Minnesota Secretary of State
TLDR: Steve Simon (DFL) is running for another term against Seth Kuhl-Stennes (Green), Tad Jude (Republican) and George "Chip" Tangen (Libertarian). The winner serves a 4-year term, and every Bloomington voter has it on their ballot.
Steve SimonDemocratic-Farmer-Labor, incumbent- Now
- Minnesota Secretary of State (since January 2015)
- Work
- Minnesota Secretary of State
- Lives in
- Hopkins
- Background
- Minnesota House of Representatives, 2005–2014 (Districts 44A and 46B, Hennepin County); Assistant Majority Leader 2007–2009; chaired the House Elections Committee in his final term lrl.mn.gov
- Former Assistant Attorney General under Skip Humphrey and Mike Hatch; business-law attorney at Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi lrl.mn.gov
- B.A. in political science, Tufts University; J.D., University of Minnesota Law School (1996); Hopkins High School graduate lrl.mn.gov
- Elected Secretary of State in 2014 and re-elected in 2018 and 2022 (beating Republicans John Howe and Kim Crockett) kstp.com
- In office
- Refused 2025 U.S. Justice Department requests for Minnesota's full voter registration list (names, birthdates, addresses, partial Social Security numbers), offering the public list instead; the DOJ sued, and a federal judge dismissed the suit on Aug. 17, 2026 kttc.com
- Urged the Legislature to pass the 2023 law restoring voting rights to people with felony convictions once they are out of prison kstp.com
- His campaign says that as a legislator he wrote legislation letting eligible Minnesotans vote by mail, inspired by his father's Parkinson's disease stevesimonmn.com
- The DFL Party credits him with creating voter preregistration for 16- and 17-year-olds dfl.org
- Raised
- $466,357, $548,191 on hand cfb.mn.gov
Seth Kuhl-StennesGreen- Now
- Co-chair, Green Party of Minnesota
- Work
- Operations specialist, Land Stewardship Project
- Lives in
- Minneapolis
- Background
- Born and raised in Baudette; political science degree from the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University; lives in South Minneapolis with his wife and child gp.org
- Operations specialist at the Land Stewardship Project since May 2024; member of OPEIU Local 12 gp.org
- Seven years at Eastside Food Co-op, including service as a UFCW Local 663 shop steward gp.org
- About 20 years of work in cooperatives, nonprofits and businesses and 16 years of board service seth4mnsos.org
- Raised
- $5,257, $1,458 on hand cfb.mn.gov
- Endorsed by
- Green Party of Minnesota
Tad JudeRepublican- Work
- Attorney, self-employed
- Lives in
- Maple Grove
- Background
- Minnesota House, 1973–1982 (District 42A), and Minnesota Senate, 1983–1988 (District 48), first elected with the DFL caucus; became an Independent-Republican in 1992 lrl.mn.gov
- Hennepin County Commissioner beginning 1989 lrl.mn.gov
- Workers' compensation attorney, Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, 1995–2010; District Court Judge, 10th Judicial District, 2011–2022 lrl.mn.gov
- B.A. in political science, College of St. Thomas; J.D., William Mitchell College of Law; served in the U.S. Army Reserve 1971–1977 ballotpedia.org
- Ran unsuccessfully for U.S. House (1992, 1994, 2024), Attorney General (2022) and Hennepin County Attorney (2022) lrl.mn.gov
- Raised
- $248,705, $66,239 on hand cfb.mn.gov
- Endorsed by
- Republican Party of Minnesota
George "Chip" TangenLibertarian- Work
- Relationship manager, Enterprise Minnesota
- Lives in
- Inver Grove Heights
- Background
- Raised
- $5,643, $1,113 on hand cfb.mn.gov
- Endorsed by
- Libertarian Party of Minnesota
Q: Where do they stand on election security?
Simon: Says Minnesota's elections are "fair and accurate and honest and secure" and that state laws and practices before, during and after elections prevent and catch rare wrongdoing. mprnews.org
Kuhl-Stennes: Supports "retaining the state's use of paper ballots." kttc.com
Jude: Would work with townships, cities, counties, school districts and federal partners to clean up voter rolls. ballotpedia.org
Jude: Supports party-balanced election judges during early voting; wants to make "voting simple, but cheating hard." communityreporter.substack.com
Tangen: Says foreign citizens in sanctuary cities should not be added to voter rolls or wrongly encouraged to vote, and that the state "should be alert to the threat of ANY foreign country that may interfere with our electoral system." ivoterguide.com
Q: Where do they stand on voter ID?
Simon: Supports Minnesota's current flexible ways of proving identity, saying the approach "has made our system highly secure and trustworthy"; rejects a stricter photo ID requirement. kaxe.org
Kuhl-Stennes: Opposes voter ID laws, saying voter fraud is "incredibly rare in the state of Minnesota, and we have other safeguards in place." kaxe.org
Jude: Supports requiring photo ID to vote and using the federal SAVE database to check that only citizens vote; says "Securing the vote for every Minnesotan is my highest priority." kaxe.org
Jude: Wants to revisit Minnesota's "vouching" system, saying the trusting approach "worked well 50 years ago" but has been exploited. kttc.com
Tangen: Says "it is in everyone's interest to present proper identification when voting" but would be "profoundly dismayed" if any eligible voter were denied the vote. kaxe.org
Q: Where do they stand on voting access?
Simon: Wants to keep options such as same-day registration and voting from home, and expand voting options for seniors, students and all eligible Minnesotans. stevesimonmn.com
Kuhl-Stennes: Supports "continuing the use of paper ballots, early and absentee voting, and same-day registration," making Election Day a paid state holiday, and extending voting rights to all Minnesota residents regardless of citizenship or criminal conviction. seth4mnsos.org
Jude: Says "voting should be simple, but cheating hard"; supports absentee ballots "for the military, disabled, ill or for travelers." communityreporter.substack.com
Tangen: Opposes making voting harder and praises same-day registration and no-excuse absentee voting, but says questioned voters should cast provisional ballots, kept separate until eligibility is confirmed. ballotpedia.org
Q: Where do they stand on federal involvement in elections?
Simon: Lists defending Minnesotans' voting freedom against federal interference as a top priority; says voters' private data held by his office does not belong to the federal government. kaxe.org
Kuhl-Stennes: Says "elections are to be administered by state and local governments" and election materials should stay in their hands and be protected by them. kaxe.org
Jude: Would first make sure data that must stay private for safety reasons stays private, then "cooperate with the federal government to ensure our voter rolls are accurate and up to date." kaxe.org
Tangen: Lists vigorous opposition to federal election interference among his top priorities. kaxe.org
Q: Where do they stand on ballot access?
Kuhl-Stennes: Supports public financing of elections, keeping paper ballots, and removing the legal distinction between major and minor parties. kttc.com
Tangen: Wants online nominating petitions, fewer required signatures and more time to qualify, and supports the Minor Party Ballot Access bill (HF 3534); notes only 3% of legislative seats have third-party or independent candidates this year. ballotpedia.org
No public statement found from Simon or Jude.
Q: Where do they stand on state flag?
Simon: As a member of the State Emblems Redesign Commission, said in 2023 the new flag "captures the imagination" and that he hopes Minnesotans "unite around it for generations to come." sos.mn.gov
Kuhl-Stennes: Supports the flag redesign: "I feel like it was something that was warranted based on the history and the symbolism." kttc.com
Jude: Wants a public vote to restore Minnesota's previous state flag: "People fought under a version of the Minnesota flag. It means a lot." kttc.com
Tangen: Says the redesign process needs revisiting: "This flag was not widely accepted." kttc.com
