Minnesota's 3rd Congressional District election, 2024

	2026 → ← 2022
Minnesota's 3rd Congressional District
	Democratic primary; Republican primary; General election
Election details
	Filing deadline: June 4, 2024
	Primary: August 13, 2024; General: November 5, 2024
How to vote
	Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Voting in Minnesota
Race ratings
	Cook Political Report: Solid Democratic; DDHQ and The Hill: Safe Democratic; Inside Elections: Solid Democratic; Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Democratic
Ballotpedia analysis
	U.S. Senate battlegrounds; U.S. House battlegrounds; Federal and state primary competitiveness; Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2024
See also
	Minnesota's 3rd Congressional District; U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th; Minnesota elections, 2024; U.S. Congress elections, 2024; U.S. Senate elections, 2024; U.S. House elections, 2024; Alabama U.S. House racesAlaska U.S. House racesArizona U.S. House racesArkansas U.S. House racesCalifornia U.S. House racesColorado U.S. House racesConnecticut U.S. House racesDelaware U.S. House racesFlorida U.S. House racesGeorgia U.S. House racesHawaii U.S. House racesIdaho U.S. House racesIllinois U.S. House racesIndiana U.S. House racesIowa U.S. House racesKansas U.S. House racesKentucky U.S. House racesLouisiana U.S. House racesMaine U.S. House racesMaryland U.S. House racesMassachusetts U.S. House racesMichigan U.S. House racesMinnesota U.S. House racesMississippi U.S. House racesMissouri U.S. House racesMontana U.S. House racesNebraska U.S. House racesNevada U.S. House racesNew Hampshire U.S. House racesNew Jersey U.S. House racesNew Mexico U.S. House racesNew York U.S. House racesNorth Carolina U.S. House racesNorth Dakota U.S. House racesOhio U.S. House racesOklahoma U.S. House racesOregon U.S. House racesPennsylvania U.S. House racesRhode Island U.S. House racesSouth Carolina U.S. House racesSouth Dakota U.S. House racesTennessee U.S. House racesTexas U.S. House racesUtah U.S. House racesVermont U.S. House racesVirginia U.S. House racesWashington U.S. House racesWest Virginia U.S. House racesWisconsin U.S. House racesWyoming U.S. House racesSubmit

Minnesota 2024 elections

U.S. Senate • U.S. House • State House • Special state legislative • Supreme court • Appellate courts • State ballot measures • Local ballot measures • School boards • Municipal • Recalls • All other local • How to run for office

All U.S. House districts, including the 3rd Congressional District of Minnesota, held elections in 2024. The general election was November 5, 2024. The primary was August 13, 2024. The filing deadline was June 4, 2024. The outcome of this race affected the partisan balance of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 119th Congress. All 435 House districts were up for election.

At the time of the election, Republicans held a 220-212 majority with three vacancies.^[1] As a result of the election, Republicans retained control of the U.S. House, winning 220 seats to Democrats' 215.^[2] To read more about the 2024 U.S. House elections, click here.

In the 2022 election in this district, the Democratic candidate won 59.6%-40.4%. Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have defeated Donald Trump (R) 59.5%-38.5%.^[3]

For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

On November 24, 2023, Dean Phillips, the incumbent, announced he would not seek re-election in 2024.^[4]

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. House Minnesota District 3

Kelly Morrison defeated Tad Jude in the general election for U.S. House Minnesota District 3 on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Kelly Morrison (D)	58.4	240,209
	Tad Jude (R)	41.5	170,427
	Other/Write-in votes	0.1	504

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 411,140
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Kelly Morrison advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Minnesota District 3.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Ron Harris (D)
Dean Phillips (D)

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Tad Jude advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Minnesota District 3.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Tad Jude

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography: "I have deep roots in the 3rd Congressional District and Minnesota. By background I spent most of my childhood in the town of Maple Lake as the oldest of 11 children. Often I would accompany my father on his delivery route supplying small businesses throughout central Minnesota, including most of the 3rd District. I was elected to a nonpartisan seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives and served 10 years before being elected to serve 6 years as a DFLer in the Minnesota Senate. The district included much of Northern and Western Hennepin County. After that I was elected to serve a 4 year term on the nonpartisan Hennepin County Board of Commissioners. In 1992 I became a Republican. I served 11 years as nonpartisan 10th District Court Judge presiding over both civil and criminal matters. During the course of this public service I have door knocked over 100,000 doors. My education includes graduating from the University of St. Thomas and a JD from the Wm. Mitchell College of Law. I served in the 523rd Army Security Agency and am currently Commander of Post 303 American Legion. I have been instrumental in founding three small businesses currently in operation. I have been active on the boards of a number of community organizations ranging from Catholic Charities to the NW Suburban YMCA. My family consists of wife Jacelyn, 3 sons, an extended family of 6 children and am a grandparent. In my spare time I enjoy Minnesota canoeing, biking and cross country skiing."

