(The Center Square) – Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen is seeking reelection, he announced on Tuesday.
The Republican from Bainville said he wants to continue to focus his efforts on combating crime, the illegal drug trade, and protecting Montanans’ freedoms.
“I ran in 2020 because as a county prosecutor, I saw firsthand the damage drugs and violent crime were doing to communities across the state, and how little was being done at the state level to turn the tide,” Knudsen in a news release. “We’ve made tremendous progress at the Department of Justice over the last three years increasing resources for law enforcement and strengthening laws to crack down on drugs, human trafficking, and sex offenders, but the fight isn’t over.”
The attorney general also took aim at President Joe Biden’s agenda, which he called “disastrous,” adding that the president has “abdicated his duty to secure the border, allowing drugs to pour into our country, making the fight against crime in Montana more difficult.”
“His administration and its allied anti-gun activists attack the right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms, and his energy policies are draining family budgets and making our nation less secure,” Knudsen said. “It will take years to undo the harm he has done – but I’m committed to getting the job done for Montanans and humbly ask for their support to do so.”
Knudsen, a former speaker of Montana’s House of Representatives, assumed the attorney general’s office in 2021. The only other candidate in the attorney general race currently, according to Ballotpedia, is Ben Alke, who’s running in the Democratic primary.
The Republican Attorneys General Association is supporting Knudsen’s reelection campaign.
“Our fight against the administrative state is relentless because it’s been hijacked by the radical left and they won’t stop until they’ve taken over every aspect of American life, from education to banking to recreation,” RAGA Executive Director Peter Bisbee said in a press release. “As RAGA prepares for the final year of the Biden Administration, we need strong attorneys general, like Austin Knudsen, to continue the successful defense of our Constitution and the rule of law. During his first term, General Knudsen has earned the trust of Montanas through his vigorous defense of state interests against unlawful federal mandates.”
