Attorney General of Montana

Montana Attorney General
General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$145,566
2025 FY Budget:	$148,014,876
Term limits:	Two terms in a 16-year period
Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Montana Constitution, Article VI, Section 1 the Executive Department
Selection Method:	Elected
Current Officeholder
Attorney General of Montana Austin Knudsen Republican Party Assumed office: 2021-01-04
Elections
Next election:	November 5, 2024
Last election:	November 3, 2020
Other Montana Executive Offices
Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Superintendent of Public Instruction • Agriculture Director • Insurance Commissioner • Natural Resources Director • Labor Commissioner • Public Service Commission

The Attorney General of Montana is an elected constitutional position in the executive branch of the Montana state government. The attorney general is the state's chief legal officer, chief law enforcement officer and director of the Montana Department of Justice. The attorney general also serves as a member of the Montana Land Board and the Board of Examiners. The attorney general has the authority to provide legal opinions to the state legislature, state officers, city and county attorneys, among others. The attorney general also has supervisory authority over the state's 56 county attorneys and, at the request of local, state or federal law enforcement agencies, can investigate criminal violations of law.

Montana has a Republican triplex. The Republican Party controls the offices of governor, secretary of state, and attorney general.

Current officeholder

The current officeholder is Republican Austin Knudsen. He was elected on November 3, 2020.

Authority

The Montana Constitution addresses the office of attorney general in Article VI, the Executive Department.

Under Article VI, Section I:

The executive branch includes a governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general...

Qualifications

Article VI, Section 3 of the Montana Constitution lists the qualification for the attorney general.

Text of Section 3: Qualifications (1) No person shall be eligible to the office of governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, superintendent of public instruction, or auditor unless he is 25 years of age or older at the time of his election. In addition, each shall be a citizen of the United States who has resided within the state two years next preceding his election. (2) Any person with the foregoing qualifications is eligible to the office of attorney general if an attorney in good standing admitted to practice law in Montana who has engaged in the active practice thereof for at least five years before election. (3) The superintendent of public instruction shall have such educational qualifications as are provided by law.

Elections

Montana state government organizational chart

Article VI of the Montana State Constitution stipulates that the attorney general is a publicly elected official who serves a term of four years. Terms begin the first Monday of January following election.

2024

See also: Montana Attorney General election, 2024

General election

The primary will occur on June 4, 2024. The general election will occur on November 5, 2024. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of Montana

Ben Alke is running in the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Montana on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate
		Ben Alke

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	There are no incumbents in this race.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of Montana

Incumbent Austin Knudsen and Logan Olson are running in the Republican primary for Attorney General of Montana on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate
		Austin Knudsen
		Logan Olson

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
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2020

See also: Montana Attorney General election, 2020

General election

General election for Attorney General of Montana

Austin Knudsen defeated Raph Graybill in the general election for Attorney General of Montana on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Austin Knudsen (R)	58.5	348,322
		Raph Graybill (D)	41.5	247,025

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 595,347
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Roy Davis (G)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of Montana

Raph Graybill defeated Kimberly Dudik in the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Montana on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Raph Graybill	57.1	80,038
		Kimberly Dudik	42.9	60,143

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 140,181
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• James Cossitt (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of Montana

Austin Knudsen defeated Jon Bennion in the Republican primary for Attorney General of Montana on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Austin Knudsen	59.8	116,475
		Jon Bennion	40.2	78,419

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 194,894
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Green primary election

Green primary for Attorney General of Montana

Roy Davis advanced from the Green primary for Attorney General of Montana on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Roy Davis	100.0	752

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 752
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2016

See also: Montana Attorney General election, 2016

The general election for attorney general was held on November 8, 2016.

Incumbent Tim Fox defeated Larry Jent in the Montana attorney general election.

Montana Attorney General, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Tim Fox Incumbent	67.67%	332,766
	Democratic	Larry Jent	32.33%	158,970
Total Votes				491,736
Source: Montana Secretary of State

Full History

To view the electoral history dating back to 2000 for the office of Montana Attorney General, click [show] to expand the section.

