# Austin Knudsen

Austin Miles Knudsen (born 1980 or 1981) 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. During his time in the Montana House from 2010 to 2018, he represented House District 36, which includes the Culbertson area.

## 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.

## 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."
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:
* Provide loans to owners of coal-fired generating units
* Revise laws related to boycotts of Israel
* Revise oil and gas lease provisions
* Clarify that property owners are not liable for firefighters' actions

### Attorney General of Montana

In May 2019, Knudsen announced his candidacy for Attorney General of Montana in the 2020 election. Knudsen defeated Jon Bennion, the state deputy Attorney General, in the Republican primary. He defeated Raph Graybill in the November general election, 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." 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.
On September 27, 2024 former Montana Highway Patrol Colonel Steve Lavin filed suit against Knudsen claiming that he had been coerced into resigning in March of 2024. Lavin's suit claimed that Knudsen was upset about the results of an internal personnel survey of highway patrol members that included criticism of Knudsen and the Attorney General's office, and deceived Lavin into believing that Knudsen could legally fire him and deprive him of his pension benefits.
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.
As of November 25th, with 97% of the vote counted, NBC has declared Knudsen the winner with almost 60% of the vote.

## Electoral history

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

## Personal life

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