Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.
Steve Simon (Minnesota)
2015 - Present
2027
10
Steve Simon (Democratic Party) is the Minnesota Secretary of State. He assumed office on January 5, 2015. His current term ends on January 4, 2027.
Simon (Democratic Party) ran for re-election for Minnesota Secretary of State. He won in the general election on November 8, 2022.
Biography
Steve Simon earned a bachelor's degree from Tufts University in 1992 and a law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School, Twin Cities in 1996. His career experience includes working as an associate at Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi and serving as an assistant state attorney general from 1996 to 2001.[1]
Political career
Below is a list of offices within Ballotpedia’s scope. Offices outside of that scope will not be listed. If an update is needed and the office is within our scope, please contact us.
Simon's political career includes the following offices:
- 2015-present: Minnesota Secretary of State
- 2005-2015: Minnesota House of Representatives District 46B
Elections
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 | ||
| ✔ |  | Steve Simon (D) | 54.5 | 1,345,685 |
 | Kim Crockett (R)  | 45.4 | 1,119,949 | |
 | Steve Carlson (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 15 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 2,080 | ||
| Total votes: 2,467,729 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
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 | ||
| ✔ | | Steve Simon | 72.5 | 285,314 |
| Steve Carlson | 27.5 | 108,144 | |
| Total votes: 393,458 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
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 | ||
| ✔ | | Kim Crockett | 63.2 | 190,156 |
 | Erik van Mechelen | 36.8 | 110,940 | |
| Total votes: 301,096 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Campaign finance
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 | ||
| ✔ | | Steve Simon (D) | 52.3 | 1,328,502 |
 | John Howe (R) | 43.6 | 1,109,093 | |
 | William Denney (Independence Party) | 4.1 | 103,610 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 1,317 | ||
| Total votes: 2,542,522 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = 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. | ||||
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
Simon ran for Minnesota Secretary of State. He won the Democratic nomination in the primary election on August 12. The general election took place on November 4, 2014.
Results
Primary
| Minnesota Secretary of State, Democratic Primary, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
 Steve Simon |
42.7% | 65,634 | ||
| Dick Franson | 29.1% | 44,700 | ||
| Gregg A. Iverson | 28.3% | 43,478 | ||
| Total Votes | 153,812 | |||
| Election results via Minnesota Secretary of State. | ||||
General election
| Secretary of State of Minnesota, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Steve 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 | ||||
2012
Simon won re-election in the 2012 election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 46B. He was unopposed in the Democratic primary on August 14 and defeated David Arvidson (R) in the general election on November 6, 2012.[2][3]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Steve Simon Incumbent |
70.1% | 14,956 | |
| Republican | David Arvidson | 29.9% | 6,372 | |
| Total Votes | 21,328 | |||
2010
Simon won re-election to the District 44A seat in 2010. He had no primary opposition. He defeated Stephen Manderfeld (R) in the general election on November 2, 2010.[4]
| Minnesota House of Representatives, District 44A (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Steve Simon (DFL)
|
9,538 | 65.36% | ||
| Stephen Manderfeld (R) | 5,031 | 34.48% | ||
| Write-In | 24 | 0.16% | ||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Simon won election to the District 44A Seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives, defeating Tracy Leahy.[5]
Steve Simon raised $43,601 for his campaign.[6]
| Minnesota House of Representatives, District 44A (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Steve Simon (DFL)
|
14,394 | 68.54% | ||
| Tracy Leahy (R) | 6,553 | 31.20% | ||
| Write-In | 53 | 0.25% | ||
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Steve Simon did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2014
Simon's website highlighted the following campaign themes:
| “ |
|
” |
| —Steve Simon's campaign website, (2014)[8] | ||
2012
Simon's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[9]
Early Childhood Education
- Excerpt: "Kids entering Kindergarten should be prepared and ready to learn. We need to further invest in early childhood education so that all kids have the basic skills to start learning. Many kids who start behind can never catch up."
K-12 Schools
- Excerpt: "We have to focus, above all else, on student achievement. Do what works. Ditch what doesn’t. And try new approaches."
