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Minnesota Secretary of State election, 2026

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2022
Minnesota Secretary of State
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General election
Election details
Filing deadline: June 2, 2026
Primary: August 11, 2026
General: November 3, 2026
How to vote
Poll times:

7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Voting in Minnesota

Ballotpedia analysis
Federal and state primary competitiveness
State executive elections in 2026
Impact of term limits in 2026
State government trifectas
State government triplexes
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
Minnesota
executive elections
Governor

Lieutenant Governor
Attorney General
Secretary of State
Auditor

Minnesota is holding an election for secretary of state on November 3, 2026.

To learn more about other elections on the ballot, click here.

Candidates and election results

Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:

  • Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
  • Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for Minnesota Secretary of State

Tad Jude is running in the general election for Minnesota Secretary of State on November 3, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Tad Jude
Tad Jude (R)

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Candidate profiles

There are currently no candidate profiles created for this race. Candidate profiles will appear here as they are created. Encourage the candidates in this race to complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey so that their profile will appear here. You can ask candidates in this race to fill out the survey by clicking their names below:

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Voting information

See also: Voting in Minnesota

Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.


Past elections

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2014.

2022

See also: Minnesota Secretary of State election, 2022

General election

General election for Minnesota Secretary of State

Incumbent Steve Simon defeated Kim Crockett and Steve Carlson in the general election for Minnesota Secretary of State on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Steve Simon
Steve Simon (D)
 
54.5
 
1,345,685
Image of Kim Crockett
Kim Crockett (R) Candidate Connection
 
45.4
 
1,119,949
Image of Steve Carlson
Steve Carlson (Independent) (Write-in) Candidate Connection
 
0.0
 
15
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
2,080

Total votes: 2,467,729
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Minnesota Secretary of State

Incumbent Steve Simon defeated Steve Carlson in the Democratic primary for Minnesota Secretary of State on August 9, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Steve Simon
Steve Simon
 
72.5
 
285,314
Image of Steve Carlson
Steve Carlson Candidate Connection
 
27.5
 
108,144

Total votes: 393,458
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Minnesota Secretary of State

Kim Crockett defeated Erik van Mechelen in the Republican primary for Minnesota Secretary of State on August 9, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Kim Crockett
Kim Crockett Candidate Connection
 
63.2
 
190,156
Image of Erik van Mechelen
Erik van Mechelen Candidate Connection
 
36.8
 
110,940

Total votes: 301,096
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

2018

See also: Minnesota Secretary of State election, 2018

General election

General election for Minnesota Secretary of State

Incumbent Steve Simon defeated John Howe and William Denney in the general election for Minnesota Secretary of State on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Steve Simon
Steve Simon (D)
 
52.3
 
1,328,502
Image of John Howe
John Howe (R)
 
43.6
 
1,109,093
Image of William Denney
William Denney (Independence Party) Candidate Connection
 
4.1
 
103,610
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
1,317

Total votes: 2,542,522
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Candidate Connection = 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. Incumbent Steve Simon advanced from the Democratic primary for Minnesota Secretary of State.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. John Howe advanced from the Republican primary for Minnesota Secretary of State.

2014

See also: Minnesota Secretary of State election, 2014
Secretary of State of Minnesota, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngSteve Simon 47% 901,450
     Republican Dan Severson 45.9% 879,022
     Independence Bob Helland 4.9% 94,065
     Libertarian Bob Odden 2.1% 40,729
     Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.1% 1,134
Total Votes 1,916,400
Election results via Minnesota Secretary of State

Election analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about demographics, past elections, and partisan control of the state.

  • Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the state.
  • Statewide elections - Information about recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in the state.
  • State partisanship - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
  • Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.


