Former University of Montana president Seth Bodnar and physician and veteran Michael Eisenhauer both say they’ve cleared a major hurdle ahead of the November election.
Bodnar’s campaign says it’s submitted nearly 30,000 signatures — more than double the amount required by state law for the U.S. Senate race. Eisenhauer says he’s turned in enough, more than 11,000 from voters in the Eastern U.S. House district.
County elections offices will verify the accuracy of the signatures. Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen will then certify the candidates to appear on the general election ballot, provided they obtained enough verified signatures.
Western U.S. House district candidate Kimberly Persico did not respond to MTPR’s questions about her signature numbers. She told NBC Montana this month she “doubted” she’d meet the threshold for her race.
Bodnar has so far outraised all his opponents in the race for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Republican Steve Daines, according to the Federal Election Commission. Eisenhauer’s fundraising is trailing incumbent Republican congressman Troy Downing by a nearly 7-to-1 margin.
