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Austin Knudsen

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Not to be confused with Casey Knudsen.

Austin Knudsen
25th Attorney General of Montana
Incumbent
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 43–44)
Political partyRepublican
SpouseChristie
Children3
RelativesRhonda Knudsen (mother)
EducationMontana State University (BA, BS)
University of Montana (JD)
Signature

Austin Miles Knudsen (born 1980 or 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

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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

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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

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

Attorney General of Montana

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See also: 2020 Montana Attorney General election
See also: 2024 Montana Attorney General election

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] On October 23, 2024 the Commission on Practice recommended to the Montana Supreme Court that Knudsen’s license to practice law be suspended for three months for actions committed by himself or by Department of Justice attorneys who he was supervising, finding that he undermined public trust in the legal system by refusing to comply with a Montana Supreme Court order and disparaging justices.[15] After all but two of the Montana Supreme Court justices recused themselves, a panel of mostly district court justices heard arguments on the disciplinary case in late March 2025.[16]

On August 16, 2024 the online Daily Montanan published a redacted copy of an internal personnel survey conducted in early 2024 of Montana highway patrol staff that included criticism of Knudsen and the Attorney General's office. Within days the Attorney General's office sent a letter demanding that the survey document be taken down, but the Daily Montanan refused.[17] On September 27, 2024 former Montana Highway Patrol Colonel Steve Lavin filed suit against Knudsen and the state claiming that he had been coerced into resigning in March 2024. Lavin's suit claimed that Knudsen was upset about the results of the internal personnel survey, and deceived Lavin into believing that Knudsen could legally fire him and deprive him of his pension benefits.[18]

In the 2024 election, Knudsen admitted that he recruited his own primary opponent as a dummy candidate who would not campaign in order to raise more money, a potential violation of campaign finance laws.[19]

As of November 25, with 97% of the vote counted, NBC has declared Knudsen the winner with almost 60% of the vote.[20]

Electoral history

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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[21]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Austin Knudsen 348,322 58.51
Democratic Raph Graybill 247,025 41.49
Total votes 595,347 100
Montana Attorney General election, 2024[22]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Austin Knudsen 352,682 59.71
Democratic Ben Alke 237,928 40.29
Total votes 590,610 100

Personal life

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

References

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  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 October 5, 2017. Retrieved October 4, 2017.
  4. ^ Montana Legislature. "Knudsen, Austin". Retrieved January 29, 2012.
  5. ^ "- Montana State Legislature". Archived from the original on August 2, 2019.
  6. ^ "Austin Knudsen". Ballotpedia. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  7. ^ "The Voter's Self Defense System".
  8. ^ KNUDSEN, AUSTIN (June 20, 2016). "Gianforte right on immigration". missoulian.com. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  9. ^ a b "Austin Knudsen - Ballotpedia". Retrieved October 4, 2017.
  10. ^ "Austin Knudsen announces candidacy - Google Search". www.google.com. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  11. ^ "Starkly different visions for MT's attorney general". Montana Free Press. June 5, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  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. ^ Lutey, Tom (October 24, 2024). "Montana Attorney General Knudsen faces law license suspension". Montana Free Press. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  16. ^ https://montanafreepress.org/2025/03/28/judges-question-disciplinary-case-against-ag-knudsen/ "Judges question treatment of Knudsen in disciplinary case", Tom Lutey, March 28, 2025, Montana Free Press
  17. ^ https://www.mtpr.org/montana-news/2024-09-03/justice-department-orders-news-site-to-remove-highway-patrol-survey-responses Justice department orders news site to remove highway patrol survey responses, Edward F. O'Brien, Daily Montanan, September 3, 2024
  18. ^ Szpaller, Keila (October 1, 2024). "Former chief of Montana Highway Patrol sues Attorney General Austin Knudsen • Daily Montanan". Daily Montanan. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  19. ^ "Montana's attorney general said he recruited token primary opponent to increase campaign fundraising". AP News. May 17, 2024. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  20. ^ "Montana Attorney General Election 2024 Live Results". www.nbcnews.com. November 25, 2024. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  21. ^ "Montana Statewide Election Results". Montana Secretary of State. November 3, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  22. ^ "Montana Statewide Election Results". Montana Secretary of State. November 5, 2024. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
[edit]
Political offices
Preceded by Speaker of the Montana House of Representatives
2015–2019 		Succeeded by
Legal offices
Preceded by Attorney General of Montana
2021–present 		Incumbent
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