Bodnar Announces Independent Senate Run
The announcement comes after more than a month of speculation that the former University of Montana president might jump into the race. In his announcement video, Bodnar argues Montanans ‘deserve an independent voice.’
By Mariah Thomas
Following a month of speculation, former University of Montana president Seth Bodnar announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate Wednesday morning — and he’ll run as an independent, rather than a Republican or Democrat.
“This country is in crisis, and our national political parties are failing us,” Bodnar said in his campaign’s launch. “Montanans are an independent people, and they deserve an independent voice fighting for them in Washington, D.C.”
His video also highlighted affordable housing and tariffs as major issues the two-party system has failed to address and heralded the possibility of an independent senator as a “new approach” the state needs.
Bodnar, who in addition to serving as UM’s president, has also been an executive with General Electric, served as a Green Beret and won a competitive Rhodes scholarship, will have to collect about 13,000 signatures by May 26 to qualify for the general election ballot.
His campaign announcement comes a month after a text message apparently widely circulated in Democratic circles indicated former U.S. Sen. Jon Tester’s support for his potential run as an independent. Reporting from Montana Free Press and Lee Enterprises stated the text called the state’s Democratic Party “poison” for Tester’s re-election.
Four Democrats have also filed to run for the Senate seat: Reilly Neill, a former legislator from Livingston; Alani Bankhead, an Air Force veteran from Helena; Michael Black Wolf, a tribal historic preservation officer from Hays; and Michael Hummert, of Helena. One Libertarian candidate, Kyle Austin, has also filed to run for the seat.
Some Democrats have suggested Bodnar’s candidacy as an independent will split the Democratic vote and ensure a win for the incumbent Republican, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines.
Daines first won his election to the U.S. Senate in 2014 and won re-election against former Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock in 2020. In 2024, Daines helmed the National Republican Senatorial Committee, helping to unseat Tester by recruiting U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., to run for office.
Bodnar has also already contended with attacks from the right side of the aisle. A conservative PAC took aim at him with an attack ad the day he resigned from his position as president of the University of Montana. The ad pins the blame on Bodnar for tuition hikes, allowing transgender athletes to participate in UM athletics and using his campus office to campaign.
But Montana does have a long history of ticket-splitting, even if that trend has become less common in recent years.
And independent runs aren’t unheard of in Montana. Perhaps most prominently in recent times, Gary Buchanan ran as an independent candidate for Montana’s eastern House district in 2022. Buchanan drew support in that campaign from the state’s largest labor union, the Montana Federation of Public Employees, which more typically throws its support behind Democrats. He also earned support from the Montana Sportsmen Alliance over the Republican in the race, former U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale.
In the end, Buchanan outran Democrat Penny Ronning by just shy of 4,000 votes. Both were dwarfed by Rosendale, who won more votes than the two combined and carried the eastern district with more than 56% of the vote.