NEW POLL: Independent Seth Bodnar Leads Republican Kurt Alme in Montana’s U.S. Senate Race

Montana Republicans, Democrats, and Independents are uniting behind former U.S. Army Green Beret and Independent Seth Bodnar

MISSOULA, MT — A new independent poll from Concord Public Opinion Partners shows Independent Seth Bodnar in the lead over Republican Kurt Alme in Montana’s U.S. Senate race, 39 percent to 38 percent, with Democrat Alani Bankhead at 10 percent and Libertarian Kyle Austin at 2 percent. Eleven percent of voters remain undecided. This poll was commissioned and released independent of the Bodnar campaign.

“The MAGA party machine thought they could hand this seat to Kurt Alme and Montana voters would fall in line. They thought wrong,” said Bodnar campaign spokesperson Kelly Webster. “Republicans, Democrats, and Independents are coming together behind Seth Bodnar, and on November 3rd, we’re going to take our country back from the D.C. insiders and political elites who have left Montanans behind.”

In early September, the independent Montana Free Press–Rutgers Eagleton poll found Alme leading Bodnar by eight points, 38 percent to 30 percent, with Bankhead at 16 percent. By early October, Bodnar had taken the lead in a previous Concord Public Opinion Partners poll, 37 percent to 35 percent. Now, in the final week, Bodnar’s support has grown to 39 percent, and Bankhead’s support has fallen to 10 percent, as voters opposed to Alme consolidate behind the Independent.

Key findings:

Bodnar leads the race: Bodnar leads Alme 39 percent to 38 percent, and Alme runs two points behind a generic Republican congressional candidate in Montana.
Bodnar leads in a conservative electorate: Bodnar holds his lead in a sample in which 57 percent of likely voters identify as conservative.
Montanans have soured on Washington’s agenda: President Trump’s favorability in Montana stands at 42 percent favorable and 55 percent unfavorable.
Montanans’ top concerns are Bodnar’s priorities: Likely voters ranked the economy (39 percent) and housing affordability (29 percent) as the most important issues facing Montana, followed by threats to democracy (22 percent) and health care (18 percent).

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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