The Dark-Money Claim, and the FEC Record
Montana U.S. Senate 2026. Figures from FEC filings; the dark-money web is traced by Inside Elections.
White = the record (FEC + Inside Elections)
Contours, Inc. (the dark-money web's common source)
Blue = The Story (what it means)
Follow the Money: who funds all four candidates, and the super PACs behind them. See all four →
What the Bodnar campaign is saying
"Republican-aligned dark money groups are boosting Alani Bankhead. I'm the clean independent."
The filings show the dark-money web is funding his campaign, and it traces to the same source.
The through-line: One dark-money source,
Contours, Inc., bankrolled this dark-money web (about $2.6M)
[Inside Elections]. Its money reached Alani's race as a
primary spend that then
left. The same web of dark money now flows to
Seth Bodnar, the candidate calling Alani the dark-money problem.
1. The dark-money web is funding Bodnar right now
Inside Elections traced the wire. Contours money moves through a second nonprofit and a Wyoming shell "clearinghouse" into his super PAC, which is spending against both his opponents.
Contours, Inc.the dark-money web's common source
Western Futures Funddark-money nonprofit
Western Futures Fundone of Way Back PAC's funders
Way Back PACWyoming shell-address "clearinghouse" · channeled ~$5M this cycle
Way Back PAC
funds →$1.2M · FEC Sched A
Montana Freedom PACpro-Bodnar super PACFEC C00943910
Montana Freedom PAC
Seth Bodnar$2.5M from this PAC this cycle; $8.4M from all outside groups (FEC, see section 4)
Same PAC
Kurt Alme$1,032,157 this cycle (FEC)
Same PAC
spends AGAINSTJuly to October
Alani Bankhead$337,937attacking her directly
Contours, Inc.the dark-money web's common source
grants$750K+ in 2025
Western Futures Fundone of Way Back PAC's funders
funds
Way Back PACWyoming shell-address "clearinghouse" · channeled ~$5M this cycle
funds$1.2M · FEC Sched A
Montana Freedom PACpro-Bodnar super PACFEC C00943910
spends FOR
Seth Bodnar$2.5M from this PAC this cycle; $8.4M from all outside groups
spends AGAINST$1,032,157 · this cycle
Kurt Alme
spends AGAINSTJuly to October
Alani Bankhead$337,937attacking her directly
The StoryWhen Alani refused to drop out, the same dark-money web's money resurfaced here, at Montana Freedom PAC, to fund the campaign to force her out and clear the field for Bodnar. The dark money he warns about is the operation aimed at her.
2. The same dark-money web touched Alani in the PRIMARY, then it left
The same source (Contours) stood up a brand-new PAC weeks before the primary, spent millions to nominate her, then sent its last $47,500 to a pop-up super PAC funded by the same network, which backed a veteran in Kansas’s Democratic Senate primary, and dissolved. She never coordinated with it.
Contours, Inc.same source as above
funded →$2.6M · FEC Sched A
Progressive Vet PACstood up April 2026, weeks before the primaryFEC C00948521
Progressive Vet PAC
spent in the PRIMARY$2.33M FOR Bankhead
Alani's primary(May-June)
Progressive Vet PACspent to $0, then dissolved (July 2026)
then left → Kansas$47,500 · FEC Sched B
The 1861 Initiativea Kansas super PAC funded by the same networkFEC C00945733
Contours, Inc.same source as above
funded$2.6M · FEC Sched A
Progressive Vet PACstood up April 2026, weeks before the primaryFEC C00948521
spent in the primary$2.33M FOR Bankhead
Alani's primary(May-June)
then left → Kansas$47,500 · FEC Sched B · then dissolved (July 2026)
The 1861 Initiativea Kansas super PAC funded by the same networkFEC C00945733
The StoryProgressive Vet PAC was stood up weeks before the primary, spent nearly every dollar it had to boost Alani, then within weeks of her win sent its last $47,500 to The 1861 Initiative, a pop-up super PAC funded by the same network that backed a veteran in Kansas’s Democratic Senate primary, and dissolved. It existed to prop her up in the primary, nothing more: the web wanted a nominee it believed it could bully into dropping out, and the moment she won and refused, they left. She's run the general on Montana small-dollar donations ever since.
