2026 Minnesota Voter Guide:
Secretary of State

Series rule: objective facts and law only. Every fact is sourced or omitted. No characterization, no endorsements. All candidates receive the same section structure; where public coverage of a candidate is thin, the guide says so rather than padding.

The race

Four candidates are on the November 3, 2026 general-election ballot for Minnesota Secretary of State [1][5]:

August 11, 2026 primary results (per Ballotpedia): DFL — Simon, unopposed, 614,485 votes. Republican — Jude 60.6% (229,804) defeated Wendy Phillips 39.4% (151,599) [1][2]. (Wikipedia reports different Republican vote totals — see Limitations ¶3.) Jude's primary win was also reported by the Duluth News Tribune [26]. Kuhl-Stennes and Tangen qualified for the general-election ballot by nominating petition [1][5].

What the Minnesota Secretary of State does

Verified against the Minnesota Revisor of Statutes (revisor.mn.gov, accessed Aug. 29, 2026). Quotations below are taken from the Revisor's published statute text, not from paraphrases.

Election administration. Minn. Stat. § 204B.27 assigns the secretary of state duties across the election calendar: transmitting blank election forms to county auditors before each state election; preparing and publishing "a volume containing all state general laws relating to elections"; furnishing voter instruction posters and impartial voter pamphlets; conducting pre-primary conferences to instruct county auditors "on the administration of election laws and the training of local election officials and election judges"; and sponsoring nonpartisan activities "to promote voter participation in Minnesota elections and in efforts to increase voter registration and voter turnout" [21].

Statewide voter registration system. Minn. Stat. § 201.021 establishes "a single, official, centralized, interactive computerized statewide voter registration list" and provides that "[t]he secretary of state is responsible for defining, maintaining, and administering the centralized system." County auditors serve as chief registrars of voters in each county [22].

Business filings. Under Minn. Stat. ch. 5, the office receives "business entity filings" — filings from organizations formed under the state's corporation, LLC, cooperative, nonprofit, and partnership chapters (chs. 300–323A), plus assumed-name filings under ch. 333. Minn. Stat. § 5.001, subds. 2–3 [23].

UCC filing office. The office operates the central filing system for Uniform Commercial Code financing statements — the ordinary place to file to perfect a security interest in personal property. Minn. Stat. § 336.9-501 [24].

Safe at Home address confidentiality. Under Minn. Stat. ch. 5B, the office administers an address-confidentiality program enabling participants — victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or harassment or stalking — "to use an address designated by the secretary of state as a substitute mailing address for all purposes." Minn. Stat. § 5B.01 [25].

Steve Simon (Democratic-Farmer-Labor) — incumbent

Identity & background

Simon graduated from Hopkins High School; earned a B.A. in political science from Tufts University (1992); and a J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School (1996). Before elected office he served as an assistant Minnesota attorney general under Attorneys General Hubert H. Humphrey III and Mike Hatch (1996–2001) and practiced as an associate at Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi (2001–2014) [3].

Public service record

• Minnesota House of Representatives, 2005–2015 (District 44A, 2005–2013; District 46B, 2013–2015). Chaired the House Elections Committee (2013–14) and authored Minnesota's no-excuse absentee voting provision enacted in 2013 [3][20].
• Secretary of State since January 5, 2015. Elected 2014 (47.04% over Republican Dan Severson's 45.87%); re-elected 2018 (52.25%–43.62% over John Howe) and 2022 (54.53%–45.38% over Kim Crockett) [3].

