--- title: "Montana Democratic Chair Shannon O'Brien Resigns, Backs Independent U.S. Senate Candidate for Montana" publication: "MediaBias News" url: "https://mediabias.news/politics/montana-democratic-chair-shannon-obrien-resigns-backs-independent-us-senate-cand" api: "https://mediabias.news/api/v1/stories/montana-democratic-chair-shannon-obrien-resigns-backs-independent-us-senate-cand" markdown: "https://mediabias.news/politics/montana-democratic-chair-shannon-obrien-resigns-backs-independent-us-senate-cand.md" audio: "https://mediabias.news/api/audio/montana-democratic-chair-shannon-obrien-resigns-backs-independent-us-senate-cand" category: "Politics" area: "United States" published: "2026-10-13T03:25:16.941Z" source_reported: "2026-10-13T02:30:19.000Z" updated: "2026-10-13T03:25:16.941Z" trust_score: 78 critic_score: 52 hype_score: 15 assessment_type: "coverage-and-source-reporting-analysis" fact_check_status: "not-performed" coverage_measured: "2026-10-13T03:15:07.109432+00:00" --- # 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.* **Scores for the source reporting** (0-100, assessing the original journalism this article was written from, not this write-up): - Trust 78 of 100, higher is better. Trust 78 – many independent digests name O'Brien’s resignation and MS NOW statement, giving specific date and role. - Craft 52 of 100, higher is better. Critic 52 – facts clear, but story is just a reproduced announcement with no quotes or analysis. - Hype 15 of 100, lower is better. Hype 15 – language is neutral and proportionate, no sensationalism. Scored by MediaBias News; method at https://mediabias.news/methodology. **The short version** - 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. 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. ## Who covered it Shares of the 10 covering outlets with a published leaning rating: - Left: 40% (4) - Centre: 50% (5) - Right: 10% (1) 0 of 10 covering outlets carried no usable leaning rating and were excluded from those percentages. Coverage measured 2026-10-13T03:15:07.109432+00:00. **Coverage watch:** developing. Checked 1 time; 0 checks found a material change. Most recently checked 2026-10-13T03:30:20.884Z. ## How the sides framed it ### Left - 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 - 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 - 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. ## Factuality profile of the covering outlets These are published factuality ratings of the outlets, not a verdict on whether this story or its claims are true. - mixed: 1 - high: 6 - veryHigh: 3 ## Verification scope This page compares coverage and scores the source reporting. It is not a ClaimReview verdict on whether the underlying event or claim is true. ## Original reporting this was written from - [The Epoch Times](https://theepochtimes.com/us/with-early-voting-underway-montana-democratic-party-chair-resigns-backs-independent-senate-candidate-6102868) — With Early Voting Underway, Montana Democratic Party Chair Resigns, Backs Independent Senate Candidate - [Daily Montanan](https://dailymontanan.com/2026/10/12/montana-democratic-party-chairperson-steps-down-endorses-independent-us-senate-candidate) — Montana Democratic Party chairperson steps down, endorses independent US Senate candidate - [Political Wire](https://politicalwire.com/2026/10/12/montana-democratic-party-chair-steps-down) — Montana Democratic Party Chair Steps Down - [Montana Free Press](https://montanafreepress.org/2026/10/12/democratic-partyp-chair-resigns-endorses-bodnar) — State Democratic Party chair resigns, endorses independent Bodnar for U.S. Senate - [The Washington Post](https://washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/10/12/montana-democratic-party-chair-steps-down-endorses-independent-candidate) — Montana Democratic Party chair steps down, endorses independent candidate - [Morgan County Citizen](https://morgancountycitizen.com/news/national/shannon-obrien-steps-down-as-chair-of-montana-democratic-party/article_89e44da8-a046-516c-874c-b467c9f2b78f.html) — Shannon O'Brien steps down as chair of Montana Democratic Party - [The Hill](https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/6144107-montana-democrats-chair-resigns) — Montana Democratic Party chair resigns, endorses independent in Senate race - [Fairfield Sun Times](https://fairfieldsuntimes.com/news/state/shannon-obrien-steps-down-as-chair-of-montana-democratic-party/article_57c0b33e-52be-53bf-af77-0054f42ef107.html) — Shannon O'Brien steps down as chair of Montana Democratic Party - [MS NOW](https://ms.now/opinion/montana-democrat-resigns-endorses-independent-seth-bodnar) — Why I am resigning as Montana Democratic Party chair to endorse an independent Senate candidate - [NBC Montana](https://nbcmontana.com/news/local/montana-democratic-party-chair-resigns-endorses-bodnar-10-12-2026) — Montana Democratic party chair resigns, endorses Bodnar ## Questions **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. --- MediaBias News — https://mediabias.news. Reproduced from https://mediabias.news/politics/montana-democratic-chair-shannon-obrien-resigns-backs-independent-us-senate-cand. Please cite as: MediaBias News, "Montana Democratic Chair Shannon O'Brien Resigns, Backs Independent U.S. Senate Candidate for Montana", https://mediabias.news/politics/montana-democratic-chair-shannon-obrien-resigns-backs-independent-us-senate-cand