Colleges and Universities
- Excerpt: "A quality education system is the cornerstone of Minnesota’s economic success. We need to maintain our nationally known level of excellence as a center of higher learning. "
Healthcare
- Excerpt: "We need to provide help for the thousands of hard-working Minnesotans who don’t have access to basic health insurance"
Tax Fairness
- Excerpt: "I want government to rely less on unfair property taxes and more on revenue that’s based on the ability to pay."
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.
Noteworthy events
June 2017 request for voter rolls
On June 29, 2017, the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, created by President Donald Trump (R) on May 11, requested information on registered voters from all 50 states dating back to 2006. The states were given until July 14 to respond. On June 30, Secretary Simon announced that the state would refuse to provide the requested information to the commission.
| “ | When Minnesotans registered to vote, they didn’t ever think their personal information would end up in some federal database in Washington, D.C.[7] | ” |
| —Secretary Steve Simon[10] | ||
State legislative tenure
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Minnesota scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2014
In 2014, the Minnesota State Legislature was in session from February 25 to May 19.
- Legislators are scored on if they supported or opposed AFSCME's position.
- Legislators are scored based on votes on economic issues.
- Legislators are scored on their support for the organization's principles, which it defines as "provid[ing] a basis for a constitutionally limited government established to sustain life, liberty, justice, property rights and free enterprise."
- Legislators are scored on bills of interest to an organization advocating "limited government, free enterprise, and individual liberty."
- Legislators are scored based on bills related to education.
- Legislators are scored on business-related bills.
- Legislators are scored on bills related to reproductive health issues.
- Legislators are scored based on issues affecting nurses, healthcare, and working families.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to animals.
- Legislators are scored on bills related to reproductive health issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on small business issues.
- Legislators are scored on how they voted on tax and fiscal legislation.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
- Legislators are scored by the organization on "their support for legislation forwarding an equitable and inclusive Minnesota."
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2013, the Minnesota State Legislature was in session from January 8 to May 20.
|
Taxpayers League of Minnesota
The Taxpayers League of Minnesota, a Minnesota-based taxpayer advocacy organization, releases a legislative scorecard for the Minnesota House of Representatives and Minnesota State Senate once a year. The scorecard gives each legislator a score based on how they voted in the prior legislative term on tax issues and “their efforts to balance the state budget without a tax increase.” The organization also compiles a legislator’s individual "Lifetime Score."[11]
2013
Simon received a score of 0% in the 2013 scorecard, ranking 81st out of all 134 Minnesota House of Representatives members.[12]
2012
Simon received a score of 0% in the 2012 scorecard, ranking 111th out of all 134 Minnesota House of Representatives members.[13]
2011
Simon received a score of 8% in the 2011 scorecard, ranking 86th out of all 134 Minnesota House of Representatives members. [14]
See also
2022 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Minnesota Secretary of State |
Officeholder Minnesota Secretary of State |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Steve Simon's Biography," accessed December 18, 2014
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "2012 State General Election Candidate Filings," accessed June 18, 2012
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "Minnesota State Canvassing Report - State Primary - Tuesday, August 14, 2012," accessed April 23, 2014
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "2010 Election Results," accessed March 9, 2014
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "All Races by Legislative District," accessed April 23, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "Simon, Steve," accessed December 18, 2014
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Steve Simon for Secretary of State, "Issues," accessed August 6, 2014
- ↑ Steve Simon, "On the Issues," accessed December 18, 2014 (Archived)
- ↑ '"Star Tribune, "Minnesota secretary of state won't supply voter information to Trump's panel," June 30, 2017
- ↑ Taypayers League of Minnesota, "Legislative Scorecards," accessed May 15, 2014
- ↑ Taypayers League of Minnesota, "Legislative Scorecard, 2013," accessed May 15, 2014
- ↑ Taypayers League of Minnesota, "Legislative Scorecard, 2012," accessed May 15, 2014
- ↑ Taypayers League of Minnesota, "Legislative Scorecard, 2011," accessed May 15, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Mark Ritchie (D) |
Minnesota Secretary of State 2015-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Minnesota House of Representatives District 46B 2005-2015 |
Succeeded by - |
| |||||||||||||||||||
 |
State of Minnesota St. Paul (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
