Biography
Paul Cumings is the Democratic candidate for the Minnesota State Senate, District 53, in the November 3, 2026 general election; the seat has no incumbent, and Todd Podgorski (R) is also running.[1][2] A legislative staffer, he has served on the South St. Paul Public Schools school board since 2025.[2]
Paul Cumings graduated from Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City Public School, earned a bachelor's degree from Augsburg College in 2006, and studied at the University of Minnesota's Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs.[2] In a Ballotpedia survey, he said his mother was a public school teacher and his father a Lutheran pastor, and that he served two years as an AmeriCorps tutor in Minneapolis's Cedar Riverside neighborhood after high school.[3]
Cumings said in the survey that he began working for the Minnesota House Property Tax Relief Committee and the Government Redesign Caucus in 2007, later worked in Gov. Mark Dayton's administration, and now works for House Floor Leader Jamie Long.[3] He was elected to the South St. Paul Public Schools school board at-large in 2025, with a term ending in 2029, and said he serves as its treasurer.[2][3]
Cumings listed affordability, including child care, groceries, housing and health care, and fully funded public schools among his campaign messages.[3] He said he would work to fix the compensatory aid formula affecting schools in Senate District 53.[3]
- 1.Minnesota State Senate elections, 2026 · Ballotpedia Reference
- 2.Paul Cumings · Ballotpedia Reference
- 3.Paul Cumings - Candidate Connection survey responses · Ballotpedia Candidate's own words
Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21. Not yet independently fact-checked.
Minnesota Senate District 53
Paul Cumings is on the Nov 3, 2026 ballot for Minnesota Senate District 53 as D. Not researched in depth — candidate list only.