Federal Election Commission records show LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman donated $7,000 — the maximum allowed under federal law — to independent U.S. Senate candidate Seth Bodnar’s campaign in Montana. The contribution lands Bodnar on a growing list of Senate candidates nationwide who have received financial backing from Hoffman ahead of November’s midterms.
Hoffman has acknowledged visiting Jeffrey Epstein’s private island and has faced renewed public scrutiny after Justice Department records detailed his travel and interactions connected to Epstein, including a 2014 email in which Hoffman referenced sending ice cream “for the girls.” Hoffman has not been accused of any criminal wrongdoing related to Epstein. He has said his involvement stemmed from fundraising efforts for MIT, telling the Wall Street Journal, “It gnaws at me that, by lending my association, I helped his reputation, and thus delayed justice for his survivors,” and adding he was “sorry for my personal misjudgment.”
The donation to Bodnar comes with its own local backstory. Bodnar served as president of the University of Montana when, in 2021, 18 female employees filed a federal Title IX lawsuit alleging a workplace culture that favored men. Attorneys for the women wrote that Bodnar “favored young, attractive and fit women, while older, less attractive women were publicly critiqued,” and argued that the university “did not create a glass ceiling for these women’s careers. UM created a brick wall.”
The University of Montana settled the case in 2024 for $350,000 while denying any wrongdoing. The lawsuit never went to trial, and the settlement did not establish the allegations as legally proven.
Democratic Rival Calls for Withdrawal
Montana’s Democratic Senate nominee, Alani Bankhead, raised the lawsuit publicly during a June appearance on the University of Montana campus, calling on Bodnar to drop out of the race. “We are in the Epstein era. Seth has established a pattern of dismissing and discriminating against women and allowing a culture of discrimination to at minimum continue or even worse magnify these issues,” Bankhead said. “Anyone with this much sex discrimination baggage should read the room and drop out,” she added.
Bankhead herself faced pressure earlier this year to leave the race. Documents reported on by the Washington Reporter in August indicated that establishment Democrats urged people close to Bankhead to convince her to withdraw and clear the field for Bodnar, reportedly including guidance on downplaying the university lawsuit. Neither Bankhead nor Bodnar withdrew before the August 10 filing deadline, leaving both in the race alongside Republican Kurt Alme.
Hoffman’s Broader Pattern of Giving
Hoffman’s donation to Bodnar is one of several he has made to Democratic-aligned candidates this cycle. He has given $7,000 to Sen. Jon Ossoff’s reelection campaign in Georgia and $1 million to an affiliated PAC — contributions that drew questions from Rep. Mike Collins during an October 13 debate. In Texas, Hoffman has steered roughly $11.5 million to groups backing Senate nominee James Talarico. He has also given $250,000 to Iowa gubernatorial nominee Rob Sand and more than $1.8 million since 2021 to WelcomePAC, which has supported Pennsylvania congressional candidate Janelle Stelson.
Bodnar, running as an independent, has also drawn attention for raising $1.76 million through the Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue as of August — about half of the $3.2 million his campaign had raised through June 30. He previously registered as a Democrat in Connecticut and has staffed his campaign with Democrats. Republican nominee Kurt Alme has called on him to return the ActBlue money, describing him as a “far-left Democrat in Disguise.”
At an October 12 press conference alongside fellow independent Senate candidates Dan Osborn of Nebraska and Brian Bengs of South Dakota, Bodnar pledged to be “a true independent, caucusing with neither party and answering only to the people of this great state,” saying he would work with either party “when they’re right for Montana” and push back against both “when they’re doing something that’s wrong for Montana.” His campaign has drawn endorsements from former Democratic Sens. Jon Tester and Max Baucus as well as former Republican Gov. Marc Racicot.
Where the Race Stands
A Quantus Insights survey of 686 likely Montana voters, conducted October 15-18, shows Alme leading with 43.8 percent support, followed by Bodnar at 28.2 percent and Bankhead at 20.6 percent. Libertarian candidate Kyle Austin polled at 1.7 percent, with 5.2 percent of voters undecided.
