Natalie Hudson
2023 - Present
2031
1
Natalie E. Hudson is the Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. She assumed office on October 2, 2023. Her current term ends on January 7, 2031.
Hudson ran for re-election as Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Hudson was appointed chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court by Gov. Tim Walz in August 2023, effective October 2, 2023, to succeed Justice Lorie Gildea. She was sworn in on October 2, 2023. [1] To learn more about this appointment, click here.
Hudson was first appointed to the Minnesota Supreme Court by Gov. Mark Dayton (D) on August 18, 2015, and sworn in on November 20, 2015, to fill the vacancy left after Alan Page's retirement.[2][3][4] She was subsequently elected to her seat in 2016 in a nonpartisan election for a full six-year term.
To read more about judicial selection in Minnesota, click here.
In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country. As part of this study, we assigned each justice a Confidence Score describing our confidence in the degree of partisanship exhibited by the justices' past partisan behavior, before they joined the court.[5] Hudson received a confidence score of Mild Democrat.[6] Click here to read more about this study.
Biography
Hudson received an undergraduate degree from Arizona State University, Tempe, in 1979 and a J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1982. She was editor-in-chief of the law school's newspaper.[4] Prior to serving on the Minnesota Supreme Court, Hudson was a judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals from 2002 to 2015 and an assistant attorney general with the Office of the Minnesota Attorney General from 1994-2002. She also served as a city attorney for St. Paul from 1994 to 2002, worked as assistant dean of student affairs for Hamline University School of Law from 1992-1994, and as an attorney at Robins, Kaplan, Miller and Ciresi from 1989 to 1992.[4][7]
Elections
2024
See also: Minnesota Supreme Court elections, 2024
General election
General election for Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice
Incumbent Natalie E. Hudson defeated Stephen Emery in the general election for Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Natalie E. Hudson (Nonpartisan) | 63.4 | 1,529,063 |
 | Stephen Emery (Nonpartisan) | 36.2 | 872,720 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.4 | 9,023 | ||
| Total votes: 2,410,806 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
The primary election was canceled. Incumbent Natalie E. Hudson and Stephen Emery advanced from the primary for Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice.
Campaign finance
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Hudson in this election.
2022
See also: Minnesota Supreme Court elections, 2022
General election
General election for Minnesota Supreme Court Seat 6
Incumbent Natalie E. Hudson won election in the general election for Minnesota Supreme Court Seat 6 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Natalie E. Hudson (Nonpartisan) | 99.1 | 1,372,369 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.9 | 12,723 | ||
| Total votes: 1,385,092 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
The primary election was canceled. Incumbent Natalie E. Hudson advanced from the primary for Minnesota Supreme Court Seat 6.
Campaign finance
2016
- See also: Minnesota Supreme Court elections, 2016
Hudson filed to run for election to her seat in 2016. She and challenger Michelle L. MacDonald defeated challenger Craig Foss in the primary election and advanced to the November 8 general election.[8]
Election results
November 8 general election
Incumbent Natalie Hudson defeated Michelle L. MacDonald in the general election for Seat 6 on the Minnesota Supreme Court.
| Minnesota Supreme Court, Seat 6, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Natalie Hudson Incumbent |
58.81% | 1,266,827 |
| Michelle L. MacDonald | 40.77% | 878,270 |
| Write-in votes | 0.42% | 8,945 |
| Total Votes (4073 of 4120 precincts reporting: 99%) | 2,154,042 | |
| Source: Minnesota Secretary of State | ||
August 9 primary
| Minnesota Supreme Court Primary, Seat 6, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Natalie Hudson Incumbent |
64.96% | 173,884 |
| Michelle L. MacDonald |
20.49% | 54,853 |
| Craig Foss | 14.55% | 38,960 |
| Total Votes (4110 of 4120 Precincts Reporting) | 267,697 | |
| Source: Minnesota Secretary of State Official Results | ||
Endorsements
- The Star-Tribune, "Natalie Hudson is clear choice for Minnesota Supreme Court," August 1, 2016
- Insight News, "August 9th primary endorsements"
Minnesota State Bar Association poll
The Minnesota State Bar Association polled its members between July 11 and July 24, 2016.[9] The poll included 3,396 members; 1172 (34.5 percent) responded. The respondents overwhelmingly favored Justice Hudson.
| Candidate | Votes | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Natalie Hudson | 1099 of 1172 | 93.77% |
| Michelle L. MacDonald | 37 of 1172 | 3.16% |
| Craig Foss | 36 of 1172 | 3.07% |
| Source: | Minnesota State Bar Association |
2010
- See also: Minnesota judicial elections, 2010
Hudson was re-elected to the Court of Appeals for a six-year term after running unopposed.[10]
Campaign themes
2022
Natalie E. Hudson did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Appointments
2023
Minnesota governor Tim Walz (D) appointed Natalie Hudson to the chief justiceship of the Minnesota Supreme Court. She had previously served as an associate justice of the court from 2015 until her ascension in 2023.