Dated official acts as secretary of state: 1. June–July 2017 — Declined to provide Minnesota voter data to the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity (the Pence–Kobach commission), one of 44 states whose election officials refused some or all of the commission's request [7][8]. 2. November 2020 — Convened the State Canvassing Board that certified Minnesota's 2020 general-election results; the office reported turnout of 79.96% of eligible voters, which Simon announced was first in the nation for the third consecutive general election and the state's highest since 1956 [9][10]. 3. June 1, 2023 — Oversaw implementation of the 2023 "Restore the Vote" law, under which Minnesotans with felony convictions who are not incarcerated became eligible to register and vote — a change reported to affect more than 55,000 people; his office coordinated notification with the Department of Corrections [11][12]. 4. April 29, 2024 — Certified Minnesota's automatic voter registration system as ready for use; registration now begins automatically when eligible applicants obtain or renew a driver's license or state ID [13][14]. 5. July 12, 2024 — Sworn in as president of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) at the association's 107th Summer Conference, for a term running through the 2025 Summer Conference; the sixth Minnesotan to hold the post [15]. 6. July 25, 2025 — Responded to a June 25, 2025 U.S. Department of Justice demand by providing information on Minnesota's voter-list maintenance procedures while declining to hand over the statewide voter registration list itself, citing state data-privacy law [16][17][27]. (For the resulting litigation, see Notable public-record items.)

Stated platform (his framing, attributed)

Announcing his bid for a fourth term (December 9, 2025), Simon said he wants to continue shielding Minnesota voters' data from what he calls a "federal power grab" by the Trump administration and U.S. Department of Justice, to keep boosting confidence in the election system, and to implement recent changes to state election law [16]. His profile with the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State states that he "continues to defend democracy, combat disinformation, and protect vulnerable communities" while "working across party lines to strengthen voting rights and improve services for all Minnesotans," and credits him with authoring no-excuse absentee voting and helping Minnesota achieve leading national turnout [18]. Entering the 2023 session, he publicly prioritized automatic voter registration and restoring voting rights to people on probation or parole — both enacted that year [19][11].

Notable public-record items

United States v. Simon (D. Minn.). On September 25, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Simon and the State of Minnesota over the office's refusal to turn over the statewide voter registration list, including data such as dates of birth, driver's license numbers, and partial Social Security numbers; the DOJ invoked the Help America Vote Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1960, while Simon said the request sought data protected under Minnesota law [16-a][17]. On August 17, 2026, U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez dismissed the suit, writing that "the government has no special privilege" to conduct a "fishing expedition" through discovery without first establishing a legal claim; reporting at the time noted federal courts had by then dismissed 23 such DOJ voter-data suits [27][28]. Outcome: dismissed; reported by multiple outlets (Star Tribune, MPR News, KSTP, KAXE, Courthouse News) [16-a][17][27].

Supporters / critics

Supporters: On his re-election announcement, DFL Party Chair Richard Carlbom said, "Steve Simon is Minnesota's firewall against extremists. He is in the business of democracy, keeping our elections secure and accessible" [6]. Critics: Republican nominee Tad Jude frames Simon-era election administration as too lax, saying Minnesota has had "a very trusting system of government" that has been "taken advantage of," and campaigns on adding a photo-ID requirement [4]; the conservative Center of the American Experiment has published pieces critical of Simon's election-administration record and predictions [29].

Tad Jude (Republican)

Identity & background

Thaddeus Victor Jude was born December 13, 1951, in St. Cloud, Minnesota. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of St. Thomas (1972) and a J.D. from William Mitchell College of Law (1977). He served in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1971 to 1977 (the KTTC interview describes six years in the Army Security Agency) [2][3-b][4]. His career includes work as an attorney, judge, and small business owner; he resides in Maple Grove and will be 74 on election day [2][30].

Public service record

• Minnesota House of Representatives, 1973–1983 (District 42A), elected as a Democrat; at age 20, reported as the youngest person ever elected to the Minnesota Legislature [3-b][4].
• Minnesota Senate, 1983–1989 (District 48), as a Democrat [3-b].
• Hennepin County Board of Commissioners, 1989–1993 [3-b].
• Party affiliation: Democratic before 1992; Republican since 1992 [3-b].
• Congressional campaigns: Republican nominee, MN-06, 1994 (lost to Bill Luther by 0.24%) and 1996 (lost to Luther); Republican nominee, MN-03, 2024 (lost to Kelly Morrison, 58.4%–41.5%) [2][3-b].
• Judge, Minnesota Tenth Judicial District (Position 3), January 3, 2011 – December 31, 2021. Elected in 2010; re-elected without opposition in 2016 [2].
• 2022: Entered, then withdrew from (May 13, 2022), the Republican attorney general race, endorsing Jim Schultz; finished fourth in the Hennepin County Attorney primary [3-b].
• 2026: Announced for secretary of state in September 2025 [3-b][31]; endorsed by the Republican Party of Minnesota [4]; won the August 11 primary [1][26].

