HELENA, Mont. -- Montana Democrats were casting about Friday for a last-minute U.S. Senate candidate to take on Republican Rep. Steve Daines in November after the withdrawal of incumbent Sen. John Walsh amid plagiarism allegations.
Those mentioned as potential stand-ins for Walsh include former Lt. Gov. John Bohlinger, state Reps. Amanda Curtis of Butte and Franke Wilmer of Bozeman, and state Sen. Dave Wanzenried.
But several top names among Democrats have signaled they're not interested. The party faces a well-funded Republican as it tries to keep a seat that was held by Max Baucus for six terms before he stepped down to become U.S. ambassador to China.
Among those who said they won't run are former U.S. Rep. Pat Williams, former Gov. Brian Schweitzer, state Auditor Monica Lindeen and Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau.
Another name being floated by Democrats was former state legislator and abortion-rights leader Nancy Keenan. But Williams said Keenen told him Friday that she wasn't interested.
Williams said he's hopeful that an unexpected candidate could emerge and stir up voters who might be otherwise disinterested.
"Democrats need to push the reset button, and if they do that properly, they can beat Steve Daines," he said. "It might be a candidate that Democrats are talking about but is new to the public."
He said either Wilmer or Curtis would fit that description.
A spokesman for U.S. House candidate John Lewis said he's been approached to enter the Senate contest but remains focused on the House.
A new candidate must be selected before Aug. 20. Democrats are arranging for a nominating convention in coming days that will include leaders from county party committees, along with federal and statewide elected officials and the party's executive board.
Walsh bowed out Thursday after his campaign was derailed by a New York Times report that revealed the extensive use of unattributed material in a 2007 paper Walsh wrote about the spread of democracy in the Middle East that he submitted to earn a master's degree from the U.S. Army War College.
Walsh had no public events scheduled for Friday and was not available for interviews, according to his Senate and campaign offices.
His next scheduled appearances will be Tuesday, when he plans a series of roundtable discussions about Social Security and Medicare in Missoula, Great Falls and Lewistown, said Walsh's Senate spokesman, Andrea Helling.
The Senate is in recess until Sept 8.
"He will be traveling around Montana, meeting with Montanans about issues Montanans care about," Helling said.
Schweitzer, a two-term former governor who was once considered a shoo-in for the Senate seat but has insisted he's not interested in running, said Friday that the field of potential candidates is shifting rapidly. He indicated there was no clear favorite at this point.
"It's too dynamic. There's people every hour saying 'I'm out,' and every hour new names coming," he said.
Schweitzer, who serves as chairman of Stillwater Mining Co., the state's largest company by revenue, added that his decision to stay out was final, but he suggested he could have won if he entered.
"It was a final thing 14 months ago," he said, referring to Baucus' retirement announcement last year. "Fourteen months ago, had I run, Steve Daines would still be in the House, and I would be running against [former Republican state Sen.] Corey Stapleton, 20 points ahead."
A Section on 08/09/2014