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A Montana Republican admitted he encouraged his primary challenger to run against him to expose the “ridiculous” campaign laws and raise more funds, according to a recording from a campaign event.
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said that having a primary opponent allowed him to fundraise more effectively than if he were unopposed. His challenger, Logan Olson, supports him and plans to vote for him in the June 4 primary.
At the event, Knudsen mentioned that he technically had a primary opponent, a young man he asked to run because of the flawed campaign laws. Olson, who filed to run against Knudsen on March 11, reported no contributions or expenditures in his campaign finance reports, apart from debts related to filing fees and compliance.
Republican operative Chuck Denowh, a donor to Knudsen and owner of Standard Consulting, confirmed he paid Olson’s filing fee and assisted him in filing for office at Olson’s request. If Knudsen paid or promised valuable consideration to Olson for running or dropping out, it would violate Montana law.
The Montana Democratic Party has filed two complaints, arguing Olson is not a legitimate candidate and that Knudsen had already exceeded fundraising limits before Olson declared his candidacy.
Little is known about Olson, though a LinkedIn account identifies him as an attorney at the O’Toole Law Firm and the Daniels County Attorney. Knudsen is also facing 41 counts of professional misconduct related to his office’s attempts to undermine the state’s Supreme Court while defending a judicial nominations law.
If Knudsen wins the primary, he will face Democrat Ben Alke, an attorney from Bozeman, in the November general election. Alke criticized Knudsen’s actions, calling them inappropriate for the state’s chief legal officer and law enforcement officer, highlighting this incident as one of several issues with Knudsen.