3. A GOP-aligned PAC is using Alani to split the vote
A Republican-aligned super PAC is spending big "for" Alani while also hammering Bodnar. That is not support, it is sabotage: they don't want Alani to win, they want the vote split so their own candidate wins. The money "boosting" her is aimed at beating her. They didn't create that opening, the establishment did, when it propped up Bodnar as an "independent" and pushed Democrats to abandon the Democrat in the race.
More Jobs, Less GovernmentGOP-aligned super PACFEC C00693838
Alani Bankheadshe doesn't want it
Same PAC
AGAINST Bodnar$1,964,551 · FEC Sched E
Seth Bodnarkeeps the anti-Alme vote split
More Jobs, Less GovernmentGOP-aligned super PACFEC C00693838
"FOR" Bankhead$901,179
Alani Bankheadshe doesn't want it
AGAINST Bodnar$1,964,551 · FEC Sched E
Seth Bodnarkeeps the anti-Alme vote split
The StoryThe Republicans are running this in plain sight: boost Alani, hammer Bodnar, and let their own candidate walk up the middle. It works only because the establishment built the trap, putting Bodnar in as an "independent" and telling Democrats not to vote for the Democrat. Alani is the actual Democrat in this race. She takes zero corporate PAC money of her own and is staying in to shut the whole rigged game down.
4. $10.7 million in outside money for Bodnar’s side, and $4.9 million of it from groups that hide their donors
Every independent expenditure reported to the FEC in this race this cycle, primary and general, through October 16, 2026 (Schedule E reports and 24/48-hour notices, each expenditure counted once).
For Bodnar$8,393,115
Against Bodnar$1,974,551
For Alme$3,258,021
Against Alme$1,037,727
Against Bankhead$358,232*
For Bankhead$3,235,190
* That is only what groups reported as spending against her. Independent PAC filed its attack mailers and ads against Alani as spending for Bodnar, so none of them are counted here. The real number is higher. See the mailers.
Bodnar’s outside money, on the record: $2.33 million through Progressive Vet PAC in the primary, to nominate a candidate his network expected to force out of the race (section 2). Then $8.39 million spent for Bodnar directly (Independent PAC $5.69M, Montana Freedom PAC $2.51M, Montanans for Public Lands $88K, AB PAC $81K, Wild Montana Action Fund $20K, Moving Montana Forward $2K). Total: about $10.7 million, and $4.9 million of it came from groups that hide their donors. Add the same groups’ spending against Alme and against Alani, and it comes to about $12.1 million.
| Outside group | Spent this cycle | Who funds it (FEC filings) |
|---|
| Spending for Bodnar |
| Independent PACFEC C00884924 | $5,688,078 FOR Bodnar
Aug. 17 to Oct. 1 | Named in its October report: Richard Masson ($3M), Americans Together, Heather Manchin’s nonprofit, which does not disclose its own donors ($1.3M), David Sokol ($1M), Ron Burkle ($1M), Bill and Lydia Addy ($1M), Shari Redstone ($250K), Chris Rufer ($100K), Independent Center Voice ($90K). |
| Montana Freedom PACFEC C00943910 | $2,514,827 FOR Bodnar
$1,032,157 AGAINST Alme
$337,937 AGAINST Bankhead | Government That Works PAC ($2.75M, new in its October report), Way Back PAC ($1.2M), Western Futures Fund ($825K), Global Impact Social Welfare Fund ($200K), Scott Shenker ($200K). The dark-money chain in section 1. |
| Montanans for Public LandsFEC C00868604 | $87,563 FOR Bodnar | Sixteen Thirty Fund ($50K), a national dark-money nonprofit, plus $26K from Montana Freedom PAC. |
| AB PACFEC C00492140 | $80,954 FOR Bodnar
billboards, October | Two nonprofits, AB Foundation and Democracy Matters, plus $725K from Government That Works PAC. |
| Wild Montana Action FundFEC C90019993 | $19,502 FOR Bodnar