Stated platform (his framing, attributed)

In his KTTC interview (July 24, 2026), Jude framed his candidacy around helping Minnesotans "trust the vote," proposing mandatory photo identification for voting, verification that only U.S. citizens vote, and revisiting Minnesota's vouching system for election-day registration; he said, "We want to make sure that the taxpayer isn't being taken advantage of by fraud" [4]. In KAXE's candidate guide he said "securing the vote for every Minnesotan is my highest priority," supported use of "the more robust federal SAVE voter database," said "I will cooperate with the federal government to ensure our voter rolls are accurate and up to date," and cited polling that "80% of Americans agree we should require a photo ID" [30]. His "Save Minnesota" plan proposes restoring Minnesota's 1983 state flag by public vote, on the stated ground that the redesign proceeded without legislative or public approval [4][30]. At his September 2025 launch he emphasized transparency in elections [31].

Notable public-record items

No item meeting this guide's two-independent-outlet threshold was identified beyond the service history above. (The DFL chair's characterizations of Jude are reported under Supporters/critics as attributed statements, not as established fact.)

Supporters / critics

Supporters: Jude is the Republican Party of Minnesota's endorsed candidate for the office [4]. Critics: After his primary win, DFL Party Chair Richard Carlbom said, "Tad Jude is an unserious candidate running for a very serious office. He's a perennial candidate and conspiracy theorist who refuses to acknowledge that Joe Biden won the 2020 election" [32].

Seth Kuhl-Stennes (Green)

Identity & background

Kuhl-Stennes was born and raised in Baudette, Minnesota, and has lived in the Twin Cities area since 2006 [33][34]. His campaign site states he holds a political science degree from the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University and reports 20 years of work across cooperatives, for-profit businesses, and nonprofits, 16 years of board service, and seven years of active union involvement (UFCW Local 663 and OPEIU Local 12), including bargaining-team and steward roles [33]. Wikipedia describes him as a nonprofit worker and community activist and cites the Land Stewardship Project's staff directory [5]. No further education or employment detail was found in independent coverage — see Limitations ¶6.

Public service record

No record of prior elected or appointed public office was found. His board and union service (above) is self-reported on his campaign site [33]. The Green Party of Minnesota endorsed him for secretary of state at its state endorsing convention on April 18, 2026 [35][36]; he qualified for the ballot by nominating petition [1][5].

Stated platform (his framing, attributed)

In his KTTC interview (August 18, 2026), Kuhl-Stennes said, "I am running to bring about a stronger Minnesota democracy and economy in leading the Secretary of State's office." He supports public financing of elections ("I feel like we need to do a better job at opening the door to other candidates and other parties through public financing of elections"), proportional representation for the Minnesota House, ranked-choice voting for single-seat state offices, eliminating statutory distinctions between major and minor parties, and retaining Minnesota's paper-ballot system. He supports the state flag redesign, saying "it was something that was warranted based on the history and the symbolism in the previous state flag," and says he is running without special-interest backing: "I'm running for the voters and the residents of Minnesota" [37]. His campaign site adds a stated commitment to "inclusion, collaboration, teamwork, and strong communication" in the office [33].

Notable public-record items

None found in the coverage reviewed.

Supporters / critics

Supporters: The Green Party of Minnesota endorsed him on April 18, 2026 [35][36]. Critics: No published criticism of his candidacy was found in the coverage reviewed.

