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Commissioner: Graybill qualified to run for attorney general

| February 28, 2020 2:30 PM

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Democrat Raph Graybill meets the qualifications to run for attorney general, Montana's political practices commissioner said Friday in response to a complaint filed earlier this month.

Former legislator Dave Wanzenried questioned whether Graybill met the requirements of being a practicing attorney for at least five years before election.

Wanzenried argued Graybill will not have been admitted to the state Bar for five years before the June 2 primary election and that his time as a law clerk and working for an out-of-state firm don't count toward the five-year requirement.

Graybill was admitted to practice law in Montana on Sept. 22, 2015, and will meet the five-year qualification before the Nov. 3 general election, Commissioner Jeff Managan wrote.

Mangan also found Graybill's work as a clerk for 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Justice Sidney Thomas in Billings and his 10 months with a Seattle law firm count toward his required experience.

Graybill, the chief legal counsel to Gov. Steve Bullock, faces Rep. Kim Dudik of Frenchtown in the Democratic primary. Wanzenried has endorsed Dudik and held a fundraiser for her campaign.

Wanzenried, a political science professor at Montana State University-Billings and a former legislator from Missoula, said he planned to look at the decision more closely before deciding if he will appeal.