House Rep Knudsen Faces Primary Challenge
Incumbent Rhonda Knudsen faces a challenge in the Republican primary election for Montana House District 34. The lifelong Culbertson resident joined the Montana House of Representatives in January of 2019. Knudsen ran unopposed in her first contest.
No Democrats have filed for the current race, but Knudsen faces a primary challenge from Tracy Schuster. Schuster, a Glentana resident, had filed to run for HD 17 as a Democrat but withdrew her candidacy. She is now on the ballot for HD 34 as a Republican out of Valley County.
Knudsen is mother to current Roosevelt County attorney and candidate for Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen. She is a retired superintendent for the Bureau of Indian Affairs at the Fort Peck Agency and a former civil engineer. She lives with her husband at their ranch near Culbertson.
Knudsen is an ardent anti-tax advocate. She told the Northern Plains Independent that her goal is to help balance the state budget without any new taxes.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do when we go back to the legislature,” said Knudsen.
She said she will be on the lookout for efforts to add a sales tax or any other new taxation schemes.
Along with State Senator Mike Lang, Knudsen is part of the Montana Sage Grouse Oversight Team, which oversees the implementation of Montana’s Sage Grouse Conservation Strategy by the Sage Grouse Habitat Conservation Program.
Knudsen sits on the Fish, Wildlife and Parks committee, the natural resources committee and the taxation committee. She is the primary sponsor of two bills: HB 643, which would extend the state lands reimbursement block grant for schools, and HB 580, which would require public notice for centerline rumble strip projects.