George "Chip" Tangen (Libertarian)

Identity & background

Tangen is an attorney from Eden Prairie and a former Republican [38][5]. Wikipedia and The Ballot Brief describe him as a former legislative counsel to U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad, serving during Ramstad's early years in Congress when Ramstad sat on the House Judiciary Committee [5][39] — see Limitations ¶7 on sourcing of this item. No public record of his education was found in the coverage reviewed.

Public service record

His reported service is as congressional staff — legislative counsel to Rep. Jim Ramstad (R-MN) [5][39]. No record of elected or appointed public office was found. He is the Libertarian Party of Minnesota's candidate and qualified for the ballot by nominating petition through the party's 2026 ballot-access drive [1][38][40].

Stated platform (his framing, attributed)

In his KTTC interview (August 13, 2026), Tangen said, "My passion is to give voice to the 45% of voters identified by Gallup who are political independents." He proposes re-evaluating Minnesota's ballot-access laws, citing the 2026 legislative races in which, by his count, only six of the candidates for 201 seats — about 3% — represented independents or third parties. He criticized the secretary of state's legislative manual for omitting independent and third-party candidates' results, calling that "erasing history," and called for redoing the state flag adoption process: "This flag was not widely accepted. Now, we have the backlash of communities and candidates making a political issue" [38].

Notable public-record items

None found in the coverage reviewed.

Supporters / critics

Supporters: He is the Libertarian Party of Minnesota's candidate; the party ran the 2026 petition drive that placed him on the ballot [38][40]. Critics: No published criticism of his candidacy was found in the coverage reviewed.

Equal-treatment check

All four candidates receive the same five sections (identity & background; public service record; stated platform; notable public-record items; supporters/critics). Depth differences reflect differences in the existing public record, which the guide marks explicitly ("no public record found" / "none found in the coverage reviewed") rather than filling with characterization. Each minor-party candidate's platform is presented from the same type of source (a KTTC one-on-one interview plus, where available, the campaign's own site) used for the major-party candidates.

Sources

All URLs accessed August 29, 2026.

