Secretary of State of Minnesota
Tad Jude
CandidateR
- Race
- Secretary of State of Minnesota
- Election
- 2026-11-03
- Opponents
- Steve Simon (DFL); Seth Kuhl-Stennes (G); George "Chip" Tangen (LIB)
- Research
- Basic
Party linenone
No recorded floor votes — not a current legislator in our records.
Said vs. did0 statements · 0 votes
Tad Jude is the Republican nominee for Minnesota Secretary of State. A Maple Grove attorney and former district court judge, he served in the Minnesota House and Senate in the 1970s and 1980s and ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2024; he is campaigning on photo ID, using the federal SAVE database for voter rolls and a vote to restore the 1983 state flag.[1][2]
On the ballotSecretary of State
2026-11-03
| Steve Simon DFL | incumbent |
| Tad Jude R | challenger |
| Seth Kuhl-Stennes G | challenger |
| George "Chip" Tangen LIB | challenger |
Won the Republican primary over Wendy Phillips.
Biography
Tad Jude is the Republican nominee for Minnesota Secretary of State. A Maple Grove attorney and former district court judge, he served in the Minnesota House and Senate in the 1970s and 1980s and ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2024; he is campaigning on photo ID, using the federal SAVE database for voter rolls and a vote to restore the 1983 state flag.[1][2]
Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.
Jude began in elective office in the Minnesota House of Representatives, serving from 1973 to 1982.[2] He then served in the Minnesota Senate from 1983 to 1988, where he was elected as a DFL member.[2]
Jude later served as a district court judge in Minnesota's 10th judicial district from January 2011 to January 2022.[2] In 2024 he was an unsuccessful candidate in Minnesota's 3rd congressional district.[2]
Jude is a self-employed attorney and small-business owner who lives in Maple Grove, and in his KAXE questionnaire he described his experience as a legislator, judge, attorney and small business owner.[1]
In their own words
Priorities
- Securing the vote, including requiring a photo ID at the polls.[3]
- Ending what he calls 'fraud tourism' with a task force to detect fraudulent business registrations.[3]
- Seeking a vote to restore the 1983 Minnesota state flag; the questionnaire's editor's note says flag changes are made by the Legislature.[3]
Statements, quoted without a stance
- Require documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote
“As Secretary of State, I would use the SAVE voter database, which is more comprehensive than the one Minnesota currently uses, and work with partners at every level of government to ensure the accuracy of our voter rolls.”[3]
KAXE questionnaire answer on voter-roll accuracy; separately he says he supports requiring a photo ID to vote. He did not address documentary proof of citizenship to register.
Campaign moneyNo FEC filing summary matched — state candidates file with their state, not the FEC.
Profile: /people/tad-jude
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Sources cited in this profile
- 1.Secretary of State 2026 Election Guide (candidate questionnaire responses, published as submitted) · KAXE Public Radio · 2026-09-28 News report
- 2.Jude, Thaddeus "Tad" - Legislator Record · Minnesota Legislative Reference Library · 2026-10-19 Official record
- 3.Secretary of State 2026 Election Guide (candidate questionnaire responses, published as submitted) · KAXE Public Radio · 2026-09-28 News report