Minnesota Secretary of State candidate Tad Jude on what he'd change about MN elections

(FOX 9) - Republican candidate Tad Jude is challenging incumbent Democratic Secretary of State Steve Simon in Minnesota's 2026 election, campaigning on election security, government fraud prevention and giving voters a say in the state's flag design.

Jude joined FOX 9's Rob Olson on FOX 9 All Day to discuss his platform ahead of Election Day. Simon has also been invited to participate in the series.

Tad Jude on becoming Minnesota's youngest state legislator

"It was a fun time. I just went out door knocking, and I loved to door knock and meet people. And they enjoyed meeting me, evidently and it worked out."

Asked what motivated him to run for the Legislature at age 20:

"You know, our family has always been interested in issues and in the community, and I've been real involved in the community. I'm a veteran, and I've been actually commander of the local American Legion post. And, and, you know, it just is something that I enjoyed doing. I really enjoyed door knocking a lot and getting to know people and finding out what their concerns were about the community, and made a lot of friends that way, too."

Tad Jude on his judicial career

"I was a judge for 11 years and handled criminal cases. We had a lot of jury trials, and also civil cases as well. And, you get to know our community very well in the courtroom and on the bench. And it was all during the pandemic, too. Yeah. And oftentimes I'd be the only judge in the courthouse, so I handled everything that came in at the door."

Tad Jude on his small business experience

"I started three small businesses. Our son Jamie is running one of them. And, they've gone on and become a part of the community. And that brought me to the Secretary of State's office because they register all the businesses in Minnesota. Yeah. You know, whether they're nonprofit or for profit. And we want to make sure that we're getting to the fraud problem that we've got in Minnesota."

Tad Jude on Minnesota election security

"What we need to do is encourage people to vote. We want to make it simple to vote, but hard to cheat. And basically, if you look at all 50 states, the Heritage Foundation have us rated number 45th out of 50 states in terms of election security. A week ago, ten people were charged with voting illegally here in Minnesota. And we want to make sure that every vote is a trusted vote that can be counted to protect the vote. And one of the ways I do that is by having a photo ID to go vote. And having a photo ID is something that's a part of modern life. I mean, if you go to the pharmacy or go to Costco or sometimes even Olive Garden or certainly going on a plane, you need to have a photo ID, and government can help people achieve that."

Tad Jude on revisiting Minnesota's voter ID amendment

"You could have it done by the legislature. I wouldn't mind it going back to the voters, I think the voters need to be empowered. You know, they need to have meaningful votes. Now, you quoted how much it failed by. It was a very close vote [the 2012 ballot question on voter ID]. And on constitutional amendments, if you don't vote, it counts as a no vote. So actually, you know, if you look at the actual votes on it, it probably passed. But because those who didn't vote on the constitutional amendment, counts as a no vote and all."

Tad Jude on the secretary of state's role in election policy

"The Secretary of State's responsible for administering elections. And he or she is looked to for leadership on election issues. Secretary of State will go to the legislature, and I know we'll go to court and give advice. And, you know, for example, the incumbent was against having election judges for early voting. Now, we started early voting last Friday. So you can go to the city hall right now. And I encourage people to do that. Go to your city hall or county courthouse and cast an early vote. If you're able to do that, inclined to do that. Your vote goes right in and is counted. But you're going to have election judges there. That's something I'm for. And I know the incumbent was opposed to that."

Tad Jude on other changes to Minnesota elections

"Well, absolutely. I think we need to tighten up vouching. Vouching I think is kind of loosey goosey here in Minnesota. We've had fraud. I mean, the Secretary of State's office is really the gears of state government, you know, where you have elections and you registered businesses. You do a number of other things like take care of state seals. And, yeah, you know, that type of thing, state emblems. But, we need to have, I think, absolute integrity. And do so in a nonpartisan way so that we have an even playing field for voting and people can have confidence in the outcome."

Tad Jude on Minnesota's state flag

"Secretary Simon was the only elected official to vote on it, and that's what people are asking for."

Asked about the commission that selected Minnesota's new flag:

"The Secretary of State is responsible for the emblems of the state. Now, I want to have a public vote. And, you know, a lot of cities and counties are refusing to fly the Simon's flag fiasco out there. People want to have a voice. They want to have a vote on the flag. And there's something that comes under the Secretary of State's office in terms of administering elections. But you'd have to go to the legislature to have that authorized."

Tad Jude on holding a statewide vote on the flag

"I think in order to have a legitimate state flag, you need to have that imprimatur, have the people speak, you have their voice heard. And that's what I hear."

Tad Jude on combating government fraud

"You know, I'm running to get our money back, our flag back, get our elections back. And in terms of getting our money back, the Secretary of State is on the State Executive Council. State Executive Council is supposed to be stepping in, looking at what the legislative audit reports, trying to get a handle on state government. And we've failed during the last ten years to really catch this fraud problem and the fraud problem costs every man, woman and child, $1,500 a year in Minnesota, we need to address that. So I want to see the Executive Council be effective and active. When businesses filed with the state of Minnesota, their first stop is the Secretary of State's office. We want to make sure there are legitimate nonprofit businesses and not ripping off the taxpayer and helping needy people."

Tad Jude on using the secretary of state's office to prevent fraud

"We can address fraud. We can address election security so we can protect the vote, and we can give people a voice, give them a vote on the flag. I mean, we can work on all those issues. And I will do that as Secretary of State."