Montana Democratic Chair Shannon O'Brien Resigns, Backs Independent U.S. Senate Candidate for Montana
She announced her resignation in an MS NOW op‑ed, citing division over the party’s Senate nominee Alani Bankhead and endorsing independent Seth Bodnar while early voting had already begun.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Montana Democratic Chair Shannon O'Brien Resigns, Backs Independent U.S. Senate Candidate for Montana
Photograph: The Epoch Times (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Shannon O'Brien resigned as Montana Democratic Party chair on Monday, effective immediately.
- In her resignation op‑ed she endorsed independent Senate candidate Seth Bodnar over the party’s nominee Alani Bankhead.
- Early voting for the November Senate race had already begun in Montana at the time of her resignation.
- The resignation was announced through an op‑ed published on MS NOW.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 10 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .
Trust
78/100
Craft
52/100
Hype
15/100
10 sources · methodology
Shannon O'Brien announced on Monday that she was leaving her role as chair of the Montana Democratic Party, with the resignation taking effect immediately. She made the announcement in an op‑ed published on the MS NOW website. In that statement she endorsed independent candidate Seth Bodnar for the U.S. Senate, arguing that the party was divided over its own nominee, Alani Bankhead. Early voting for the Senate election was already under way in the state when the resignation was made public.
The resignation adds O'Brien to a growing list of state Democrats who have publicly supported an independent challenger rather than the party’s official Senate nominee. Her op‑ed quoted the party as being "more divided than ever not because of our values but because of the race for the U.S. Senate."
What the coverage left out
None of the left‑rated digests mention that early voting was already under way in Montana. The centre‑rated digests also omit any reference to early voting and do not note the mention of Kurt Alme that appears in the MS NOW left‑rated digest.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 1 time, most recently on 13 Oct 2026, 03:30, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
4 rated outlets
- The four left‑rated digests highlighted O'Brien’s immediate resignation and her endorsement of Seth Bodnar. Daily Montanan added that O'Brien expressed reservations about Alani Bankhead and referenced an email from Bankhead. The Washington Post described Bankhead as the "embattled" nominee. MS NOW noted that O'Brien’s endorsement aimed to defeat Kurt Alme. Fairfield Sun Times reported only the resignation, without mentioning the endorsement.
Centre
5 rated outlets
- The five centre‑rated digests all reported the resignation and the endorsement of Bodnar. Political Wire and Montana Free Press focused on the endorsement over Bankhead. The Hill reproduced O'Brien’s quote about the party being divided. Morgan County Citizen mentioned only the resignation, and NBC Montana listed the resignation and endorsement but omitted any comment on other candidates or internal party conflict.
Right
1 rated outlet
- The right‑rated digest from The Epoch Times stressed that O'Brien resigned over disagreements with Senate candidate Alani Bankhead. It also noted that early voting was already underway and quoted O'Brien’s claim that the party was "more divided than ever" because of the Senate race.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Montana Democratic Chair Shannon O'Brien Resigns, Backs Independent…?
- Of the 10 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 40% are rated left, 50% are rated centre, 10% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Montana Democratic Chair Shannon O'Brien Resigns, Backs Independent… left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 10 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Montana Democratic Chair Shannon O'Brien Resigns, Backs Independent… biased?
- Montana Democratic Chair Shannon O'Brien Resigns, Backs Independent U.S. Senate Candidate for Montana is one event reported by 10 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which outlets covered Montana Democratic Chair Shannon O'Brien Resigns, Backs Independent…?
- 10 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- Why did Shannon O'Brien resign as chair of the Montana Democratic Party?
- She resigned effective immediately, stating in an MS NOW op‑ed that the party was deeply divided over the Senate race and that she could no longer lead under those conditions.
- Who did O'Brien endorse after stepping down?
- She endorsed independent candidate Seth Bodnar for the U.S. Senate, arguing that he offered a better alternative to the party’s nominee Alani Bankhead.
- Was early voting already happening when O'Brien announced her resignation?
- Yes, early voting for the Montana Senate election had already begun at the time O'Brien made her resignation public, as noted in the right‑rated coverage.
Read it at the source
10 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
4- Montana Democratic Party chairperson steps down, endorses independent US Senate candidate (opens Daily Montanan in a new tab)
Daily Montanan — is Daily Montanan biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Montana Democratic Party chair steps down, endorses independent candidate (opens The Washington Post in a new tab)
The Washington Post — is The Washington Post biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Shannon O'Brien steps down as chair of Montana Democratic Party (opens Fairfield Sun Times in a new tab)
Fairfield Sun Times — is Fairfield Sun Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Why I am resigning as Montana Democratic Party chair to endorse an independent Senate candidate (opens MS NOW in a new tab)
Centre
5- Montana Democratic Party Chair Steps Down (opens Political Wire in a new tab)
Political Wire — is Political Wire biased? Our profile of this outlet
- State Democratic Party chair resigns, endorses independent Bodnar for U.S. Senate (opens Montana Free Press in a new tab)
Montana Free Press — is Montana Free Press biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Shannon O'Brien steps down as chair of Montana Democratic Party (opens Morgan County Citizen in a new tab)
Morgan County Citizen — is Morgan County Citizen biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Montana Democratic Party chair resigns, endorses independent in Senate race (opens The Hill in a new tab)
- Montana Democratic party chair resigns, endorses Bodnar (opens NBC Montana in a new tab)
NBC Montana — is NBC Montana biased? Our profile of this outlet
Right
1Not rated
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
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