Bankhead should put Montana first and drop out

To Ms. Alani Bankhead, with urgency,

We are a group of Montana citizens, many of us are former or current elected public servants. Collectively we represent many decades of public service. We, like you, have Montana residents’ interests foremost in our minds and accordingly ask you to consider these points:

1. Under President Donald Trump’s leadership and Republican acquiescence, democracy in the U.S. is under threat. Much of that is a result of corporate and private independent expenditure campaigns and political action committees working to change voting rules and engage in rampant gerrymandering.

2. Republican nominee Kurt Alme would rubber stamp all of Trump’s policies, many of which have proved harmful to Montanans.

3. All of the recent polls in the current Senate race, with the exception of one that was clearly sponsored by a Republican group, show that in a head-to-head race only Seth Bodnar would beat Alme. In all other scenarios Alme wins easily.

4. Based on the most recent campaign spending reports, Alme has raised $2 million, Bodnar has raised $3.2 million and your campaign has raised less than $100,000. There will be several more millions spent on the race by independent expenditure campaigns. Conservative groups will attack Bodnar and support you as long as your chances of winning remain low. But you will have no control over this spending and these attacks.

5. You will be attacked and vilified. Alme and Bodner will be attacked and vilified too. The independent expenditure campaigns will dig deep into all of your histories. They will exploit, magnify and exaggerate any perceived weaknesses.

6. Bodnar’s message of independence from the political parties and special interests is resonating with Montanans fed up with politics in Washington. He has received strong verbal and financial support from a wide spectrum of Montanans as he continues to tour the state.

7. Those of us who signed this letter recognize and express our gratitude for your public service and believe that in the future you will serve all Montanans and do what is best for all of us.

8. Based on these facts we believe that the clearest and strongest action you can take to ensure that Kurt Alme does not become our next U.S. senator is to withdraw from the race and earnestly endorse Seth Bodnar as the only candidate now capable of beating Alme. We recognize that running for office entails sacrifice, and we appreciate your willingness to step up. But we also hope you can see that there is no path to victory ahead of you.

Thank you for taking the time to consider our opinion. And thank you for putting Montana first.

Mike Kadas is a former Montana state representative, former mayor of Missoula and former director of the Montana Department of Revenue; Fred Van Valkenburg is a former Montana state senator and former Missoula County attorney; Mike Halligan is a former Montana state senator; Diane Sands is a former Montana state representative and state senator; Dorothy Bradley is a former Montana state representative and Democratic candidate for governor in 1992; Bob Brown is a former Montana state representative and senator, former Montana secretary of state and Republican candidate for governor in 2004; Mae Nan Ellingson was a delegate to Montana Constitutional Convention; Dennis Lind was a member and chair of the Montana Board of Regents; Rick Graetz is a writer, publisher and photographer.