Austin Knudsen

Austin Knudsen is an American attorney and politician who served as a member of the Montana House of Representatives from 2010 to 2018. He was elected to House District 36, which represents the Culbertson area. Knudsen also served as Speaker of the House from 2015 to 2019.[1][2]

Not to be confused with Casey Knudsen.
Austin Knudsen
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
2010–2018
Preceded byJulie French
Succeeded byRhonda Knudsen
Personal details
Political partyRepublican
RelationsRhonda Knudsen (mother)
EducationMontana State University (BS, BA)
University of Montana (JD)

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.[3][4]

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."[5]

Knudsen was unable to seek re-election in 2018 due to term limits. In May 2019, Knudsen announced his candidacy for Attorney General of Montana in the 2020 Montana elections.[6] Knudsen defeated Jon Bennion, the state deputy attorney general, in the Republican primary. He will face Raph Graybill in the November general election.[7]

Legislation

In 2017, Knudsen authored a number of pieces of legislation. He introduced bills to:[8]

Electoral history
Montana’s 36th District House of Representatives election, 2016[8]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Austin Knudsen 4,278 77.49
Democratic Evelyn Carlisle 1,243 22.51
Total votes 5,521 100

Personal life

Knudsen is of Danish descent. In 1914, Knudsen's great-grandfather Hartvig Knudsen immigrated to the United States from Denmark when he was 17 years old. In 1917, he enlisted in the Army and served in World War I.[9] Knudsen and his wife, Christie, have three children.[10]

References
  1. "Montana Legislature: House of Representatives". leg.mt.gov. Archived from the original on 2017-10-05. Retrieved 2017-10-04.
  2. Montana Legislature. "Knudsen, Austin". Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  3. "Austin Knudsen". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
  4. Austin Knudsen's Biography
  5. KNUDSEN, AUSTIN. "Gianforte right on immigration". missoulian.com. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
  6. "Austin Knudsen announces candidacy - Google Search". www.google.com. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
  7. "Starkly different visions for MT's attorney general". Montana Free Press. 2020-06-05. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
  8. "Austin Knudsen - Ballotpedia". Retrieved 2017-10-04.
  9. Knudsen, Austin (2016-06-18). "Greg Gianforte right on immigration issue". Montana Standard. Retrieved 2017-10-04.
  10. "GOP former House speaker Knudsen joins 2020 attorney general race". KTVH. 2019-05-20. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
Political offices
Preceded by
Mark Blasdel		 Speaker of the Montana House of Representatives
2015–2019		 Succeeded by
Greg Hertz
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