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Independent Seth Bodnar Joins Charlie Sykes on To the Contrary
MISSOULA, MT— Independent U.S. Senate candidate Seth Bodnar joined Charlie Sykes on the To the Contrary podcast this week for a wide-ranging conversation covering the politicization of the military, Congress's abdication on Iran, why he's running as an Independent, and his path to victory in a four-way race.
Watch the full interview here. Below are key excerpts:
An Independent Miracle in Montana?
To the Contrary with Charlie Sykes
September 3, 2026
ON THE POLITICIZATION OF THE MILITARY:
"You learn at the very beginning of your time as a military officer that the military is supposed to be apolitical. Promotions are supposed to be based on merit. Your duty is not to the president, it's to the Constitution of the United States... Unfortunately, what we're seeing here in the Pentagon is anyone who doesn't swear an oath of loyalty to an administration or an ideology is being pushed out. It is deeply troubling, and I'm concerned, as every veteran is, and frankly as every American should be."
ON CONGRESS AND THE WAR IN IRAN:
"I took command of my first infantry platoon in Mosul, Iraq in 2003. When you're stacked outside the door of a suspected terrorist safe house, ready to blow the door in and go inside, you know what question never comes up? What party are you a part of?... What they're seeing is reduced rations. They're seeing the failure to think about the logistics of a war in Iran for which the commander-in-chief and the secretary of defense had no plan, no strategy, and for which the U.S. Senate has abdicated its responsibility in making sure the president has a plan."
ON WHY HE'S RUNNING AS AN INDEPENDENT:
"At the age of 18, I swore an oath to the Constitution of the United States and joined the U.S. military, not to a party. I led the University of Montana for eight years. I worked closely with a Democratic governor, Democratic legislators. I worked very closely with a Republican governor, Republican legislators, and we focused on the mission... I believe we need a new approach, one that brings Montanans together, that brings Americans together, to actually start solving problems."
ON BOTH PARTIES FAILING MONTANA:
"The incumbent senator I jumped into this race to challenge, Steve Daines, told every Montanan, 'I'm running, I'm running, I'm running,' until three minutes before the filing deadline, when he withdrew from the race and inserted his buddy, a Trump-appointed U.S. attorney who's never run for office, as the de facto Republican nominee, disenfranchising every Republican voter in this state... That's corruption. That's dishonest. That's taking Montana voters for granted. So I think both national parties are failing Montana, and that's why we need new leadership."
ON WHO HE'D CAUCUS WITH:
"I don't intend to caucus with either party. I don't need to go to lunch with either of the two parties to have an impact. Every senator still gets a vote... My intention, if I have the honor of serving the people of this great state in the U.S. Senate, is to work with other independent-minded senators, Republicans, Democrats, some of the other independents... and you form a bloc of four, five, six U.S. senators. That's a very influential bloc that can move things forward for this country, toward common-sense solutions that the majority of Americans agree upon."
ON WHAT HE'S HEARING FROM MONTANANS:
"I had a woman in Helena, Montana come up to me and say, 'I don't care what party you're part of. I'm spending two-thirds of my Social Security check, which is my only form of income, on housing right now. It's going to be 75% in two years. I'm going to be without a home.'... The soaring costs and the rampant corruption we see are a result of our broken political system, where the wrong people have the power, and it's not the voters."
ON PUBLIC LANDS:
"We have almost a third of our land that's public land, that's our common ground, where everybody can hunt, fish, and recreate... For Montanans, our public lands are our grocery stores too. To see the federal government, the Trump administration... potentially going to sell part of Yosemite National Park to a developer, I mean, come on. That's a no. We've got to defend our public lands. It's a hell no for Montana. This is sacred for us out here."
ON THE TRADE WAR WITH CANADA:
"It's as shocking as it is strategically stupid. For Montana, we share the largest and longest border of any state with Canada... After 9/11, our Canadian allies stood beside us. They stood shoulder to shoulder with us in Afghanistan. They stood shoulder to shoulder with us in Iraq. They stood beside us. They bled beside us. They died beside us. So not only is it strategically stupid to do what we're doing with Canada right now, but it's disgraceful."
ON VETERANS AND VA STAFFING CUTS:
"There was a Vietnam veteran I was talking to recently here in Montana... He said, 'I do a lot of mentoring of young veterans.' A young Iraq veteran was really struggling, having some mental health issues, and he said, 'I finally, after a long time, got him to go ask for help. That young man, it took him a lifetime's worth of courage to go ask for help, but due to the staffing cuts, when he finally got that courage to ask for help, it was a six-week wait to see somebody.'"