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

Our economy needs to be fixed. The cost of housing has gone up at least 30% in the past 4 years making it difficult for young people to get a start. Food and gas prices are also growing a rate way beyond the raises we get at our jobs. Out of control government spending contributes to the high taxes we all pay. Locally we have seen huge fraud in the Feeding our Future program which was supposed to feed children in need, fraud in the Hero Pay program intended to reward those who served us during the pandemic, and a SW Light Rail fiasco which is 9 years delayed and massively over budget. Yet the Federal Government continues to run endless budget deficits contributing to inflation. Congress needs to fix this mess. I will be accountable.

Our border needs to be secure. Fentanyl is taking over 100,000 American lives each year. I have seen unaccompanied minor children in my courtroom who have been trafficked over the border with no family to care for them. The asylum process has to be workable for our country and communities. The southern border should have an effective wall, the northern border needs state of the art surveillance, and enhanced ports of entry installed. Those from other countries who earn advanced education should be welcomed and employment needs should be recognized in green/work permit programs. Those who have a felony conviction and are here illegally should be expelled. Our immigration system should recognize the USA as a unique country full of promise.

Protect our community and support law enforcement. As a district court Judge for 11 years it has become painfully obvious that we have a serious problem in the Hennepin County criminal justice system. Our county attorney needs to do her job in an impartial, nonpolitical manner. The Ryan Londregan case earlier this year was a failure of the system. This case involved a Minnesota trooper, doing his job as trained. The case should never have been charged. Law enforcement needs to be welcomed in our homes, schools and community. Those in Congress and legislature who call for defunding the police should be thrown out. Criminal Justice should be based upon the facts, law and constitutional rights. I will fight for integrity and justice.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Minnesota District 3 in 2024.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Minnesota

Election information in Minnesota: Nov. 5, 2024, election.

What was the voter registration deadline?

In-person: Nov. 5, 2024
By mail: Received by Oct. 15, 2024
Online: Oct. 15, 2024

Was absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

Yes

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

In-person: N/A
By mail: Received by Nov. 4, 2024
Online: Nov. 4, 2024

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

In-person: Nov. 5, 2024
By mail: Received by Nov. 5, 2024

Was early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What were the early voting start and end dates?

Sep. 20, 2024 to Nov. 4, 2024

Were all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, was a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When were polls open on Election Day?

7:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. (CST)

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Expand all | Collapse all

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/TadJude24.jpeg

Tad Jude (R)

Our economy needs to be fixed. The cost of housing has gone up at least 30% in the past 4 years making it difficult for young

people to get a start. Food and gas prices are also growing a rate way beyond the raises we get at our jobs. Out of control government spending contributes to the high taxes we all pay. Locally we have seen huge fraud in the Feeding our Future program which was supposed to feed children in need, fraud in the Hero Pay program intended to reward those who served us during the pandemic, and a SW Light Rail fiasco which is 9 years delayed and massively over budget. Yet the Federal Government continues to run endless budget deficits contributing to inflation. Congress needs to fix this mess. I will be accountable.

Our border needs to be secure. Fentanyl is taking over 100,000 American lives each year. I have seen unaccompanied minor children in my courtroom who have been trafficked over the border with no family to care for them. The asylum process has to be workable for our country and communities. The southern border should have an effective wall, the northern border needs state of the art surveillance, and enhanced ports of entry installed. Those from other countries who earn advanced education should be welcomed and employment needs should be recognized in green/work permit programs. Those who have a felony conviction and are here illegally should be expelled. Our immigration system should recognize the USA as a unique country full of promise.

