2020 Montana Attorney General election explained

Election Name:	2020 Montana Attorney General election
Country:	Montana
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Time Zone:	(UTC)
Previous Election:	2016 Montana Attorney General election
Previous Year:	2016
Next Election:	2024 Montana Attorney General election
Next Year:	2024
Election Date:	November 3, 2020
Nominee1:	Austin Knudsen
Party1:	Republican Party (United States)
Popular Vote1:	348,322
Percentage1:	58.5%
Nominee2:	Raph Graybill
Party2:	Democratic Party (United States)
Popular Vote2:	247,025
Percentage2:	41.5%
Map Size:	300px
Attorney General
Before Election:	Tim Fox
Before Party:	Republican Party (United States)
After Election:	Austin Knudsen
After Party:	Republican Party (United States)

The 2020 Montana Attorney General election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the Attorney General of the U.S. state of Montana. Incumbent Republican Montana Attorney General Tim Fox was re-elected in 2016 with 67.7% of the vote. Fox was term-limited and was ineligible to run for re-election. Fox decided to run for the Governor of Montana election, losing the nomination to Greg Gianforte.^[1] Austin Knudsen defeated Jon Bennion in the Republican primary and defeated Democrat Raph Graybill in the general election by over 14 points.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Austin Knudsen, Roosevelt County Attorney, and former speaker of the Montana House of Representatives^[2]

Eliminated in primary

Jon Bennion, chief deputy Attorney General^[3]

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Raph Graybill, chief legal counsel to Governor Steve Bullock^[3]

Eliminated in primary

Kimberly Dudik, state representative^[4]

Withdrawn

Jim Cossitt, bankruptcy attorney^[5] ^[6]

Declined

John Morrison, former Montana State Auditor^[7]

Results

Green primary

Candidates

Disqualified

Roy Davis^[8]

Results

General election

Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of October 14, 2020
Candidate (party)	Total receipts	Total disbursements	Cash on hand
	Raph Graybill (D)	$725,288	$650,110	$75,178
	Austin Knudsen (R)	$400,167	$359,831	$40,336
Source:^[10]

Results

External links

Official campaign websites

Notes and References

News: Dennison. Mike. Attorney General Fox launches gubernatorial bid. KRTV. January 24, 2019. January 24, 2019. January 25, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190125021416/https://krtv.com/news/2019/01/24/attorney-general-fox-launches-gubernatorial-bid/. dead.
Web site: Drake . Phil . Austin Knudsen enters race for attorney general . Great Falls Tribune . September 26, 2019 . May 20, 2019.
Web site: DeMarco . Margaret . Great Falls native kicks off campaign for Montana Attorney General . KRTV Great Falls . September 26, 2019 . May 8, 2019.
Web site: Cates-Carney . Corin . Rep Kimberly Dudik Announces Bid For Attorney General's Office . Montana Public Radio . September 26, 2019 . December 17, 2018.
Web site: KALISPELL ATTORNEY JOINS ATTORNEY GENERAL RACE . Daily Inter Lake . September 26, 2019 . September 14, 2019 . September 27, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190927042550/https://www.dailyinterlake.com/local_news/20190914/kalispell_attorney_joins_attorney_general_race . dead .
Web site: Drake . Phil . Cossitt drops from 2020 attorney general race . Great Falls Tribune . February 11, 2020 . October 8, 2019.
Web site: Dennison . Mike . Montana 2020: Former state auditor considers bid for AG or Supreme Court . Missoula News Journal . October 24, 2019 . October 23, 2019.
Web site: Dennison . Mike . Green Party candidates to remain off Montana ballot this November . Missoula Current . August 29, 2020 . August 19, 2020.
Web site: An Updated Look at Handicapping the 2020 Attorney General Elections. The Cook Political Report. en. September 13, 2019. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200626024246/https://cookpolitical.com/updated-look-handicapping-2020-attorney-general-elections . 2020-06-26 .
Web site: Attorney General. The Montana Free Press guide. en. 2020-10-14.