Steve Simon (’96) Elected Minnesota Secretary of State

Steve Simon (’96) was elected Minnesota Secretary of State earlier this month, winning a close race by a margin of 22,000 out of 1.9 million votes cast. He will take office in January.

Simon grew up in the Minneapolis suburbs of Hopkins and St. Louis Park and developed an interest in government and politics as a child. In 1984, at age 14, he volunteered with Walter Mondale's (’56) presidential campaign. In 1992, having just graduated from Tufts University with a B.A. in political science, he went to work as a full-time staffer at Bill Clinton's presidential campaign headquarters in Little Rock, Ark.

Following Clinton's election, Simon returned home to the Twin Cities and enrolled at the Law School. After receiving his J.D., he went to work in the Minnesota Attorney General's office, concentrating on consumer protection and education issues. He later entered private practice and was named a Rising Star four times by Minnesota Law & Politics magazine. In 2004, Simon ran for, and won, a seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives, where he served for 10 years. As a state legislator, he spearheaded several voting rights and voter protection bills and chaired the House Elections Committee.