2012 See also: Montana attorney general election, 2012 Incumbent Steve Bullock (D) did not run for re-election. Tim Fox (R) defeated Pam Bucy (R) in the November 6, 2012 general election. Attorney General of Montana, 2012 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Tim Fox 53.7% 252,916      Democratic Pam Bucy 46.3% 218,228 Total Votes 471,144 Election results via Montana Secretary of State 2008 Bullock defeated Republican Tim Fox to become Montana Attorney General in 2008. Montana Attorney General, 2008 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Steve Bullock 52.6% 245,669      Republican Tim Fox 47.4% 220,992 Total Votes 466,661 Election results via Montana Secretary of State 2004 McGrath (D) ran unopposed for re-election in 2004. Montana Attorney General, 2004 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Mike McGrath Incumbent 100% 344,548 Total Votes 344,548 Election results via Montana Secretary of State 2000 Montana Attorney General, 2000 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Mike McGrath 53.2% 211,726      Republican Jim Rice 46.8% 186,299 Total Votes 398,025 Election results via Montana Secretary of State

Term limits

Term limits for the attorney general are defined in Article IV, Section 8 of the Montana Constitution, which disqualifies candidates for attorney general who have served in the office for eight or more years in any 16-year period.

Montana Constitution, Article IV, Section 8:

(1) The secretary of state or other authorized official shall not certify a candidate's nomination or election to, or print or cause to be printed on any ballot the name of a candidate for, one of the following offices if, at the end of the current term of that office, the candidate will have served in that office or had he not resigned or been recalled would have served in that office: (a) 8 or more years in any 16-year period as governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state auditor, attorney general, or superintendent of public instruction; (b) 8 or more years in any 16-year period as a state representative; (c) 8 or more years in any 16-year period as a state senator; (d) 6 or more years in any 12-year period as a member of the U.S. house of representatives; and (e) 12 or more years in any 24-year period as a member of the U.S. senate. (2) When computing time served for purposes of subsection (1), the provisions of subsection (1) do not apply to time served in terms that end during or prior to January 1993. (3) Nothing contained herein shall preclude an otherwise qualified candidate from being certified as nominated or elected by virtue of write-in votes cast for said candidate.

Vacancies

Details of vacancies are addressed under Article VI, Section 6.

If the attorney general's office is vacant due to death, resignation, or disability, the governor shall appoint a new attorney general.

Duties

The Montana Constitution addresses the duties of the attorney general in Article VI, Section 4.

Under Article VI, Section 4(4):

The attorney general is the legal officer of the state and shall have the duties and powers provided by law.

Role in the initiative process

There are two main ways in which the state attorney general influences the initiative and referendum process in Montana. First, the attorney general works with the secretary of state and with the submittors of proposed ballot measures to ensure the legality of ballot language. Second, the attorney general can issue opinions offering interpretations about aspects of the initiative process about which there is some ambiguity—and these opinions have the force of the law.

Ballot text approval

After the ballot measure text has been approved, a copy goes to the attorney general's office to verify its legality. If the attorney general determines that a proposed issue is legally sufficient but that the ballot statements clearly do not comply with legal requirements, the attorney general prepares statements that comply with applicable requirements and forwards them to the secretary of state. The review by the attorney general must be completed within 30 days of when the attorney general receives the draft petition.

The attorney general also writes an explanatory statement for all ballot measures that is published in the Voter Information Pamphlet (2006 example dead link). The statement is required to be an impartial explanation of the purpose of the ballot measures. It is also required to be written using easy-to-understand language. Part of the explanatory statement includes "for" and "against" sections for each issue on the ballot. If necessary, the attorney general will also prepare a fiscal statement.

