(C) Daily Montanan This story was originally published by Daily Montanan and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Knudsen, Jacobsen file to run for re-election in 2024 – Daily Montanan [1] ['Blair Miller', 'More From Author', '- November'] Date: 2023-11-07 Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen and Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen, both Republicans, will seek re-election in 2024, according to campaign filings made over the past week. Montana’s Campaign Electronic Reporting System shows Jacobsen filed for re-election on Nov. 2 and Knudsen did so on Monday. Knudsen released a statement Tuesday in which he touted his work on fighting drugs and human trafficking, said there was still more to be done on those topics, and criticized Democratic President Joe Biden and policies he said he disagrees with. “President Biden has been a disaster for Montana. He has abdicated his duty to secure the border, allowing drugs to pour into our country, making the fight against crime in Montana more difficult,” Knudsen said in a statement. “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. 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.” Jacobsen’s campaign released a statement to the Daily Montanan touting her work on elections and on increasing business filings in Montana. “Secretary Jacobsen has an incredible track record of success and proven leadership, which includes keeping our elections safe, record-level increases in business filings in Montana, and a more transparent and efficient Secretary of State’s Office than ever before,” Jacobsen spokesperson Rory McShane said in a statement. “We’re confident that the voters of Montana want to see her continue to serve in office.” Both were first elected to their respective offices in 2020. Jacobsen defeated Democrat Bryce Bennett by 19 percentage points, while Knudsen beat Democrat Raph Graybill by 17%. In terms of challengers so far, Democrat Jesse Mullen has announced a bid for the Secretary of State’s Office, while Bozeman attorney and Democrat Ben Alke is the lone other candidate in the Attorney General’s race. Knudsen and Jacobsen are the first of five current statewide elected officials in the state government to announce they are seeking re-election. Gov. Greg Gianforte has not officially announced he will do so; State Auditor Troy Downing is running in the 2nd Congressional District race; and Superintendent of Public Schools Elsie Arntzen is term-limited but exploring a run in the 2nd Congressional District as well. Jacobsen’s campaign has yet to put out a full announcement. But her office over the past year has focused on her work with county clerks, communicating that Montana’s elections are fair and safe, and touting new Montana business filings – more than 35,000 as of August after nearly 54,000 filings last year. She said her office has cut or waived registration and filing fees for businesses in Montana several years running to try to bring in more new businesses to the state. Jacobsen previously was the deputy secretary of state and worked in the Montana Department of Justice and auditor’s office. Prior to his time as attorney general, Knudsen was the Roosevelt County attorney, and he served as the District 34 House representative from 2011 to 2019, his final four years as Speaker of the House. In his announcement, Knudsen focuses primarily on his office’s work on law enforcement in Montana, including lobbying for increased penalties for fentanyl dealers and stronger laws dealing with human trafficking and sex offenders. The announcement also touts his office’s 35 lawsuits filed against the Biden administration and others in which the state has joined other states to fight certain policies, and efforts like the lawsuit against TikTok and other Republican catch-phrase issues like protecting against “woke school officials” and “harmful and divisive critical race theory indoctrination.” Democrats and some others have been critical of some of Knudsen’s efforts to fight the Biden administration due in part to the amount the office has spent on those lawsuits and defending many state laws passed under the Gianforte administration that courts have found to be unconstitutional. The legislature gave Knudsen $2 million for the biennium in the budget to fight against and defend laws in court. He also faces an ethics complaint alleging he violated state rules of professional conduct by undermining confidence in the state judiciary during discussions over a lawsuit regarding separation of powers and a fight over subpoenaed records in the case. In response, a spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office called the complaint, filed by a special counsel, “meritless” and called the special counsel a “longtime Democratic activist and donor.” Knudsen’s response to the complaint is due on Nov. 27. Knudsen’s campaign announcement also says he’s fighting to uphold Montanans’ constitutional rights, though his office is also appealing a decision in the Held v. Montana case in which a judge found the state was violating the youth plaintiffs’ constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment, among other things. Knudsen’s re-election announcement includes endorsements from Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter, Meagher County Attorney Burt Hurwitz, a former DEA agent for Montana, Montana Coal Council Executive Director George Harris, and former State Rep. and firearms manufacturer Seth Berglee. “As Attorney General, Austin has been effectively fighting on two fronts: Increasing law enforcement efforts to keep drugs off our streets and taking the Biden administration to court to secure our nation’s borders,” Stacy Zinn, the former DEA Resident in Charge for Montana, said in a statement. [END] --- [1] Url: https://dailymontanan.com/2023/11/07/knudsen-jacobsen-file-to-run-for-re-election-in-2024/ Published and (C) by Daily Montanan Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/montanan/