# Seth Bodnar **Seth Bodnar** (b. 1979) is running as an independent for Montana's open U.S. Senate seat in 2026. President of the University of Montana from 2018 until he resigned on January 21, 2026, he is a West Point graduate, Rhodes Scholar, former Army lieutenant colonel and Green Beret (1st Special Forces Group), and former General Electric executive. He declared on March 4 — the day [[Steve Daines]] withdrew — and qualified for the ballot with 21,284 accepted signatures against 13,327 required, the first independent on a Montana federal ballot since 2022. His endorsements are the post-partisan center's full roster: Jon Tester, Max Baucus, [[Joe Manchin]], [[Adam Kinzinger]], former Republican Gov. Marc Racicot, the Montana AFL-CIO and VoteVets. He out-raised every candidate in the race ($3.24M through June 30) and polls second to [[Kurt Alme]], but Democratic nominee [[Alani Bankhead]] declined to withdraw at the August 10 deadline, leaving the anti-Republican vote split — the [[Dan Osborn]] model without the Democrat's exit. See [[MT-Sen-2026]].