Analysis | KHEW News Staff | As of Oct. 13, 2026. KHEW does not endorse candidates.
All four of Montana’s U.S. Senate candidates shared a stage Sunday morning, Oct. 11, at Bozeman’s Field and Stream Lodge, and Social Security drew one of the clearest contrasts of the night, according to Montana Public Radio.
The candidates were Republican Kurt Alme, Democrat Alani Bankhead, independent Seth Bodnar and Libertarian Kyle Austin. MTPR reported they covered housing costs, federal spending, health care, Social Security, immigration and foreign policy. The full recording is from the Montana Broadcasters Association, and MTPR links to it. It is worth watching before relying on clips, which can drop a question or a qualifier.
What came up
Social Security. MTPR reported the candidates talked about keeping the program going but differed on how to pay for it and what to change.
Immigration. Candidates used distinct language about border enforcement and due process, according to MTPR.
Independence. Bodnar reiterated his plan not to caucus with either party and called doubts about committee assignments “a red herring,” MTPR reported.
Data centers. The debate included questions about data centers, which bring their own issues with utilities, land and resources.
Housing and spending. Housing costs hit small towns as well as cities, though zoning is local and the federal role is narrower. Any promise to cut costs needs details: which revenue, which programs, over what time frame.
What Hi-Line voters may still want to hear
A single debate cannot cover everything. Rural health care access, from providers to insurance costs, deserves its own questions. So do agriculture and trade, which matter to producers and employers across the Hi-Line.
Federal decisions also touch tribal sovereignty, health care and education on reservations like Rocky Boy. The MTPR report does not show tribal treaty or trust questions being asked in Bozeman, and KHEW is not going to put answers in candidates’ mouths. Those are fair questions to put to all four, the same way, before Election Day on Nov. 3.
Election calendars and voting information are on the Montana Secretary of State’s site.
