Buttigieg Crosses Party Lines to Back Independent Bodnar in Montana

Buttigieg Crosses Party Lines to Back Independent Bodnar in Montana

A rare endorsement breaks with the Democratic nominee

Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is endorsing independent candidate Seth Bodnar in Montana's U.S. Senate race instead of Democratic nominee Alani Bankhead, Bodnar's campaign announced Friday, October 23. The announcement was shared first with ABC News. Buttigieg, a popular Democratic surrogate who has confirmed he is considering a 2028 presidential bid, did not mention Bankhead in his statement.

Statement praises service record, omits fellow Democrat

"The best leaders I've served with, in uniform and in government, care more about getting the job done than about who gets the credit, and Seth is one of them," Buttigieg said. "Seth and I don't agree on everything, but he has spent his adult life serving this country and the next generation ... and he'll bring that same character to the Senate." In a second passage carried by ABC News, he added: "Montana deserves a senator who will fight corruption in Washington, defend reproductive freedom, and work across the aisle to lower costs and actually get things done. Seth Bodnar will be that Senator." Bodnar said he was honored by the endorsement and proud that people "across the political spectrum" were joining his campaign.

Democrats bet the independent can beat the Republican

It is a notable step for a major Democrat to endorse an independent over his own party's nominee. According to ABC News, some Democrats believe Bodnar, a former University of Montana president and Green Beret, stands a better chance against Republican Kurt Alme than Bankhead does. Election handicapper Decision Desk HQ rates the race "likely Republican" and gives Alme about an 89 percent probability of winning.

Polls disagree on the margin but agree on the shape

The polling picture is mixed. Decision Desk HQ's average as of Friday morning showed Alme at 41.9 percent, Bodnar at 29.4 percent and Bankhead at 17.1 percent, according to The Hill. A Concord Public Opinion Partners survey conducted October 6-8 among 405 likely voters for the Bodnar campaign put Bodnar ahead 37 percent to 35 percent, with Bankhead at 13 percent, Libertarian Kyle Austin at 1 percent and 13 percent undecided. A Quantus Insights poll released October 20 had Alme at 44 percent, Bodnar at 28 percent and Bankhead at 21 percent. Reporting on a September American Pulse survey of 604 likely voters found Alme at 45 percent, Bodnar at 26 percent and Bankhead at 19 percent, with 44.8 percent of Bodnar's supporters identifying as independents, 38.1 percent as Democrats and 14.5 percent as Republicans.

A no-caucus pledge and a ballot fight frame the finale

Bodnar, 47, graduated first in his class at West Point, studied at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, served with the 101st Airborne Division and 1st Special Forces Group with deployments including Iraq, worked as a GE Transportation executive, and led the University of Montana from 2018 to 2026. He has pledged that, if elected, he will serve as a true independent and caucus with neither party. Alme, a former U.S. attorney for the District of Montana who served from March 2025 to March 2026, captured more than 75 percent of the Republican primary vote and is running as the preferred successor of retiring Senator Steve Daines. Bankhead won the Democratic primary with 48,772 votes, or 43.6 percent. She has accused the Democratic National Committee of offering her a staff job to drop out and endorse Bodnar, an allegation the DNC denies; Bodnar's campaign says he never asked her to withdraw. Voters decide on November 3, and whether Buttigieg's name can consolidate non-Republican voters behind Bodnar is the closing question of the race.