tia with fellow Marines, and claimed that they did not know the symbol- ism. Platner has since had the tattoo covered up. He also came under fire for posts


he made on the internet between 2013 and 2021, in which he said, “All cops are bastards,” and that rural Ameri- cans were “racist” and “ignorant.”


Race B


Queried about it on CNN, Platner


said, “That was very much me f-----g around the internet. I don’t think any of that is indicative of who I am today.” Condemned by Mills and Collins


for his remarks, Platner appears to have survived the storm. Much of his dodging the proverbial bullet is related to the present econom-


Nobody Saw


Coming


y all accounts, two-term Republican Sen. Steve Daines of Montana would have coasted to his third term.


Having won his first bid in 2014


after a solo term in the House, Daines skated to reelection in 2020 over popu- lar Gov. Steve Bullock. Following a successful stint as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, in which the GOP gained a majority in the Senate, Daines was riding high in ’26. But it was not to be. At age 63,


Daines decided he had had enough. He let colleagues and fellow Montan- ans know this on March 4 — precisely eight minutes before the close of the filing deadline. One of the few who knew Daines’ intentions was former U.S. Attorney for Montana Kurt Alme, who also had the behind-the-scenes backing of the Trump White House. Given the timing and the people


in the know, the conservative Alme, who had previously served as state budget director under Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte, was the certain GOP nominee. But Daines’ “switcheroo,” as The New York Times reported, left even


some Republicans upset that he had manipulated the tim- ing of the filing to put in the candidate favored by Presi- dent Donald Trump; Mon- tana’s other GOP senator, Tim Sheehy; Gianforte; and Daines himself. What effect this will have


on the general election this fall is uncertain. But it did come as a unique candidate was emerging in a year when outsider candidates were becoming quite fashionable. In fact, Alme’s main opponent


in the general election was not even a Democrat. Seth Bodnar, who until recently was


president of the University of Mon- tana, filed as an independent for the Senate the same day Daines exited in favor of Alme. A West Point graduate and former Green Beret who saw action in Iraq,


Bodnar later taught at his alma mater and was a senior executive at General Electric before assuming the helm of the university in 2018. So far, his views on issues are


relatively unknown, and his inde- pendent background is being empha- sized by supporters. Bodnar was encouraged to run


as an independent by former Dem- ocrat Sen. Jon Tester. Unseated by Sheehy in 2024, Tester argued that Bodnar would be stronger as an independent than the Democrat front-runner for nomination, state Rep. Reilly Neill. Most political observers in Big Sky


Country agree that Bodnar will get considerable support from Demo- crats, despite passing on their party to make the race. Neill, a populist who campaigns


on universal healthcare and restoring the Fairness Doctrine (which would weaken conservative talk radio by requiring stations to give equal time to opposing views), appears deter- mined to stay in the race. A three-candidate race would


BODNAR


almost certainly benefit Alme over Bodnar and Neill. But there is the question of whether lingering resent- ment over the circumstances of his candidacy would weaken his odds.


MAY 2026 | NEWSMAX 45


ic condition of the Pine Tree State. As the Maine Morning Star


noted: “Platner’s economic populism appears to be resonating with Maine voters, nearly half of whom (47%) told the pollsters that their household is financially worse off than a year ago, compared to just 14% who say they are better off.”


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