Montana Secretary of State officials confirmed Wednesday that three independent candidates for political office have submitted enough valid signatures to appear on the November general election ballot. Among them is Seth Bodnar, the former University of Montana president who is running for the U.S. Senate seat in a three-way race that already includes the Republican and Democratic nominees.
Getting on the Montana ballot as an independent is not a casual undertaking. Candidates must gather a set number of signatures from registered voters, and the Secretary of State's office verifies those signatures before certifying eligibility. Bodnar's campaign crossed that threshold, a logistical accomplishment that his team will likely point to as evidence of organizational capacity heading into the fall.
The Senate race Bodnar has entered is already drawing national attention as a competitive contest in a state that has trended Republican at the federal level but has periodically elected Democratic or independent candidates to statewide office. His entry as a certified independent candidate ensures that November voters in Helena and across Montana will have at least three names on that particular line of the ballot. The Secretary of State's office did not release the names of the other two certified independent candidates in Wednesday's announcement.