Thanks for ending your week with TheWesternWord. Here are the topics for today’s independent commentary:

• Mountain State Poll
• Nathan Ross Harlan
• Thank You, Baseball
• In Case You Missed It
• One More Thing

MOUNTAIN STATE POLL:

MSU Billings has released the 39th edition of the Mountain State Poll, conducted by political science students at Montana State University Billings. (Source)

Skeptics are predictably writing off the poll as biased, citing its unproven track record in Montana—though they would surely be celebrating if the numbers favored their own candidates. That’s politics!

The poll found that President Trump has a job performance disapproval rating of 56%.

Governor Greg Gianforte’s job performance has 35% approval and 30% disapproval. Gianforte has the highest approval rating of Zinke, Downing, Daines, and Sheehy.

The poll results from the 1st Congressional District were the most interesting to me:

Democrat Sam Forstag has 49%.

Republican Aaron Flint has 32%.

Don’t Know came in at 11%.

The poll results from the U.S. Senate race show:

Republican Kurt Alme has 30%.

Independent Seth Bodnar has 26%.

Democrat Alani Bankhead has 21%.

One interesting question asked was, “Do you approve or disapprove of continued US support to Israel militarily and economically?”

40% Disapproved

23% Approved

Regarding Iran, 55% said they disapproved of U.S. military action.

I did not see any results for the State Supreme Court race.

There are many other interesting results. You can view the poll HERE.

NATHAN ROSS HARLAN:

This could soon become the standard MAGA playbook: the moment an election irregularity pops up—like suspected signature fraud—you get in front of a camera immediately and sound the alarm as loudly as possible. That is what happened recently in Cascade County.

MTN News is reporting that Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter was joined by Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen and Cascade County leaders Wednesday to update the public on an investigation that found fraudulent signatures had been gathered on petitions for independent U.S. Senate candidate Seth Bodnar and independent U.S. House candidate Mike Eisenhauer.

It was also reported that the investigation found no wrongdoing by either candidate, and both campaigns cooperated fully with law enforcement. The ballots in question were not counted toward the candidates’ requirements to qualify for the ballot.

Slaughter, Jacobsen, Cascade County Attorney Josh Racki, and Cascade County Elections Administrator Terry Thompson held a press conference online to announce that Cascade County has filed four misdemeanor counts against Harlan.

Extensive time and taxpayer money completely wasted on four minor misdemeanors. But feeding the MAGA voting conspiracy machine? Apparently, that’s priceless.

THANK YOU, BASEBALL:

I really loved the World Series this year. I don’t even have skin in the game for either team, but watching the Brewers win 4-1 over the Rays was pure entertainment.

Honestly, we all needed a few hours every night to completely forget about the disaster that is modern politics.

Thank you, baseball.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• According to a report by the Montana State News Bureau (Pay Wall) published on October 29, 2026, former Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Reilly Neill filed a formal complaint with the Montana Democratic State Party alleging that party officials surreptitiously sidelined her campaign during the primary election cycle.

• CNBC reports that legendary musician Neil Young filed a $10 million lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s campaign committee for infringing Young’s copyright by playing his song “Rockin’ in the Free World” just before Trump took the stage to speak at an Oct. 12 Trump rally in Youngstown, Ohio. (Source)

• I asked an AI program, “Approximately how many Dan Sullivans reside in Alaska?” (Background) Here is the response:

According to Alaska public court records and voter data, there are at least 12 individuals named Daniel Sullivan (or Dan Sullivan) residing in Alaska. Other research I conducted found 20-40 people named Dan or Daniel Sullivan.

The name has gained significant attention in the state due to a notable political overlap. The two most prominent figures are:

Dan S. Sullivan: The Republican incumbent serving as the junior U.S. Senator for Alaska.

Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.: A retired teacher from Petersburg, Alaska, who registered to run in the same 2026 congressional election cycle, leading to high-profile litigation over ballot naming clarity

ONE MORE THING:

It has been brought to my attention that I have offended some of you. I apologize. I meant to offend all of you!

## HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND ##