MT-SEN Debate: Seth Bodnar Argues for Lowering Costs, Ending Corruption, and Defending our Freedoms

In Kurt Alme’s first and only debate of the campaign, Bodnar drew a sharp contrast with the Republican candidate who was installed on the ballot by Washington insiders and has shown blind party loyalty ever since

MISSOULA, MT — At today’s Montana Broadcasters Association debate, Independent U.S. Senate candidate Seth Bodnar made the case that Montana needs a senator who answers only to Montanans, not party bosses or corporate donors, and who will fight to lower costs, end corruption and protect Montanans’ freedoms. 

The debate was the first and only time Republican Kurt Alme will share a stage with his opponents. Alme was installed on the ballot eight minutes before the filing deadline, and has skipped candidate forums across the state. The MTFP/Nonstop Local debate was cancelled after he refused to participate.

“Montanans finally got to see every candidate side by side, and the choice couldn’t be clearer,” said Bodnar. “I’m the only candidate who’ll stand up to anyone, including the leaders of either party, when it’s right for Montana. Kurt Alme spent today proving he’ll be a rubber stamp for his Party bosses, but I’ll spend every day in the Senate as a true Montana Independent, fighting to lower costs, end the corruption driving them up, and protect the freedoms that make Montana home.”

Bodnar enters the final weeks of the campaign with clear momentum. Kurt Alme’s record is coming under increasing scrutiny, from his insistence that Congress “can’t vote to limit the use of force” in the unauthorized war in Iran, to his office’s plea deal that let a man who admitted to sexually abusing a six-year-old avoid the sex offender registry. 

Meanwhile, the candidate on the Democratic ticket faces new questions from the Washington Post about her record and her ties to far-right institutions. Bodnar continues to rise in the polls, and a growing coalition of Republicans, Independents, and Democrats is uniting behind his campaign, including former Senators Jon Tester and Max Baucus, former Governors Marc Racicot and Steve Bullock, the Montana AFL-CIO, Montana Conservation Voters, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, VoteVets, and more. 

Watch the full debate here.

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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