ICYMI
Montana Voices: In Every Corner of the State, Montanans Are Standing With Independent Seth Bodnar
MISSOULA, MT — As ballots arrive in mailboxes across the state, Montanans of all political stripes are making the case for Independent U.S. Senate candidate Seth Bodnar. A new poll released this week shows Bodnar taking the lead over Republican Kurt Alme, 37 percent to 35 percent, winning nearly a third of Republicans and standing as the only candidate in the race with a positive favorability rating. Bodnar also raised more than $1.4 million in the third quarter, more than all of his opponents combined
In letters to the editor across the state, voters point to Bodnar's record of service, his steady leadership, his commitment to showing up in every corner of the state, and his promise to answer only to Montanans, not to either political party. Below are key excerpts.
Vote like the river is watching
John Barrett, Red Lodge, Bozeman Daily Chronicle
This year Montana is being asked to hand its U.S. Senate seat to a candidate chosen before the campaign began. Steve Daines became an important name in the Senate but withdrew from his own reelection minutes before the filing deadline, and Kurt Alme filed in his place. Not because Alme made the case to you. Because a party apparatus decided he was next, and a great many of us have been trained to treat that decision as our own. That is the splash.
The true hatch is a man standing in front of you making an argument you can test. His name is Seth Bodnar, and he is running as an independent. He graduated first in his class at West Point, went to Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, served as a Green Beret and spent eight years as president of the University of Montana.
Last week, in a Missoula living room, I heard him explain why he left a job he loved. He said he was watching what was happening to this state, and that he has children who will live in whatever Montana we hand them. Trying to positively change their future was a road he had to walk. You may disagree with where he wants to take the state. You cannot say he was handed the road.
A man in a Missoula living room, making his case face to face, is a true Montana hatch. I know which one the wild trout that live in our state will rise to. True Montanans are smart, independent and wise. The wrong fly and a bad cast will never fool any fish — or anyone.
Ask yourself one question before you mark the ballot. How will you feel a year from now if Montana sent a true independent to Washington, and Washington had to deal with him because it could not deal around him? And how will you feel if you sent a man who never had to earn your vote into a chamber where he will never have to earn anyone’s?
The parties will survive either result. What does not survive is the habit of giving away the one decision that is still entirely yours. I was born in this state. I intend to die in it. I am not handing my vote to a coronation.
Hear the man out. Then vote like the river is watching.
Letter to the editor: Why Seth Bodnar has my vote for Senate
Wendy Fox, Helena, Helena Independent Record
I recently attended an event for independent candidate for U.S. Senate Seth Bodnar and Veterans for All Voters Action. Although I am not a veteran, I am concerned with the way our military is being treated by the current administration, so I went. This is the second time I had heard Bodnar speak in person and was again impressed. He has a steadiness about him that I find reassuring in these unstable times.
When Seth speaks, you get the impression that he has been focused and hard-working for much of his life. He graduated first in his class at West Point. He served as a Green Beret and led combat missions in Iraq. He was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford and went on to build software and locomotives to make rail safer. Most recently, he served as president of the University of Montana for eight years.
I am confident all these roles require that someone work collaboratively for the greater good — also something that is lacking in the current regime that is hell-bent on enriching itself and building monuments to itself. Seth is both confident and yet also possesses humility. These qualities, as well as his clear intelligence, will serve him well if he is given the opportunity to represent Montana in the U.S. Senate. He has my vote in November.
Letter to the editor: Bodnar for all Montanans
John and Carol Santa, Kalispell, Daily Inter Lake
Our government has become so divisive it can no longer function. Cooperation has become a dirty word. Politicians act as if there are only two teams: Republicans and Democrats. Their goal is to defeat the other side, be absolutely loyal to their leader and not compromise with the other team. It’s winner takes all.
How can we stop this dangerous movement away from a government that represents the interests of all our people? The easiest solution is to stop supporting parties, or individuals in those parties who vote the way the party demands. In Montana we have an unusual choice. We have a Republican running for the Senate, chosen for loyalty by the party leaders and a Democrat who are both replaying their party’s drama.
We also have a very capable independent, Seth Bodnar running for the Senate. Bodnar has explicitly said he is running as an independent because he wants to represent all Montanans not just one party. Bodnar is a bright, capable individual with experience in management and leadership. He graduated first in his class at West Point, served several tours as an officer in the U.S. Army and has advanced degrees in economics. He has had leadership roles in big business and was the president for the past eight years of the University of Montana.