Divisions

As of January 11, 2021, the Office of the Attorney General of Montana contains the following divisions:

• Legal
• Central Services
• Criminal Investigation
• Forensic Science
• Gambling Control
• Consumer Protection and Victim Services
• Information Technology Services
• Motor Vehicle
• Natural Resource Damage Program

State budget

See also: Montana state budget and finances

The Montana Department of Justice's budget for Fiscal Year 2025 was $148,014,876.

Compensation

Under Article VI, Section 5 of the Montana Constitution, the attorney general's salary is fixed by law and the officeholder may not receive any other compensation while in office.

In 1995, the Montana Legislature passed MCA 2-16-403 and MCA 2-16-405, which require the state department of administration to conduct a salary survey every other year of elected officials for North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho and Montana. The salary for the attorney general is determined by calculating the average salary of the attorneys general in the five states. The adjusted salary is effective July 1 of the year following the survey.

2022

In 2022, the officer's salary was $145,566, according to the Council of State Governments.

2021

In 2021, the attorney general received a salary of $141,023, according to the Council of State Governments.

2020

In 2020, the attorney general received a salary of $141,023, according to the Council of State Governments.

2019

In 2019, the attorney general received a salary of $137,008, according to the Council of State Governments.

2018

In 2018, the attorney general received a salary of $137,008, according to the Council of State Governments.

2017

In 2017, the attorney general received a salary of $123,499, according to the Council of State Governments.

2016

In 2016, the attorney general received a salary of $123,499, according to the Council of State Governments.

2015

In 2015, the attorney general received a salary of $115,817, according to the Council of State Governments.

2014

In 2014, the attorney general earned a salary of $115,817, according to the Council of State Governments.

2013

In 2013, the attorney general was paid an estimated $104,077, according to the Council of State Governments.

2010

In 2010, the attorney general was paid an estimated $89,602, according to the Council of State Governments.

Historical officeholders

Since 1889 Montana has had 25 attorneys general.

#	Name	Took office	Left office	Party
1	Henri J. Haskill	November 8, 1889	January 4, 1897
2	C.B. Nolan	January 4, 1897	January 7, 1901
3	James Donovan	January 1, 1901	January 2, 1905
4	Albert J. Galen	January 2, 1905	January 6, 1913
5	D.M. Kelly	January 6, 1913	May 31, 1915
6	J.B. Poindexter	May 31, 1915	January 1, 1917
7	S.C. Ford	January 1, 1917	January 3, 1921
8	Wellington D. Rankin	January 3, 1921	August 30, 1924
9	L.A. Foot	August 30, 1924	January 2, 1933
10	Raymond T. Nagle	January 2, 1933	November 1, 1936
11	Enor K. Matson	November 1, 1936	January 4, 1937
12	Harrison K. Freebourn	January 4, 1937	January 6, 1941
13	John W. Bonner	January 6, 1941	May 1, 1942
14	Howard M. Gullickson	May 1, 1942	August 3, 1949
15	R.V. Bottombly	August 3, 1942	January 7, 1957
16	Arnold H. Olsen	January 3, 1949	January 7, 1957
17	Forrest H. Anderson	January 7, 1957	January 5, 1969
18	Robert I. Woodahl	January 6, 1969	January 2, 1977
19	Mike Greely	January 3, 1977	January 2, 1989
20	Marc Racicot	January 2, 1989	January 4, 1993
21	Joseph P. Mazurek	January 4, 1993	January 2, 2001
22	Mike McGrath	January 2, 2001	January 5, 2009	Democratic
23	Stephen Bullock	January 5, 2009	January 7, 2013	Democratic
24	Tim Fox	January 7, 2013	January 4, 2021	Republican
25	Austin Knudsen	January 4, 2021	Present	Republican

Contact information

Attorney General's Office
Department of Justice
P.O. Box 201401
Helena, MT 59620-1401

Phone: 406-444-2026
Fax: 406-444-3549
E-mail: contactdoj@mt.gov

External links

Suggest a link

• Office of the Montana Attorney General
• About the Office of the Montana Attorney General