When He Swore an Oath, It Wasn’t to a Political Party. (w/ Seth Bodnar)

The United States has reached a moral and political crisis, according to Seth Bodnar, a former university president and Green Beret running as an independent for Montana’s U.S. Senate seat. He argues that the country’s deep polarization—evidenced by a Pew Research survey showing Americans are the least likely to believe their fellow citizens are good and moral—threatens democracy itself. Bodnar, who swore an oath to the Constitution, not a political party, rejects both major parties as broken and unrepresentative of rural America. He points to Republican disenfranchisement tactics, like Steve Daines withdrawing from a race to block rivals, and Democratic neglect of rural voters, citing Chuck Schumer’s infamous comment about trading rural losses for suburban gains. Bodnar insists that Montanans are tired of being used and divided. His campaign is not a vanity project but a response to a system that rewards loyalty over service. He believes that by focusing on mission over party, he can deliver real results for all Montanans—without being beholden to party bosses or special interests.