Better yet, he is a good person. A young woman we met at a recent fundraiser for Bodnar told us a story about a friend that truly reveals the kind of person he is. She was a graduate student at the University of Montana, who had experienced a personal loss and was sitting alone on a campus bench sobbing. A man stopped, sat next to her and asked if she was OK and then spent time just listening. About a week later she went to a lecture where Bodnar was introduced, and only then did she realize the man who stopped to check on her, was the president of the university.
We need a senator with empathy, capable of listening, caring about others and who has the experience and intelligence to tackle difficult problems without bowing to party loyalty. We Montanans have always had an independent spirit, and now we have a candidate who can represent our best selves. Let’s all support Seth Bodnar and do our part to stop corrosive party politics.
Letter to the editor: Support Seth Bodnar for Senate
Ken Knudson, Helena, Helena Independent Record
In his relatively short lifetime, Seth Bodnar has compiled a varied and impressive list of accomplishments and careers that make him highly qualified to be Montana’s next U. S. Senator: Rhodes Scholar, Green Beret, combat platoon leader in Iraq, successful business executive at General Electric and President of the University of Montana. At UM his open and innovative leadership reversed years of declining enrollment and restored luster to the University’s Flagship status.
[...] since April Seth has been conducting town hall gatherings in all corners of Montana. He’s been meeting face-to-face with voters of all political interests to learn about the state and national issues that are most important to them and to discuss his ideas for addressing those issues. This personal outreach to voters is the heart of his Montana-based, grassroots-supported, independent campaign.
Seth Bodnar is committed to bringing a grounded, independent voice to Washington - driven by practical solutions, accountability and service to Montanans above all else. I hope you will support him with your vote. It’s an exciting opportunity for a positive change.
Letter to the editor: Party or country?
Jim Melstad, Helena, Helena Independent Record
Folks aren’t welcome in the Montana Republican Party if they disagree with the party bosses. Solid citizens like Llew Jones, Marc Racicot and others found out their honesty and learned opinions are not welcome. Party bosses also determined that Kurt Alme will be the Republican candidate for Senate even though he did not run or collect a single signature. It should be no surprise that a common, well-deserved criticism of the current Republican Party is that they serve only the interests of their party and not their country.
Many Montana Democrats now seem offended at the suggestion that they should vote for independent Senate candidate Seth Bodnar. If Democrats can’t see fit to vote for Bodnar, we will elect Alme. He will support the current authoritarian administration even though the president’s approval rating hovers around 30%.
Our country is in a constant state of destructive chaos because this Republican Party is determined to win elections and control government AT ANY COST. So which comes first for Montana Democrats, party or country? Billionaires or regular people working paycheck to paycheck? The Big Lie or free and fair elections? Please vote for Seth Bodnar and help to right a sinking ship. Thank you.
Guest opinion: O’Brien put Montana’s future first with endorsement of Bodnar
Mary Sexton, Robyn Driscoll, Jim Larson and Nancy Anderson
As fellow former Montana Democratic Party chairs, we can’t stay silent while a stalwart leader in our party becomes the target of personal attacks for making a difficult, principled decision.
O’Brien is hardly alone in her assessment that Bodnar is the candidate who represents our values and can beat Kurt Alme. An extraordinary coalition of Democratic leaders from across Montana, spanning more than two decades of public service, has rallied behind Bodnar. They include former governors, members of Congress, legislators, every recent past executive director of the Montana Democratic Party and community advocates who have dedicated their lives to Democratic values. These are not people looking for something to gain. They want a senator who will protect public lands, defend reproductive freedom, stand up for working families and seniors, and hold the Trump administration accountable.
O’Brien was candid about her concerns regarding Democratic nominee Alani Bankhead’s ability to defeat Republican Alme, Trump’s handpicked successor. Bankhead’s own public statements about poverty and other issues have raised serious questions among Democrats about whether she shares the party’s fundamental values.
Those concerns deserve honest scrutiny. So does the extraordinary role Republican spending has played in this race. Nearly $2 million in GOP spending has helped prop up Bankhead’s campaign, raising legitimate questions about who benefits if Democrats remain divided while Alme advances.
O’Brien’s endorsement reflects a political calculation grounded in the realities of this race, not a rejection of the values that brought her to public service, and we join dozens of Democratic leaders who agree with her. We believe Bodnar offers the strongest opportunity to defeat Alme and send an independent voice to the Senate. This moment calls for unity across generations, respect for principled disagreement and a willingness to put Montana and our country first.
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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