HELENA — A week after former University of Montana president Seth Bodnar announced he would run for U.S. Senate as an independent, he says what he’s heard from Montanans has reinforced his belief that there’s room in the race for someone offering an option outside the two major parties.
“I think there's a lot of people in what I would call the ‘sensible center,’ who believe that the extreme polarization of both sides is preventing us from solving the very real problems that we face,” he told MTN Wednesday. “So I'm running to represent all Montanans –Montanans who would describe themselves as independent, Montanans who would describe themselves as Republicans, Democrats.”
(Watch the video to hear how Bodnar says he'll navigate his role if elected as an independent.)
Bodnar is part of a wide field of candidates seeking to replace Republican U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, including three Republicans, five Democrats and two Libertarians.
Last week, Daines made a last-minute move to end his reelection campaign and endorse former U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme as his successor – a maneuver Bodnar said demonstrated the downsides of party politics. He argues, without a party label, he won’t be beholden to party leaders and will be better able to work across the aisle to reach solutions.
“I don't think that either party has a monopoly on good ideas,” he said. “For example, we need strong borders, we need to enforce our immigration policies – but I believe that we can do so without trampling upon the individual liberties of American citizens.”
Asked about his political priorities, Bodnar also cited the cost of living, access to health care, public education and access to public lands.
Montana has never elected an independent to federal or statewide office. There are currently three members of Congress who are formally independent. However, all of them caucus with one party or the other, meaning they cooperate with other party members for organizational and strategic reasons. Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine caucus with Senate Democrats; Rep. Kevin Kiley of California announced this week he was leaving the Republican Party but would continue caucusing with House Republicans.
MTN asked Bodnar if he would caucus with either party if elected.
“I'm going to push for new leadership in the U.S. Senate, and I am going to work to negotiate a role for this state that allows me to have the greatest impact for Montanans,” he answered. “I don't know exactly what that looks like. We don't know exactly who's going to be in the U.S. Senate. But what I do know, and the difference between me and my opponent is that I'm not going to be going to the U.S. Senate doing the bidding of party elites and insiders.”
Republicans have sought to paint Bodnar as a liberal who will align with Democrats in all but name. Democrats have warned that an independent candidate will only split the vote and allow a Republican to win.
Bodnar said Wednesday he wouldn’t speculate about the political prospects of a three-way race.
This week, an article in Politico described a trend of independent candidates challenging Republicans in strongly red states. They named Bodnar, along with candidates in Nebraska, Idaho and South Dakota. The article said, after Bodnar launched his campaign, some of those candidates added him to a group text chain.
“I did receive some outreach from some of the others in other parts of the country that are doing similar things – a number of whom are veterans, frankly,” Bodnar told MTN. “I think a lot of us that swore an oath to support and defend this Constitution, we recognize that our obligation is to this country, our obligation is to the people that we serve, not to any party.”
Bodnar will need to collect at least 13,327 signatures from registered voters by the end of May to get on the general election ballot in November. His campaign said they began signature gathering on Wednesday.
“We’re off to a great start,” said Bodnar. “As we've launched, a lot of people have reached out, ‘Hey, where do I sign?’”
Bodnar’s campaign also said it had raised $550,000 in the first 48 hours after his announcement.
“Campaigns do take resources, and those are necessary,” Bodnar said. “But what we're working to do is to build a team and build a coalition – a coalition of Montanans from across the ideological spectrum – and we're going to win this thing by going around the state, talking to Montanans, learning from Montanans, listening to Montanans, and earning the support of people in this great state who believe there's a better way.”