See also: Presidential voting trends in Minnesota and The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Cook PVI by congressional district

2024 presidential results by 2026 congressional district lines

2024 presidential results in congressional districts, Minnesota
District Kamala Harris Democratic Party Donald Trump Republican Party
Minnesota's 1st 43.0% 55.0%
Minnesota's 2nd 52.0% 46.0%
Minnesota's 3rd 60.0% 38.0%
Minnesota's 4th 67.0% 31.0%
Minnesota's 5th 80.0% 18.0%
Minnesota's 6th 39.0% 59.0%
Minnesota's 7th 31.0% 67.0%
Minnesota's 8th 42.0% 56.0%
Source: The Downballot

2016-2024

How a state's counties vote in a presidential election and the size of those counties can provide additional insights into election outcomes at other levels of government including statewide and congressional races. Below, four categories are used to describe each county's voting pattern over the 2016, 2020, and 2024 presidential elections: Solid, Trending, Battleground, and New. Click [show] on the table below for examples:


Following the 2024 presidential election, 50.6% of Minnesotans lived in one of the state's 8 Solid Democratic counties, which voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in every election from 2016 to 2024, and 44.9% lived in one of 74 Solid Republican counties. Overall, Minnesota was Solid Democratic, having voted for Hillary Clinton (D) in 2016, Joe Biden (D) in 2020, and Kamala Harris (D) in 2024. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in Minnesota following the 2024 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.

Historical voting trends

Minnesota presidential election results (1900-2024)

  • 21 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 2024
Winning Party R R R P[1] 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 D

This section details the results of the five most recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections held in the state.

U.S. Senate elections

See also: List of United States Senators from Minnesota

The table below details the vote in the five most recent U.S. Senate races in Minnesota.

U.S. Senate election results in Minnesota
Race Winner Runner up
2024 56.2%Democratic Party 40.5%Republican Party
2020 48.8%Democratic Party 43.5%Republican Party
2018 53.0%Democratic Party 42.4%Republican Party
2018 60.3%Democratic Party 36.2%Republican Party
2014 53.2%Democratic Party 42.9%Republican Party
Average 54.3 41.1

Gubernatorial elections

See also: Governor of Minnesota

The table below details the vote in the five most recent gubernatorial elections in Minnesota.

Gubernatorial election results in Minnesota
Race Winner Runner up
2022 52.3%Democratic Party 44.6%Republican Party
2018 53.8%Democratic Party 42.4%Republican Party
2014 50.1%Democratic Party 44.5%Republican Party
2010 43.6%Democratic Party 43.2%Republican Party
2006 46.7%Republican Party 45.7%Democratic Party
Average 49.3 44.1
See also: Party control of Minnesota state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Minnesota's congressional delegation as of October 2025.

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 October 2025.

State executive officials in Minnesota, October 2025
Office Officeholder
Governor Democratic Party Tim Walz
Lieutenant Governor Democratic Party Peggy Flanagan
Secretary of State Democratic Party Steve Simon
Attorney General Democratic Party Keith Ellison

State legislature

Minnesota State Senate

Party As of October 2025
     Democratic Party 33
     Republican Party 32
     Other 0
     Vacancies 2
Total 67

Minnesota House of Representatives

Party As of October 2025
     Democratic Party 67
     Republican Party 67
     Other 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 134

Trifecta control

Minnesota Party Control: 1992-2025
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 25
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 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 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 S

The table below details demographic data in Minnesota and compares it to the broader United States as of 2023.

Demographic Data for Minnesota
Minnesota United States
Population 5,706,494 331,449,281
Land area (sq mi) 79,631 3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White 78.4% 63.4%
Black/African American 6.8% 12.4%
Asian 5.1% 5.8%
Native American 0.9% 0.9%
Pacific Islander 0.3% 0.4%
Other (single race) 2.7% 6.6%
Multiple 6.2% 10.7%
Hispanic/Latino 6.2% 19%
Education
High school graduation rate 93.9% 89.4%
College graduation rate 38.8% 35%
Income
Median household income $87,556 $78,538
Persons below poverty level 9.2% 12.4%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2018-2023).
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Secretary of State elections in 2026

There are 26 secretary of state seats on the ballot in 2026.

See also

Minnesota State Executive Elections News and Analysis
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Minnesota State Executive Offices
Minnesota State Legislature
Minnesota Courts
2025202420232022202120202019201820172016
Minnesota elections: 2025202420232022202120202019201820172016
Party control of state government
State government trifectas
State of the state addresses
Partisan composition of governors

External links

Footnotes

  1. Progressive Party