Ahead of the 2026 midterms, This American Life covered election topics on the
October 30, 2026 episode “Talk Me Into It”, which included an excellent deep dive into Montana’s messy race for U.S. Senate in “Act One: Where’s the Party?”
Alani Bankhead won the Democratic primary to be the party’s nominee in the election for a seat to the U.S. Senate. But the consensus view is that a Democrat has zero chance of winning a Senate race in Montana – not a single person seems to dispute this.
The interesting thing is that there is a candidate who seems to have a real chance to defeat the Republican candidate: independent candidate, veteran, and former University of Montana president Seth Bodnar. An extremely likable and appealing candidate, Bodnar could plausibly would win against the Republican candidate in a head-to-head matchup. But there is a real risk that a Democrat on the ballot could siphon off just enough votes from Bodnar such that the vote would be sufficiently split to ensure a Republican victory. Thus, big-name Democrats in the state have not endorsed their own party’s nominee, and are even pressuring her to drop out. Yet, Bankhead refuses to drop out.
We will soon see what outcome results in Montana. But one thing is absolutely clear: the election system we use creates extremely perverse incentives and does not guarantee outcomes that reflect the will of the people. In our current system, more choices mean chaos, secretive insider strategizing, and voter confusion about how to cast their ballot to be most effective. We need reforms that make elections clear, strategy-proof, and where more choices should be a welcome thing.
The good news is that people have carefully studied election systems for a long time and we know how to design better systems. Ranked ballots and Condorcet systems like BTR-IRV and Head-to-Head Top 3 create the right incentives for candidates and voters so that elections will actually reflect the will of the people. The situation in Montana highlights once again just how important these reforms are for democracy.