1. Ballotpedia, "Minnesota Secretary of State election, 2026" — https://ballotpedia.org/Minnesota_Secretary_of_State_election,_2026
2. Ballotpedia, "Tad Jude" — https://ballotpedia.org/Tad_Jude
3. Wikipedia, "Steve Simon (politician)" — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Simon_(politician) 3-b. Wikipedia, "Tad Jude" — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tad_Jude
4. KTTC (Eric Min), "ONE-ON-ONE: Republican Minnesota Secretary of State candidate Tad Jude" (July 24, 2026) — https://www.kttc.com/2026/07/24/one-on-one-republican-minnesota-secretary-state-candidate-tad-jude/
5. Wikipedia, "2026 Minnesota Secretary of State election" — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Minnesota_Secretary_of_State_election
6. Minnesota DFL, "DFL Party Statement: Secretary of State Steve Simon Announces Reelection Bid" (Dec. 9, 2025) — https://dfl.org/dfl-party-statement-secretary-of-state-steve-simon-announces-reelection-bid/
7. MPR News Capitol View, "Simon won't provide MN data to Trump voter fraud probe" (June 2017) — https://blogs.mprnews.org/capitol-view/2017/06/simon-wont-provide-data-to-trump-voter-fraud-probe
8. CNN, "44 states won't give some voter info to panel" (July 3, 2017) — https://www.cnn.com/2017/07/03/politics/kris-kobach-letter-voter-fraud-commission-information
9. CBS Minnesota, "Minnesota Voter Turnout Nears 80% In 2020, A 'Modern-Day Record'" — https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/minnesota/news/minnesota-voter-turnout-nears-80-in-2020-a-modern-day-record
10. Star Tribune, "Minnesota panel signs off on election results, says voting system clean" (Nov. 2020) — https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-panel-signs-off-on-election-results-says-voting-system-clean/573184491
11. CBS Minnesota, "Talking Points: 2023 legislature paves way to restore felon voting rights, auto registration" — https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/talking-points-2023-legislature-paves-way-to-restore-felon-voting-rights-auto-registration/
12. The Journal (New Ulm), "Simon discusses voting law changes" (Aug. 2, 2023) — https://www.nujournal.com/news/local-news/2023/08/02/simon-discusses-voting-law-changes/
13. FOX 9, "Minnesota's new automatic voter registration: How it works" — https://www.fox9.com/news/minnesota-voter-registration-backlog
14. Washington Times, "Steve Simon, Minnesota Secretary of State: 'Glitch' in automatic voter registration system is fixed" (Sept. 19, 2024) — https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/sep/19/steve-simon-minnesota-secretary-of-state-glitch-in/
15. National Association of Secretaries of State, "NASS Names Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon as President and Inducts New Executive Board" (July 12, 2024) — https://www.nass.org/node/2598
16. MPR News, "Democrat Steve Simon will try for fourth term as Minnesota secretary of state" (Dec. 9, 2025) — https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/12/09/democrat-steve-simon-will-try-for-fourth-term-as-minnesota-secretary-of-state 16-a. Star Tribune, "Trump administration sues Minnesota secretary of state over refusal to hand over voter rolls" (Sept. 2025) — https://www.startribune.com/doj-sues-minnesota-secretary-of-state-over-refusal-to-hand-over-voter-rolls/601480819
17. MPR News, "Trump's DOJ sues Minnesota election official over voter registration data" (Sept. 25, 2025) — https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/09/25/doj-sues-minnesota-over-voter-registration-data
18. Democratic Association of Secretaries of State, "Minnesota 2026" — https://demsofstate.org/minnesota-2026/
19. Minnesota Reformer, "Steve Simon wants automatic voter registration, right to vote for people on parole/probation" (Jan. 9, 2023) — https://minnesotareformer.com/2023/01/09/minnesota-secretary-of-state-priorities/
20. Democratic Association of Secretaries of State profile (see [18]) and Wikipedia (see [3]) on the 2013 no-excuse absentee provision.
21. Minn. Stat. § 204B.27 (Duties of Secretary of State) — https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/204B.27
22. Minn. Stat. § 201.021 (Permanent Registration System) — https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/201.021
23. Minn. Stat. § 5.001 (Definitions — business entity; business entity filings) — https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/5.001
24. Minn. Stat. § 336.9-501 (UCC Filing Office) — https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/336.9-501
25. Minn. Stat. § 5B.01 (Safe at Home — Findings; Purpose) — https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/5B.01
26. Duluth News Tribune, "Jude wins GOP race for Minnesota secretary of state" — https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/minnesota/jude-wins-gop-race-for-minnesota-secretary-of-state
27. KAXE, "Federal judge tosses out DOJ lawsuit seeking Minnesota voter data" (Aug. 17, 2026) — https://www.kaxe.org/minnesota-news/2026-08-17/federal-judge-tosses-out-doj-lawsuit-seeking-minnesota-voter-data
28. Democracy Docket, case page, "Minnesota DOJ Voter Data Access Challenge (United States v. Simon)" — https://www.democracydocket.com/cases/minnesota-doj-voter-data-access-challenge/ ; see also Courthouse News, "Judge rejects DOJ reach for Minnesota voter data" — https://www.courthousenews.com/judge-rejects-doj-reach-for-minnesota-voter-data/ (403 to automated fetch; headline/indexing only)
29. Center of the American Experiment, "Simon said same day registrations would plummet, they went up instead" — https://www.americanexperiment.org/simon-said-same-day-registrations-would-plummet-they-went-up-instead/
30. KAXE, "Secretary of State 2026 Primary Election Guide: Republicans" (July 14, 2026) — https://www.kaxe.org/2026-07-14/gop-republican-secretary-of-state-mn-2026-primary-election-guide
31. Alpha News, "Tad Jude launches run for secretary of state on promise of transparency in elections" (Sept. 2025) — https://alphanews.org/tad-jude-launches-run-for-secretary-of-state-on-promise-of-transparency-in-elections/ (used only for the fact and framing of his announcement)
32. Minnesota DFL, "DFL Party Statement on Tad Jude Winning GOP Primary for Secretary of State" (Aug. 12, 2026) — https://dfl.org/dfl-party-statement-on-tad-jude-winning-gop-primary-for-secretary-of-state/
33. Seth for MN SOS (campaign site) — https://www.seth4mnsos.org/
34. KTTC (Eric Min), "ONE-ON-ONE with Minnesota Secretary of State candidate Seth Kuhl-Stennes" (Aug. 18, 2026) — https://www.kttc.com/2026/08/18/one-on-one-with-minnesota-secretary-state-candidate-seth-kuhl-stennes/
35. Green Party of the United States, "Green Party of Minnesota Endorsements" — https://www.gp.org/green_party_of_mn_endorsements
36. Independent Political Report, "Green Party of Minnesota Endorses Four Candidates Ahead of Petition Drive" (Apr. 24, 2026) — https://independentpoliticalreport.com/2026/04/green-party-of-minnesota-endorses-four-candidates-ahead-of-petition-drive/
37. Same as [34].
38. KTTC (Eric Min), "ONE-ON-ONE with Minnesota Secretary of State candidate Chip Tangen" (Aug. 13, 2026) — https://www.kttc.com/2026/08/13/one-on-one-with-minnesota-secretary-state-candidate-chip-tangen/
39. The Ballot Brief, "Minnesota 2026 Candidate Guide" — https://theballotbrief.com/state/minnesota
40. Libertarian Party of Minnesota, "Minnesota Libertarian Ballot Access 2026" — https://lpmn.org/libertarian-ballot-access/

