Seth Bodnar

Seth Bodnar began serving in the U.S. Army in 1997. He earned a bachelor's degree from the United States Military Academy and a graduate degree from the University of Oxford.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I'm not a politician. I didn't grow up in a wealthy or connected family. I was raised by two public school teachers. They poured their hearts and souls into their students and showed me what public service is really about.

When I turned 18, I joined the military. I graduated from West Point two months before the attacks on 9/11. After graduation, I studied at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar and then deployed to Iraq as an infantry officer. I served around the world as a Green Beret. I served in combat zones with some of the bravest Americans out there. When we were overseas defending this country, we worked together to achieve our objectives - we never stopped to ask each other: what political party are you a part of? Our shared mission was to protect America.

I had the privilege of serving our state as the President of the University of Montana for eight years. Through a lot of hard work, we turned around enrollment, stabilized the university's finances, achieved record-high graduation rates, doubled our research output, and were named the #1 military-friendly university in the nation. Our mission was to put Montanans First.

My wife is a fifth-generation Montanan, a Bobcat, and a pediatrician who has dedicated her career to improving health care for rural and American Indian children across our state. Together, we're raising three amazing kids to be proud 6th-generation Montanans. Our shared mission is the Montana we all want for the next generation.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

I'm not a politician. I'm a Green Beret, businessman, husband, and father. When I raised my hand as an 18-year-old West Point cadet, I swore an oath to the United States, not to any political party. I was raised by two public school teachers who inspired me to make service the foundation of my life, and that same commitment drives everything I do. I have no party bosses to answer to and no special interests to protect—my only allegiance is to the people of Montana.For too long, Washington has been captured by a corrupt insider class that trades power back and forth while working Montanans pay the price. Housing is out of reach. Tariffs are crushing our farmers and small businesses. Rural hospitals are closing. Public lands are at risk. And the national debt keeps climbing. Both national parties created this mess, and we need a new, independent approach that will close partisan divides and find commonsense solutions to fix it.For too long, Montanans have watched as the American Dream has been stolen from them by a broken political system that allows Washington politicians to divide us and line their own pockets while families across our state face higher costs and fewer opportunities. As Montana’s Independent voice in the Senate, Montanans have more in common with our neighbors than not, but we pay the price for the corruption and partisanship of Washington. I'll work with anyone when it helps Montana—Republican or Democrat—and stand up to anyone when it doesn't. That's my oath to this state.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Everywhere in Montana, I hear about the crushing cost of housing for working families. We need to expand housing supply, support targeted tax incentives for affordable and workforce housing development in rural and small-town Montana communities, and stop Wall Street investors from buying up single-family homes.

I will fight the corruption and partisan dysfunction in Washington, DC, that have crippled Congress’s ability to solve challenges facing Montana. I will fight for a ban on Congressional stock trading, lifetime lobbying bans for members of Congress after they leave office, mandatory financial disclosure for Congress and the Supreme Court, term and age limits, an end to gerrymandering and eliminating dark money in American politics.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Wild Montana Action Fund; Montana Conservation Voters; With Honor Fund; Independence Veterans of America

Campaign websiteBodnar's campaign website stated the following:SETH'S PLATFORMPillar OneMaking The Montana Way of Life A Reality AgainOur way of life shouldn't be something we have to fight so hard to keep. Unfortunately, Washington politicians stopped showing up and have failed the hard-working families of this great state. Montanans who show up to work every day deserve to afford a roof over their heads, see a doctor when they’re sick, provide for their families, and retire with dignity. We must renew that promise.Affordability isn't an abstraction here in Montana. It's whether a young family in Kalispell can find a starter home. It's whether a rancher in Forsyth can see a doctor without driving three hours. It's whether a Montanan on a fixed income can heat a home through a hard winter. I'll fight to bring housing costs and healthcare costs back in line with what Montana families actually earn. But our way of life isn't just about dollars and cents. It's about protecting the right of every Montanan - and every generation of Montanans still to come - to breathe clean air and drink clean water. It's about defending our public lands as common ground, where every Montanan, regardless of background or income, can hunt, fish, and recreate. It's about honoring indigenous culture and heritage as a vital part of the fabric of this state, respecting tribal sovereignty and fulfilling our treaty obligations. And it's about keeping the promises we made to the nearly 9 percent of Montanans who wore this country's uniform.PILLAR TWOMontana First: Reform AgendaWashington has been captured by political elites, by national donors, and by an insider class that uses our institutions to protect themselves while working Montanans get left behind. Farmers watch farm policy get written by lobbyists. Rural communities lose their hospitals while our elected officials trade stocks based on insider information. Politicians gerrymander districts to pick their own voters. Dark money floods our airwaves from donors no one can name. Career politicians leave office and immediately cash in as lobbyists on the committees they just ran. The system is broken and corrupt, and DC gets rich while Montanans face higher costs and fewer opportunities. Enough is enough. Montanans deserve an Independent senator who answers only to us and works from Day One to fix the broken politics of Washington, DC. That's what this contract is about.SETH'S INDEPENDENT PLEDGE:Seth is pledging his loyalty to Montanans above either party. Seth rejects the notion that Montanans have to accept a political system where elected officials must submit to the leader of a Party, vote the way they’re told, and engage in endless political warfare with the other side. That’s why Seth will not caucus with the Democrats or Republicans. He will work with independent-minded Senators to pull our extreme partisan politics back toward solutions that serve the majority of Montanans and Americans who are in the sensible center. Seth will push the Senate toward voting on legislation that has bipartisan support, and work with anyone when it helps Montana and stand up to anyone when it doesn't.— Seth Bodnar's campaign website (July 16, 2026)Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.