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Pete Buttigieg Jumps Into Montana's Senate Race — Backing the Independent, Not the Democrat
The former Transportation Secretary and possible 2028 contender is throwing his support behind ex-Green Beret Seth Bodnar, deepening a split in the anti-GOP vote days before Montana picks a new senator.
Pete Buttigieg waded into one of the midterms' strangest Senate races on Friday, endorsing independent candidate Seth Bodnar over the Democratic nominee in deep-red Montana.
"Seth and I don't agree on everything, but he has spent his adult life serving this country and the next generation," Buttigieg said in a statement released by Bodnar's campaign. Bodnar, 47, is a retired Army Green Beret who graduated first in his class at West Point, a Rhodes Scholar, and was until recently president of the University of Montana. He's running on a platform of political independence, affordability and anti-corruption — and has said that if elected, he won't caucus with either party.
A three-way scramble
The seat opened up after Republican Sen. Steve Daines abruptly decided not to seek reelection ahead of the March filing deadline. Montana GOP nominee Kurt Alme now faces both Bodnar and Democratic nominee Alani Bankhead — a three-way race that's split the anti-Republican vote and drawn calls from some Democrats for Bankhead to step aside. She has not.
"HE HAS SPENT HIS ADULT LIFE SERVING THIS COUNTRY."
Buttigieg's endorsement adds a national name to a growing list of crossover support for Bodnar, which already includes the veterans' group VoteVets — which usually backs Democrats — Montana Conservation Voters, the state AFL-CIO, and former Republican Gov. Marc Racicot. Montana's state Democratic Party chair, Shannon O'Brien, resigned her post last month specifically to endorse Bodnar, calling it a move for the "greater good."
Bodnar called the Buttigieg endorsement an honor and said he was proud to be drawing support "from across the political spectrum." The race has already pulled in national firepower on the other side: Trump held a rally in Montana last week for Alme, and Vice President JD Vance is expected to campaign there in the coming days. Montana is one of the most reliably Republican states in the country, and strategists on both sides say the Bodnar-Bankhead split could end up deciding whether the seat stays in GOP hands.