Limitations

1. sos.mn.gov is bot-blocked. The Secretary of State's own website — the office this race elects — serves a Radware captcha to automated fetchers (confirmed again 8/29/26), so the certified candidate list and the office's press releases could not be verified directly. Candidate roster facts rest on Ballotpedia + Wikipedia + race-specific news. Spot-check against sos.mn.gov from a normal browser before publication.
2. Ballotpedia boilerplate. Ballotpedia's general-election table carries its standing caveat that "the candidate list in this election may not be complete."
3. Republican primary vote totals conflict. Ballotpedia reports Jude 229,804 (60.6%) — Phillips 151,599 (39.4%); Wikipedia reports Jude 229,804 (60.3%) — Phillips 151,599 (39.7%). Both were accessed 8/29/26. The guide uses Ballotpedia's figures; reconcile against the state canvass before publication.
4. Wikipedia's Tad Jude article contains internally inconsistent judicial dates (a "2001–2011" span alongside a 2010 election). Ballotpedia's officeholder record — assumed office January 3, 2011; left December 31, 2021 — is used instead.
5. Jude's military service is described differently across sources: Ballotpedia lists U.S. Army Reserve, 1971–1977; KTTC's interview describes "six years in the Army Security Agency." Both are reported; neither was independently verified.
6. Kuhl-Stennes's education and work history rest chiefly on his own campaign site; independent coverage (KTTC) confirms only his Baudette origin and campaign themes. His Land Stewardship Project employment is cited by Wikipedia to LSP's staff directory.
7. Tangen's Ramstad role is thinly sourced. Wikipedia attributes "former legislative counsel to Rep. Jim Ramstad" to the KTTC interview, but the KTTC article as retrieved does not contain that detail; The Ballot Brief also reports it. No primary-source confirmation (e.g., congressional staff records) was found. His education: no public record found.
8. Simon's campaign priorities page (stevesimonmn.com/priorities) returned 404 to automated fetch; his platform is sourced instead to his announcement coverage (MPR) and his DASS profile.
9. Courthouse News blocked automated retrieval (403); its coverage of the DOJ suit's dismissal is cited by headline only, with KAXE and Democracy Docket carrying the substance.
10. Statutory section is illustrative, not exhaustive. The office holds additional duties (e.g., notary commissions, state seal custody) not catalogued here; the sections quoted were verified verbatim against revisor.mn.gov on 8/29/26.

DRAFT — not for publication until the pre-publication checks in Limitations ¶¶1 and 3 are completed.