Protect our community and support law enforcement. As a district court Judge for 11 years it has become painfully obvious that we have a serious problem in the Hennepin County criminal justice system. Our county attorney needs to do her job in an impartial, nonpolitical manner. The Ryan Londregan case earlier this year was a failure of the system. This case involved a Minnesota trooper, doing his job as trained. The case should never have been charged. Law enforcement needs to be welcomed in our homes, schools and community. Those in Congress and legislature who call for defunding the police should be thrown out.

Criminal Justice should be based upon the facts, law and constitutional rights. I will fight for integrity and justice.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Tad Jude (R)

In addition to fixing the economy, fixing the border, and prioritizing public safety, I am passionate about excellence in education;

clean air, water and land; and preserving Social Security/Medicare. Education has been drifting away from teacher and parent involvement at the cost of reading, writing and STEM achievement of our children. Funding should go with the student into the classroom. Our family enjoys the beautiful parks, lakes and trails we are blessed with and they need to be properly maintained. Our Seniors and work force need to be secure in having Social Security and Medicare available when needed. Plans to "beat

Medicare" or tax Social Security should be defeated.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Tad Jude (R)

An elected public servant should be honest, ethical, work hard and listen. There are several principles and characteristics I would strive for. One is showing up for work both in Washington DC and in the district. When I served as a Judge I was often the only one available at the Courthouse to meet the needs of citizens. As someone who has personally door knocked over 100,000 doors in this district I appreciate listening to constituents. As your Congressman I will hold town hall meetings, open office hours and continue door knocking. In listening I will stay teachable, be humble, kind and treat everyone with respect. In working on legislation I will share credit, demonstrate tolerance and common sense. Although Congress is partisan in organization, I pledge to reach across the aisle to fashion bipartisan and nonpartisan responses to the problems confronting our country. It is important to build solid relationships with constituents, Congress members and the administration. I will look to other members and constituents for advise in areas they have specialized expertise. I will take responsibility for my work in trying to fashion win/win solutions to problems. My experience in legislating leads me to feel that persistence is needed to attain good results. I would like to me a member of the Main Street caucus and Problem Solvers caucus in the House. Both bring a practical approach in solving issues before Congress. These caucuses are particularly tailored to address the needs of Minnesota's 3rd district. Former US Senator Hubert H. Humphrey has been quoted as saying: The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Tad Jude (R)

I would assist my father in delivering supplies to small businesses throughout Central Minnesota. I was also a paperboy delivering the news to subscribers early in the morning.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

Tad Jude (R)

Support term limits. I have never served over 11 years in an elected office. New energy and ideas are important in Congress.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Tad Jude (R)

Yes. Win/win solutions are possible. I value being a problem solver.

How should the U.S. House use its investigative powers?

Tad Jude (R)

Waste of taxpayer dollars should be investigated. When government programs fail to meet the needs they should be examined. I support the independent Congressional Budget Office and General Accounting Office in their important work. When you have a criminal justice system, such as we have in Hennepin County, where the County Attorney has misused her office at the expense of crime victims there should be an inquiry. It is the proper role of Congress to hold the members and other branches of Government accountable to the taxpayer.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Tad Jude (R)

Hundreds have endorsed me, many of which are listed on my website.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

Tad Jude (R)

Absolutely necessary. We have had wasted taxpayer money on SW Light Rail, which was built without proper management. Outright fraud in programs to feed needy children and reward Front Line workers during the pandemic. I support openness in Government with getting back to regular Congressional process. Limited issue bills with open hearings and recorded votes.

Campaign finance

Name

Party

Receipts*

Disbursements**

Cash on hand

Date

Kelly Morrison

Democratic Party

$2,263,654

$2,238,265

$25,389

As of December 31, 2024

Tad Jude

Republican Party

$380,144

$372,979

$7,166

As of December 31, 2024

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2024. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.

General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.^[5]
Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.^[6]^[7]^[8]

Race ratings: Minnesota's 3rd Congressional District election, 2024
Race tracker	Race ratings
	November 5, 2024	October 29, 2024	October 22, 2024	October 15, 2024
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic
Decision Desk HQ and The Hill	Safe Democratic	Safe Democratic	Safe Democratic	Safe Democratic
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Safe Democratic	Safe Democratic	Safe Democratic	Safe Democratic
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Minnesota in the 2024 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Minnesota, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2024
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source
Minnesota	U.S. House	Ballot-qualified party^[9]	1,000	$300.00	6/4/2024	Source
Minnesota	U.S. House	Unaffiliated	1,000	N/A	6/4/2024	Source

District analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.

