Alani Bankhead

Where Bankhead stands

Grouped by topic by Vote Book; headings and quoted words are the candidate’s own, with the source under each one. “As reported” items are a news outlet’s description, not an exact quote.

Health care

1 in 3

of Montana’s rural hospitals (16) are at risk of closing — several immediately.ⓘ When the nearest hospital is a hundred miles away, people don’t drive farther for care — they go without it. We will keep those doors open — by protecting the Medicare and Medicaid payments they depend on, and paying for it by cutting Washington’s waste, not Montana’s care.

Education

Q1. Please briefly provide the following information: place (town or county and state) of birth, age as of election day 2026, place (town or county) of permanent residency, occupation/employer, and education. How do these and your other life experiences qualify you to be effective in Congress?

Born: San Francisco, CA. Dad was stationed at the Presidio until the military moved us after I turned 1. 44 years old. Permanent residency: Helena, MT. Occupation: Retired Air Force LtCol/Leadership Consultant. Education: BA, Latin American Studies. BA, Crime, Law, and Justice. Minor, Military Studies. Both from Penn State University. MA, International Relations with a minor in National Security Studies. Troy University. Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, AL.

Jobs, wages & cost of living

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Protecting kids and vulnerable people. I spent two decades building the cases that put child predators behind bars and running anti-trafficking operations, and I'll fight for the federal tools and funding that work depends on. Reproductive freedom - Montanans already wrote it into our constitution, and Washington keeps trying to override them. The cost of a normal life: housing, groceries, energy, and keeping rural hospitals open. Keeping public lands public. And getting corporate and dark money out of politics - I refuse corporate PAC and superPAC donations, so I answer to Montanans, not …

Q2. What are the most important issues you expect to face if elected and how do you propose to address those issues?

Bringing down the cost of a normal life, and a government that answers to Montanans, not donors. On costs: reverse the tariffs adding ~$2,400 a year to families, rebuild the trade our farmers depend on, and break up corporate concentration—four meatpackers control ~85% of beef—that squeezes families and ranchers. On health care: keep rural hospitals open (1 in 3 are at risk) and guarantee universal coverage on the TRICARE model—public dollars, your own doctor, not a takeover—paid for by cutting the waste inside health care, not care. And restore accountability: I take zero corporate PAC money, and I back I-194 to end dark money in Montana. I'll also reclaim Congress's war powers and end the war with Iran.

Q3. What economic policies will you pursue to help Americans who are concerned about their economic prospects in the coming years?

Lower everyday costs and back the Main Street economy. Montanans pay the 6th-highest grocery bills in the country (~$9,300/year) and a typical home now costs 66% more than in 2020—so I'll cut the tariffs driving prices up and take on the corporate middlemen inflating them. I'll treat child care as economic infrastructure: 59% of Montana counties are child-care deserts and infant care runs ~$12,000 a year—cap what families pay and fund care where it's missing. And I'll invest in small business: per the SBA they're 99.2% of Montana's businesses, so I'll cut their red tape and taxes, especially for new ag-related startups. When Main Street does well, everyone does.

Elections, ethics & government

95%

of members of Congress own stocks or funds — and the fine for hiding a conflicted trade is just $200.ⓘ For twenty-one years I was accountable for life-and-death decisions, and I never got to hide from the outcome. Washington shouldn’t get to either.

What I'll do

Hold town halls in every one of Montana’s 56 counties — on the record. Back the TRUST in Congress Act to ban members of Congress from trading individual stocks, and the DISCLOSE Act to unmask dark money.

Q4. What measures do you believe states and/or the federal government should take to ensure elections are secure while facilitating the ability of all eligible voters to cast their ballots?

We have always had free and fair elections. I have not discovered any concern in Montana regarding how our polls have been managed in the past. My campaign will continue to reinforce that citizens have a right to vote, and we will ensure every eligible person who wants to vote is unimpeded. Ultimately, it is incumbent on state and federal government to ensure transparency in these processes to maintain the trust of its citizens. It is the responsibility of the state to build and keep the trust of its people.

Background & priorities

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

I'll bring down the cost of a normal life — housing, groceries, and energy — so a Montana paycheck can afford a Montana life again. One in three of our rural hospitals is at risk of closing, and I'll fight to keep those doors open. I'll take on the corporate concentration, from meatpackers to Wall Street landlords, that drives up what families pay, and we'll pay for it by cutting Washington's waste, not the Medicare, Medicaid, and rural care Montanans earned. • Can't be bought. I refuse corporate PAC, superPAC, and dark-money donations, because I answer to Montanans, not donors. Washington …

Other priorities

+66%

Montana’s typical home value jumped 66% in four years (2020–2024) — while incomes rose just 26%.ⓘ A Montana paycheck should be able to buy a Montana home. Right now it can’t — and longtime owners get taxed just for trying to move.

1,400

Montana cleared a 1,400-kit rape-kit backlog with federal money that runs out in 2026.ⓘ I’ve spent more than two decades on the front lines of child protection, building the cases that put child sex abusers in jail. I’ll bring that same fight to the Senate.

$127,750

A year in a nursing home now runs a median of about $127,750 — enough to drain a lifetime of savings in a couple of years. That’s why most families end up relying on Medicaid for long-term care.ⓘ