. Knudsen's post announced outreach to the three parties; no one has been charged.

What Bankhead said

Bankhead made the claim in a Montana PBS "IMPACT" episode on the Senate race dated Oct. 15. Asked whether anyone had offered her anything to drop out of the race, she answered, "Yes!"

"They offered to be, and I'm probably gonna butcher this, but the DNC's head of female veteran candidates or something like that," Bankhead said. "And I was like, 'Why would I go work for an organization that is actively working against me and stabbing me in the back?' ... And I can't be bought anyway, but that was the only thing that was put on the table."

Montana PBS said in the episode that Bankhead mentions the offer, along with other efforts she says high-ranking state and national Democrats made to persuade her to drop out, in a recent op-ed in The Washington Post.

In the same episode, Bodnar said, "I've never asked anybody else to drop out of this race."

The law Knudsen cited

Montana Code Annotated 13-35-221, titled "Improper nominations," says a person "may not pay or promise valuable consideration to another, in any manner or form, for the purpose of inducing the other person to be or to refrain from or to cease being a candidate." It also bars soliciting or receiving any such payment or promise.

The race

Bankhead, Bodnar and Republican Kurt Alme are running for the open seat left by Republican Sen. Steve Daines, who announced in March that he would not run for reelection. The Hill reported that Bankhead has faced calls to leave the race to improve the chance of Alme losing, and that she has repeatedly said she would not drop out to help Bodnar.

Republican Sen. Tim Sheehy of Montana wrote on X at 4:01 p.m. ET, "Attorney General Knudsen is right to investigate this blatant attempt at bribery. The DNC is playing dirty in Montana."

NBC Montana reported that Knudsen's office said there was nothing else to share. The station said the Montana Democratic Party and the Bodnar and Bankhead campaigns had not replied by publication time.

What is not known

Bankhead did not say in the Montana PBS interview who extended the offer or when it was made.

The DNC's denial was relayed by an official to The Hill; the official was not named.

It is not known whether Knudsen's office has yet contacted Bankhead, Bodnar or the DNC. His office told NBC Montana there was nothing else to share.