ICYMI
MSNOW: “Voters Are Ready to Break the Two-Party Mold”
Independent Seth Bodnar discusses the national surge of Independent candidates and the toll the war in Iran is taking on Montana farmers and families
MISSOULA, MT — Independent U.S. Senate candidate and former Army Green Beret Seth Bodnar joined MSNOW’s The Assignment to discuss Montana’s U.S. Senate race, how he would turn independence into influence in the Senate, the coalition he’s building across party lines, and the costs the war in Iran is imposing on Montana families.
Below are key excerpts. Watch the full interview here.
“The great thing about being an Independent in the United States Senate is that you can work with either party, but you can also stand up to either party. You have the power to say no, and you have the power to bring coalitions together to move common-sense legislation forward. Right now, we see such a dearth of progress in Congress. Nothing’s getting done. For folks here in Montana, it’s a crisis. We haven’t passed a Farm Bill since 2018. We need comprehensive immigration reform in this country, and there’s bipartisan alignment around it, yet nothing gets done. Independence isn’t only about power. It’s about making progress, and that’s what this campaign is about.”
“This campaign has never been about party labels. It’s been about our shared values as Montanans. We’ve often been described as libertarians who still love their neighbors, folks who prize individual liberty. We’re a state that wrote reproductive freedom into our constitution, and I have the support of Planned Parenthood. We’re a state that has stood with labor for years, and I have the support of the AFL-CIO and labor unions across this state. We’re a state that cares deeply about the environment, and we have the support of Montana Conservation Voters and the League of Conservation Voters. We’re building a coalition around issues that cut across party lines, and lots of people are coming on board.”
“I was talking to a farmer outside Belgrade, and between soaring fertilizer prices and diesel over $6 a gallon, it cost him over $8 a bushel to produce wheat this year. He got about $6 when he sold it. Farmers are in crisis. Ranchers are in crisis. Small businesses are in crisis. And we have a war in Iran that’s being perpetuated because members of Congress won’t stand up and carry out their constitutional responsibilities.”
“My Republican opponent, Kurt Alme, said our best way forward is to continue to support the president. That’s a fundamental misunderstanding of the job of a United States senator. You’re supposed to work for the people who elected you, and carry out your constitutional obligations. If we’re sending our sons and daughters to shed blood on foreign soil, we need to know why it’s an imminent threat, what the strategy is, and what the exit plan is. Right now, we have none of those things, because Congress isn’t doing its job. And not only are American service members suffering. People across this great state are paying the costs every single day.”
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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