$6,442 AGAINST Bankhead
$5,447 AGAINST Alme | A nonprofit that reports its spending to the FEC but not its donors. |
| Moving Montana ForwardFEC C00957340 | $2,191 FOR Bodnar
Oct. 16 | Way Back PAC ($74K). |
| Republican-side spending |
| More Jobs, Less GovernmentFEC C00693838 | $1,964,551 AGAINST Bodnar
$901,179 FOR Bankhead (May)
$40,110 FOR Alme
$6,816 AGAINST Bankhead | Restoration of America PAC ($2M), Club for Growth Action ($400K), Daines Senate Majority Fund, RAI Services (Reynolds American). It also gave Alme’s campaign $10,000 directly. |
| Americans for Prosperity ActionFEC C00687103 | $2,126,904 FOR Alme | Koch Inc. and the Koch network's Stand Together, nationally. |
| High Plains PACFEC C00875039 | $515,000 FOR Alme | Texas oil and gas money: Tim Dunn, William F. Austin, Energy Transfer. |
| American MissionFEC C00916692 | $496,826 FOR Alme | Leading the Future ($22.5M), the AI industry's super PAC. |
| Hunter Action Fund · SEAL PAC USA · NRA Victory Fund · Club for Growth PACFEC C00541433 | $79,182 FOR Alme | Individual and hunting-club donors, SEAL PAC, the NRA and Club for Growth. |
| Leadership in ActionFEC C00764209 | $10,000 AGAINST Bodnar | One digital ad, March 2026. |
| The Conservative CaucusFEC C90018904 | $7,036 AGAINST Bankhead | A nonprofit that reports its spending to the FEC but not its donors. |
| Spending for Alani (More Jobs, Less Government’s $901,179 is in its row above) |
| Progressive Vet PACFEC C00948521 | $2,326,396 FOR Bankhead (May–June) | Contours, Inc. ($2.6M), the source in section 1. TV, mail, online ads, calls and texts in the primary; dissolved in July (section 2). |
| VoteRiseFEC C00890400 | $6,316 FOR Bankhead (May–June) | A Los Angeles super PAC. Texts in the primary. |
| Field Team 6FEC C00909994 | $1,298 FOR Bankhead | A volunteer texting group, not coordinated with the campaign. |
The StoryOutside groups have put $8.4 million behind Seth Bodnar this cycle. The biggest single source, $5.7 million, is Independent PAC, part of Joe Manchin’s Independent Leadership Council. Its October report finally named its funders: billionaire investor Ron Burkle, Paramount heiress Shari Redstone, former Berkshire Hathaway executive David Sokol, Dallas software founder Bill Addy and his wife Lydia, and libertarian megadonor Chris Rufer, plus $1.3 million from Heather Manchin’s nonprofit, which doesn’t disclose its own donors. The Republican PAC that "boosted" Alani in May has not spent a dollar for her since. It has spent $1.96 million attacking Bodnar instead. Since the primary, Alani's side of the ledger: $1,298 from volunteers, and a campaign that runs on Montana small-dollar donations.
5. Alani's own campaign
Friends of Alani BankheadFEC C00937201
takesinto her own committee
$0 corporate PAC moneyand she endorses I-194 to end dark money
Friends of Alani BankheadFEC C00937201
takesinto her own committee
$0 corporate PAC moneyand she endorses I-194 to end dark money
The StoryWhile everyone else runs the money games around her, Alani is the only candidate trying to shut the whole thing down. She takes zero corporate PAC money and endorses I-194 to end dark money in Montana.
Bottom line: The dark-money web Seth Bodnar warns about is the one funding his own campaign. It runs from Contours, through a second nonprofit and a Wyoming shell PAC, into his super PAC. This cycle, $8.4 million in outside money has gone to boost him. Counting Progressive Vet PAC’s primary spending, his side has put about $10.7 million into this race, and $4.9 million of it came from groups that hide their donors. The same source touched Alani's primary and then left the state. She takes zero corporate PAC money and wants to ban the whole game.