This week saw a narrowing of the field of presidential candidates as three Democratic candidates dropped out of the race due to lack of support and funds, though California Senator Kamala Harris was the only big name to step aside. The two that received much less attention were retired Admiral Joe Sestak and Montana Governor Steve Bullock. While both Sestak and Bullock’s presidential bids were near dead-on-arrival, many Democrats in Montana and around the country were hoping that when Bullock finally ended his long-shot bid at the presidency, he would come back to Montana and run against Steve Daines for a seat on the Senate.
In an election year that has the U.S. Senate up for grabs, the Montana seat held by Republican Senator Daines has been predicted to only be a competitive race should someone with the name recognition and approval rating of someone like Bullock enter the Democratic field of challengers. As it stands the highest profile Democrat running for the Senate is Helena Mayor Wilmot Collins, who is not projected to put up much of a fight. This is why Democrats had been pressuring Bullock to abandon his slim chance at the presidential nomination, where he had failed to even qualify for all but one debate where he did little to impress voters, in favor of challenging Daines here in Montana.
