ST. PAUL, Minn. — As expected, Secretary of State Steve Simon will seek a fourth term. His announcement was low-key, in a news release from the state Democratic Party. The only other announced candidate is former State Senator Tad Jud, a Republican. The Democratic statement on Simon’s candidacy praised his work to encourage young people to vote. Simon led a campaign to preregister for 16- and 17-year-olds in preparation for voting at 18.
Simon. Chief state elections administrator. Age 55.
Simon profile
After high school in the Minneapolis suburb of Hopkins, Simon studied political science at Tufts University and earned a law degree from the University of Minnesota. He worked as an assistant state attorney general from 1996 to 2001. He later spent 13 years with a Minneaplis kaw frm, and was an associate with a Minneapolis law firm. Simon was elected to the Minesota House in 2004, and re-elected four times. He had brief national attention for opposing a state ban on gay marriage: “How many more gay people does God have to create before we ask ourselves whether or not God actually wants them around?” He became secretary of state in 2014 and was re-elected three times with fairly large margins. He has never lost an election.