Austin Knudsen
25th Attorney General of Montana
Assumed office
January 4, 2021
GovernorGreg Gianforte
Preceded byTim Fox
53rd Speaker of the Montana House of Representatives
In office
January 5, 2015 – January 7, 2019
Preceded byMark Blasdel
Succeeded byGreg Hertz
Member of the Montana House of Representatives
from the 34th district
In office
January 3, 2011 – January 7, 2019
Preceded byJulie French
Succeeded byRhonda Knudsen
Personal details
Born
Austin Miles Knudsen[1]

1980 or 1981 (age 42–43)
Political partyRepublican
SpouseChristie
Children3
RelativesRhonda Knudsen (mother)
EducationMontana State University (BA, BS)
University of Montana (JD)

Austin Miles Knudsen (born 1980/1981)[2] is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Attorney General of Montana. He formerly served as the Speaker of the Montana House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019.[3][4] During his time in the Montana House from 2010 to 2018, he represented House District 36, which includes the Culbertson area.[5]

Early life and education

Knudsen was raised in Culbertson, Montana. He earned a Bachelor of Science in sociology and Bachelor of Arts in political science from Montana State University. He then earned a Juris Doctor from the Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana.[6][7]

Career

Knudsen was elected to the Montana House of Representatives in 2010 and took office in 2011. From 2015 to 2019, Knudsen served as the Speaker of the Montana House.

In a 2016 op-ed in The Montana Standard, Knudsen expressed opposition to President Barack Obama's policy regarding allowing Syrian refugees to enter the United States. In an op-ed, Knudsen cited his grandfather's immigration from Denmark and claimed that Syrian refugees were not required to assimilate to American culture, and that "Much of this Muslim culture is foreign and strange to us."[8]

Knudsen was unable to seek re-election to the House in 2018 due to term limits; he successfully sought election as Roosevelt County Attorney instead.

Legislation

In 2017, Knudsen authored a number of pieces of legislation. He introduced bills to:[9]

Attorney General of Montana

In May 2019, Knudsen announced his candidacy for Attorney General of Montana in the 2020 election.[10] Knudsen defeated Jon Bennion, the state deputy Attorney General, in the Republican primary. He defeated Raph Graybill[11] in the November general election,[12][13] and was sworn in on January 4, 2021.

On September 5, 2023, special counsel Timothy Strauch filed 41 counts of prosecutorial misconduct against Knudsen with the Montana Office of Disciplinary Counsel, recommending "an adjudicatory panel from the commission be formed to hear the allegations and forward a recommendation to the Montana Supreme Court for possible disciplinary action."[14]

Electoral history

Montana’s 36th District House of Representatives election, 2016[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Austin Knudsen 4,278 77.49
Democratic Evelyn Carlisle 1,243 22.51
Total votes 5,521 100
Montana Attorney General election, 2020[15]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Austin Knudsen 348,322 58.51
Democratic Raph Graybill 247,025 41.49
Total votes 595,347 100

Personal life

Knudsen is married (wife, Christie) with three children. He is of Danish descent.

References

  1. ↑ "Austin Miles Knudsen Profile | Culbertson, MT Lawyer | Martindale.com". www.martindale.com.
  2. ↑ "Austin Knudsen 2020 Election Questionnaire". Montana Public Radio. May 21, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Montana Legislature: House of Representatives". leg.mt.gov. Archived from the original on 2017-10-05. Retrieved 2017-10-04.
  4. ↑ Montana Legislature. "Knudsen, Austin". Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  5. ↑ "- Montana State Legislature". Archived from the original on 2019-08-02.
  6. ↑ "Austin Knudsen". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
  7. ↑ "The Voter's Self Defense System".
  8. ↑ KNUDSEN, AUSTIN (20 June 2016). "Gianforte right on immigration". missoulian.com. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
  9. 1 2 "Austin Knudsen - Ballotpedia". Retrieved 2017-10-04.
  10. ↑ "Austin Knudsen announces candidacy - Google Search". www.google.com. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
  11. ↑ "Starkly different visions for MT's attorney general". Montana Free Press. 2020-06-05. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
  12. ↑ Silvers, Mara (November 4, 2020). "Knudsen gets the nod for attorney general". Montana Free Press. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  13. ↑ Mabie, Nora; Drake, Phil (November 4, 2020). "Republican Austin Knudsen wins attorney general race". Great Falls Tribune. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  14. ↑ Larson, Seaborn (September 5, 2023). "Special counsel files professional misconduct complaint against Montana Attorney General". Billings Gazette. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Montana Statewide Election Results". Montana Secretary of State. November 3, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
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