ICYMI
Seth Bodnar on CNN: “We Deserve a Senator That Doesn’t Work for Schumer and Isn’t Afraid of Trump”
After JD Vance campaigns for Kurt Alme, Bodnar says Montanans are sick of blind partisan loyalty, and they’re ready to send an Independent to the Senate
MISSOULA, MT — Independent U.S. Senate candidate and former Army Green Beret Seth Bodnar joined CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on The Source this week to reflect on Vice President JD Vance’s campaign visit to Montana, reaffirmed his pledge to caucus with neither party, and highlighted the coalition of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents behind his campaign.
Below are key excerpts. Watch the full interview here.
“I’m not going to caucus with either party. I’ve said repeatedly that Montana deserves a United States senator that doesn’t work for Chuck Schumer, and Montana deserves a United States senator that’s not at all afraid of Donald Trump. What he didn’t say about Kurt Alme is that Kurt Alme’s only obligation, as he’s said repeatedly, is to support the president, and support an unauthorized war in Iran that’s costing us billions of dollars and costing hardworking Montanans severely at the pump. What we’re sick of in Montana is blind partisan loyalty, the blind loyalty that Vice President Vance is expecting, and that Kurt Alme will deliver for him if he’s elected.”
“I’m going to look at every issue through one lens: what’s good for Montana, and what’s good for the United States of America. If I have the honor of serving the great people of this state, I’m going to work with other independent-minded senators to form a bloc of independent-minded U.S. senators to move bipartisan, common-sense solutions forward. One vote alone makes a huge difference in the U.S. Senate right now. But a couple of independent-minded senators working together, they’re not the majority, but they can form a majority, and they can build a majority on key common-sense proposals to move this country forward and get us out of the ditch we’re currently in.”
“What we’re doing is building a coalition, a coalition that’s not focused on partisan labels, but on our shared values of individual liberty. I’m honored to have the support of Planned Parenthood to protect women’s reproductive freedom. I’m honored to have the support of key environmental conservation groups. I’m honored to have the support of labor. That’s a coalition that can win. That’s a coalition that cuts across partisan divides.”
“The largest voting bloc in Montana right now is not Republican. It’s not Democrat. It’s Independent. Over the past few months, we’ve seen our poll numbers going up. We saw a poll that actually showed us up two points. We’re hearing it everywhere we go, from Democrats, from Republicans, and from people all across the state who are hungry for something different. And we’re confident that a week from Tuesday, Montana is going to make history, and we’re going to send an independent voice to the United States Senate that’s accountable to no one other than the people of this great state.”
“Gas prices are going up because we have an unauthorized war in Iran that no one asked for, that the Senate didn’t authorize, and that too many in the U.S. Senate don’t have the spine to stand up to and follow through on their constitutional obligation. Article I, Section 8 says it’s Congress’s job to declare war. My Republican opponent, Kurt Alme, has said his job is to support the president. No. Do your job. Hold the president accountable, regardless of party, stand up for the brave men and women of the United States military, and do your job as a U.S. senator.”
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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