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Republicans cut first ad attacking Seth Bodnar, potential Daines challenger • Daily Montanan [1]

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Date: 2026-01 

Within hours of University of Montana President Seth Bodnar announcing he is stepping down from that role, further fueling speculation that he will soon announce a run for the U.S. Senate, Republicans are already out swinging.

On Wednesday afternoon, a conservative political action committee in Montana released the first attack ad against Bodnar.

The ad was posted on the Facebook page of the Leadership in Action PAC, which lists Attorney General Austin Knudsen as honorary chairman.

Jake Eaton, a Republican political consultant who managed Gov. Greg Gianforte and Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s campaigns and works with the PAC, described Bodnar as an “East Coast academic elitist who loaded up on woke liberal professors, hit Montana students with 30 percent tuition hikes, and allowed men to compete in women’s sports.”

“We are not going to stand idly by while Bodnar and his left-coast allies try to scam Montana voters,” Eaton said in a press release.

The 30-second ad blames Bodnar for increased college tuition costs in Montana, and calls out the case of the only known transgender college athlete in Montana who competed on the UM track and cross country teams, which happened according to NCAA policies in place at the time.

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[1] Url: https://dailymontanan.com/briefs/republicans-cut-first-ad-attacking-seth-bodnar-potential-daines-challenger/

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