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]
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]
- 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
Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.