Four Independents Are Running for Senate in States Trump Won. Montana Shows the Democratic Squeeze.
Four independents are running for Senate in states President Trump won handily, including Idaho, South Dakota and Montana.
In Montana, Seth Bodnar, a former Green Beret, says the voters he talks to are fed up with politics as usual and that he offers a viable alternative. Bodnar says that when he goes to Washington, he won't put on a red jersey with an R or a blue jersey with a D.
The race has frustrated Democrats, split between those angry that Bodnar did not run as a Democrat and those angry that Democratic nominee Alani Bankhead did not drop out and clear a path for him.
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The independent label isn't one story. The candidates share a critique of the two-party system, but their challenges differ largely because of the role the Democratic Party plays. In Nebraska there is no Democrat running for the Senate, but Morgan is excited by Dan Osborn.
The risk is not abstract. Schweitzer says people may look in the mirror and say a Democrat without an independent would have won. Morgan's pitch for Osborn—that somebody needs to represent the working family—is the kind of claim that has to survive that recrimination.