Hudson replaced Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, who retired on October 1, 2023. Gildea's replacement is Governor Walz's (D) second nominee to the seven-member supreme court.
In Minnesota, state supreme court justices are elected in nonpartisan elections. There are 13 states that use this selection method. To read more about the nonpartisan election of judges, click here.
Interim vacancies on the supreme court are filled via gubernatorial appointment. After serving for at least one year, the appointed judge can run for a full term in the next general election.[11] Other candidates may file to run against them in the election.[12]
2015
Governor Mark Dayton appointed Hudson to the Minnesota Supreme Court.[2]
Analysis
Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship (2020)
Last updated: June 15, 2020
In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country as of June 15, 2020.
The study presented Confidence Scores that represented our confidence in each justice's degree of partisan affiliation. This was not a measure of where a justice fell on an ideological spectrum, but rather a measure of how much confidence we had that a justice was or had been affiliated with a political party. The scores were based on seven factors, including but not limited to party registration.[13]
The five resulting categories of Confidence Scores were:
- Strong Democrat
- Mild Democrat
- Indeterminate[14]
- Mild Republican
- Strong Republican
This justice's Confidence Score, as well as the factors contributing to that score, is presented below. The information below was current as of June 2020.
Natalie
Hudson
Minnesota
- Partisan Confidence Score:
Mild Democrat - Judicial Selection Method:
Elected - Key Factors:
- Held political office as a Democrat
- Appointed by a Democratic governor
Partisan Profile
Details:
Hudson served as Minnesota Assistant Attorney General to Democratic Attorney General Skip Humphrey from 1994-2002. Hudson was appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton (D).
State supreme court judicial selection in Minnesota
- See also: Judicial selection in Minnesota
The seven judges of the Minnesota Supreme Court are chosen in nonpartisan general elections to six-year terms. Sitting judges must run for re-election if they wish to serve additional terms. While party affiliation is not designated on the ballot, incumbency is.[11]
Qualifications
Judges of the supreme court are required to be "learned in the law" and under 70 years old. Sitting judges who reach the age of 70 while in office are allowed to serve until the last day of that month.[11]
Chief justice
The chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court is directly chosen by voters in a nonpartisan election. He or she serves in that capacity for a full six-year term.[11]
Vacancies
Interim vacancies on the supreme court are filled via gubernatorial appointment. After serving for at least one year, the appointed judge can run for a full term in the next general election.[11] Other candidates may file to run against them in the election.[12]
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
See also
External links
|
Candidate Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice |
Officeholder Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice |
Footnotes
- ↑ ‘'Minnesota Judicial Branch, "Gov. Walz names Natalie Hudson Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice," accessed October 3, 2023
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Minnesota Star-Tribune, "Dayton appoints appellate court Judge Natalie E. Hudson to state supreme court," August 18, 2015
- ↑ Minnesota Star Tribune, "New state Supreme Court justice, Natalie E. Hudson, sworn in," November 20, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Minnesota Judicial Branch, "Associate Justice Natalie E. Hudson," accessed June 28, 2021
- ↑ We calculated confidence scores by collecting several data points such as party registration, donations, and previous political campaigns.
- ↑ The five possible confidence scores were: Strong Democrat, Mild Democrat, Indeterminate, Mild Republican, and Strong Republican.
- ↑ Minnesota Star-Tribune, "Dayton appoints appellate court Judge Natalie E. Hudson to state supreme court," August 18, 2015
- ↑ The New York Times, "Minnesota Supreme Court Seat 6 Results: Natalie Hudson Wins," accessed June 28, 2021
- ↑ Minnesota State Bar Association, "Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA) Announces Results of Poll on Contested Supreme Court Judicial Race," July 25, 2016
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "Election Results," accessed June 28, 2021
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection," accessed September 4, 2021
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 The Office of the Revisor of Statutes, "Constitution of the State of Minnesota," accessed August 8, 2016
- ↑ The seven factors were party registration, donations made to partisan candidates, donations made to political parties, donations received from political parties or bodies with clear political affiliation, participation in political campaigns, the partisanship of the body responsible for appointing the justice, and state trifecta status when the justice joined the court.
- ↑ An Indeterminate score indicates that there is either not enough information about the justice’s partisan affiliations or that our research found conflicting partisan affiliations.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Lorie Gildea |
Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice 2023-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Minnesota Supreme Court Seat 6 2015-2023 |
Succeeded by Karl Procaccini |
Federal courts:
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Minnesota • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Minnesota
State courts:
Minnesota Supreme Court • Minnesota Court of Appeals • Minnesota District Courts • Minnesota Problem-Solving Courts • Minnesota Tax Court • Minnesota Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals
State resources:
Courts in Minnesota • Minnesota judicial elections • Judicial selection in Minnesota
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