District map - A map of the district in place for the election.
Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2024 U.S. House elections in the state.
Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.

District map

Competitiveness
Presidential elections

State party control

Below was the map in use at the time of the election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2024

This section contains data on U.S. House primary election competitiveness in Minnesota.

Minnesota U.S. House competitiveness, 2014-2024
Office	Districts/ offices	Seats	Open seats	Candidates	Possible primaries	Contested Democratic primaries	Contested Republican primaries	% of contested primaries	Incumbents in contested primaries	% of incumbents in contested primaries
2024	8	8	1	29	16	4	6	62.5%	6	85.7%
2022	8	8	1	32	16	5	4	56.3%	4	50.0%
2020	8	8	0	37	16	4	6	62.5%	6	75.0%
2018	8	8	3	38	16	5	5	62.5%	2	40.0%
2016	8	8	1	30	16	3	5	50.0%	3	42.9%
2014	8	8	1	19	16	1	2	18.8%	0	0.0%

Post-filing deadline analysis

The following analysis covers all U.S. House districts up for election in Minnesota in 2024. Information below was calculated on July 10, 2024, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.

Twenty-nine candidates ran for Minnesota’s eight U.S. House districts, including 14 Democrats and 15 Republicans. That’s an average of 3.63 candidates per district. There were 4.00 candidates per district in 2022, 4.63 candidates per district in 2020 and 4.75 in 2018.

The 29 candidates who ran in Minnesota in 2024 are the fewest number of candidates since 2014, when 19 candidates ran.

The 3rd Congressional District was the only open district in Minnesota in 2024. Incumbent Rep. Dean Phillips (D-03) did not run for re-election to run for President of the United States.

Five candidates—four Democrats and one Republican—ran for the 5th Congressional District, the most candidates who ran for a district in Minnesota in 2024.

Ten primaries—four Democratic and six Republican—were contested in 2024. Between 2014 and 2022, an average of 8.00 primaries were contested each election cycle.

Six incumbents—two Democrats and four Republicans—ran in contested primaries in 2024, tying with 2020 for the most in the last 10 years.

Candidates filed to run in the Republican and Democratic primaries in all districts, meaning no seats were guaranteed to either party.

Partisan Voter Index

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Heading into the 2024 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+8. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 8 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Minnesota's 3rd the 146th most Democratic district nationally.^[10]

2020 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2020 presidential election would have been in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.

2020 presidential results in Minnesota's 3rd based on 2024 district lines
Joe Biden	Donald Trump
59.5%	38.5%

Inside Elections Baselines

See also: Inside Elections

Inside Elections' Baseline is a figure that analyzes all federal and statewide election results from the district over the past four election cycles. The results are combined in an index estimating the strength of a typical Democratic or Republican candidate in the congressional district.^[11] The table below displays the Baseline data for this district.

Inside Elections Baseline for 2024
Democratic Baseline	Republican Baseline	Difference
55.5	40.9	D+14.6

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in Minnesota, 2020

Minnesota presidential election results (1900-2020)

20 Democratic wins
10 Republican wins
1 other win

Year	1900	1904	1908	1912	1916	1920	1924	1928	1932	1936	1940	1944	1948	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020
Winning Party	R	R	R	P^[12]	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	D	D	D	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D

See also: Party control of Minnesota state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Minnesota's congressional delegation as of May 2024.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Minnesota
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	2	4	6
Republican	0	4	4
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	0	0
Total	2	8	10

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Minnesota's top four state executive offices as of May 2024.

State executive officials in Minnesota, May 2024
Office	Officeholder
Governor	Tim Walz
Lieutenant Governor	Peggy Flanagan
Secretary of State	Steve Simon
Attorney General	Keith Ellison

State legislature

Minnesota State Senate

Party		As of February 2024
	Democratic Party	34
	Republican Party	33
	Independent	0
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		67

Minnesota House of Representatives

Party		As of February 2024
	Democratic Party	70
	Republican Party	60
	Independent	0
	Other	0
	Vacancies	1
Total		134

Trifecta control

The table below shows the state's trifecta status from 1992 until the 2024 election.

Minnesota Party Control: 1992-2024
Four years of Democratic trifectas • No Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
Governor	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	I	I	I	I	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
Senate	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D
House	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	D	D	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D

District history

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2018.