ICYMI
Independent Seth Bodnar Joins Michael Smerconish on Sirius XM
MISSOULA, MT — In case you missed it, Independent U.S. Senate candidate Seth Bodnara joined Michael Smerconish on Sirius XM for a wide-ranging conversation on why he’s running, why he’ll refuse to caucus with either party, and why he believes both parties have taken Montana voters for granted.
Watch the full interview here. Below are key excerpts:
Can an Independent Actually Win a Senate Seat?
The Michael Smerconish Program
September 2, 2026
ON WHY HE'S RUNNING
“Three reasons: two of them just turned 16, and one of them's 12. I have three kids. My wife and I decided we could no longer stand aside and watch this country descend into chaos, descend deeper into debt, and watch our kids inherit a United States of America that's less prosperous, less secure, a country in which they have fewer rights than we did. It's a moral failure. My wife and I decided we had to step up, because our system is broken. We see leaders working to divide us and distract us, not addressing the major challenges we face as a country.”
ON RUNNING AS AN INDEPENDENT
“Our system's broken right now. I see toxic partisan warfare happening in Washington D.C. while nothing gets done, and the casualties in that trench warfare are the people of this state and this country. We need leadership that's willing to work with either side when it makes sense, and stand up to either side when it doesn't. We need political competition in this country. We have antitrust laws on the books for a reason, because a lack of competition produces inferior products, corruption, and bad outcomes. What other industry in this country would we accept two firms having 100 percent market share? We wouldn't. So why do we accept that in American politics today? Forty-seven percent of Americans identify as Independent, yet they don't have a single Independent U.S. senator who doesn't caucus with either party. Forty-seven percent of Americans are effectively unrepresented. We need to change that.”
ON THE NATIONAL DEBT
“It's a number you can't even conceptualize. We heard in January 2025, and throughout the campaign, that we were going to drive down the debt. It's gone up by $4 trillion since last January. A trillion is a number we can't fathom, so the number I talk about on the campaign trail is $119,000. That's the debt a newborn in the United States inherits today. When I was a kid in the 70s, it was $3,000. This is a disgrace, it's dishonorable. We see politicians in D.C. spending like drunken sailors, a gilded ballroom, a restarted arch, reflecting pools, billions of dollars a day in Iran on a war we don't have a strategy for. Meanwhile we're passing the buck to our kids. It's a complete moral failure, and it's going to take both parties working together, with some Independent leadership, to say: we need to lock arms and lean into the hard decisions we have to make as a country for our kids.”
ON NOT CAUCUSING WITH EITHER PARTY
“I don't intend to caucus with either party. The problem right now is that elected leaders run, talk to their voters, go to D.C., and put a jersey on, a blue one with a D or a red one with an R, and that becomes the team they fight for. I'm not going to go to the lunch meetings with either party. I'm going to work with other Independent-minded senators, hopefully we get a few more Independents in there, and also with folks who are more moderate within their own parties, to form an Independent bloc of votes that moves common sense legislation forward. We've talked about a solutions caucus. How about a common sense caucus, an Independent caucus, where our first and foremost loyalty is not to a party brand but to our voters and to the country.”
ON INDEPENDENCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY
“It's not even about power, it's about how we move things forward. One of my favorite presidents is Harry Truman. People remember him for "the buck stops here," and that's a great quote, accountability matters. As a platoon leader in the 101st Airborne Division, I was responsible for everything that happened or failed to happen in that platoon. But the Truman quote I like even more is: "It's amazing what you can accomplish when nobody cares who gets the credit." Our problem in American politics today is that the parties spend all their time fighting over blame or credit, not outcomes. We need leaders who focus on outcomes regardless of who gets the credit. That's what our kids deserve.
ON DATA CENTERS AND AI
“It's like any issue, I'm against anything that happens to Montana communities without their involvement. I'm against anything that threatens our water, our habitat, our wildlife, our Montana way of life. I'm against anything that drives up utility rates for hardworking ratepayers across this state. These redacted agreements getting struck in the middle of the night and thrust upon Montana communities, that's not okay. Any big tech company that wants to come in and do that without engaging the community, I'm against that.”
“At the same time, we can't bury our heads in the sand and pretend the technology of today, that AI, doesn't exist. We've got to fight for common sense guardrails: how do we do this responsibly while protecting American workers, protecting our kids, putting safeguards in place, protecting Montana communities, and still competing globally with countries like China. We need leaders who will fight and push to get those guardrails in place. Right now we don't have them, and a lot of Montanans are at risk of being taken advantage of.”
ON PROTECTING MONTANANS FROM BEING TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF
“We've got to make sure Montanans never get taken advantage of, never get taken for granted, and that's one of the reasons I'm running as an Independent, because I've seen our political system taking Montanans for granted. I look at the Republican Party, they're treating Senate elections in this state not like the competitive process at the core of our democracy, but like corporate succession plans, and corrupt ones at that.”
“Steve Daines, the incumbent I jumped into this race to challenge, lied. He told Montanans he was running, running, running, until three minutes before the filing deadline, when he dropped out and tapped his buddy Kurt Alme, a Trump-appointed U.S. attorney, on the shoulder. Alme filed one minute before Daines dropped out, clearing the primary field and disenfranchising Montana voters.”
“Then I look at the national Democratic Party, where Chuck Schumer has said that for every blue-collar worker they lose in rural areas, they'll gain back two in the cities and suburbs. Trading rural voters and blue-collar workers to win in the cities and suburbs is a strategy for writing Montana off. So yes, Montanans are absolutely at risk of being taken advantage of. I'm going to make sure they don't get taken advantage of. I'm going to make sure they have the representation they deserve.”
ON THE STATE OF THE RACE
“Would it be easier if one of my opponents dropped out? Sure. Easier if they both dropped out? Sure. But that misses the point. Voters deserve choices. Neither party owns Montana's votes, and I'm running as an Independent to earn more votes than either of them. Independents are the largest voting bloc in Montana. This race is competitive and compelling, not despite being a four-way race, there's a Libertarian too, but because it is one. We're building momentum, taking a few points from the Republican, a few points from the Democrat, and we're in the lead. The polls are narrowing for us, getting closer. Would it be easier if one or both candidates dropped out? Absolutely. But that's not the point of democracy. The point of democracy is to show up and earn those votes, and we have a clear path that I feel really good about for November.”