ICYMI: Independent Seth Bodnar Will Fight AI Data Centers, Hold Big Tech Accountable

MISSOULA, MT — In case you missed it, Independent U.S. Senate candidate and Green Beret Seth Bodnar laid out his plan to protect Montana from a Broken System that allows Big Tech and AI Data Center companies to exploit Montanans because both national parties are bankrolled by the same industry they’re supposed to hold accountable. As Montana’s Independent Voice in the U.S. Senate, Bodnar will oppose any AI data center that jacks up energy bills for Montanans, threatens our water, wildlife habitat, or lands, and doesn’t give Montanans the final say.

Read the full article here. Below are key excerpts:

Montana Senate race: Bodnar works to set tone on data centers, Alme responds
Lee Newspapers
September 1, 2026

As data centers complicate partisan fault lines and take hold of midterm elections nationwide, Seth Bodnar, the independent running for Montana’s U.S. Senate seat, on Monday tried to make the case that solutions to this election cycle’s biggest wedge issue can’t be forged by either of the two political parties.
“The broken system, run by party bosses, lobbyists, tech billionaires and special interests, is making too much money off the status quo,” Bodnar said at a press conference held in Helena’s Anchor Park. “You can’t put out a fire when the person handing you the extinguisher also lit the match and is paying your salary.”

At Tuesday’s press conference, Bodnar laid out a plan that he said “only an independent can make because both of the national parties are bankrolled by the same big tech companies they’re supposed to be holding accountable.”

His plan includes support of the Ratepayer Protection Act, to prohibit data center developers from passing costs on to Montana utility consumers [...] Bodnar also said he wants disclosure requirements on data centers’ water and energy use, opposes out-of-state contractors getting construction bids and believes communities should have the final say on projects coming to their backyard.

Bodnar also took Tuesday as an opportunity to criticize his Republican opponent Kurt Alme, the former U.S. Attorney from Billings, as mum on one of the most divisive issues in a five-way race.

“All we’ve heard from him on this topic is silence. He won’t say anything about any of it because he’s too busy hiding from Montana voters,” Bodnar said. His sole goal is to please the party bosses who put him on the ballot in the first place. He’s not going to protect us from a single one of these threats.”

Companies behind data centers aren’t watching from the sidelines as their fates are debated in the political arena. They’re looking to tilt the scales in their favor. A pro-AI group called American Mission spent $286,358 on a media buy for Alme in May. The organization is part of a network of affiliated political action committees tied to Leading the Future, which is backed by OpenAI and other tech investors.

Bodnar said this sort of entanglement puts politicians like Alme in the pockets of industry titans rather than everyday Montanans. He said his campaign has not accepted any donations from AI or data center companies, and Bodnar still leads fundraising among every candidate in the Senate contest [...]

Seth Bodnar is a Green Beret, business leader, and former president of the University of Montana running for the U.S. Senate to be an independent voice for Montana. Seth is guided by a lifelong commitment to duty, honor, and country. He graduated first in his class at West Point and served multiple overseas deployments, leading soldiers in the 101st Airborne Division and the 1st Special Forces Group, and serving as a special advisor to the commanding general in Iraq. After his military service and a successful career in business, Seth spent the last eight years leading the University of Montana. Under his leadership, the university achieved record high graduation rates, doubled research funding, launched the largest infrastructure renewal in campus history, restored financial stability, and was named the #1 military-friendly university in the country. Raised by two public school teachers, he believes leadership is about service, not party loyalty. Seth and his wife, a fifth-generation Montanan, are raising their three children in Montana.

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