Thaddeus Victor Jude (born December 13, 1951) is a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician and lawyer from

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. Jude was a candidate in the

2022 Minnesota Attorney General election The 2022 Minnesota Attorney General election will be held on November 8, 2022, to elect the attorney general of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Incumbent Keith Ellison will be eligible to run for reelection. Background In 2018, Keith Ellison was e ...

, but withdrew and endorsed Jim Schultz on May 13, 2022 after being eliminated at the convention. He subsequently ran for Hennepin County Attorney that same year, finishing 4th in the primary. First elected to office in 1972, he has previously served in the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. There are 134 members, twice as many as the Minnesota Senate. Floor sessions are held in the north wing of the State Capitol in Saint Pa ...

and in the

Minnesota Senate The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any U.S. state legislature. Floor sessions are hel ...

. He also served on the

Hennepin County Board of Commissioners Hennepin County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Its county seat is Minneapolis, the state's most populous city. The county is named in honor of the 17th-century explorer Father Louis Hennepin. The county extends from Minneapol ...

and was a Minnesota District Court Judge.

Early life

Jude was born in

St. Cloud, Minnesota St. Cloud is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the largest population center in the state's central region. The population was 68,881 at the 2020 census, making it Minnesota's 12th-largest city. St. Cloud is the county seat of Stear ...

. He is the oldest of 11 children of Ruth (Huisentruit) Jude and

Victor N. Jude Victor Nicholas 'Vic' Jude (March 11, 1923 – August 15, 1994) was an American businessman and politician. He ran a small business specializing in candy and tobacco products. Victor was born in Maple Lake, Minnesota. He went to the Maple L ...

. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

Reserves from 1971 to 1977. Jude went to the

University of St. Thomas St. Thomas University or University of St. Thomas may refer to: *Saint Thomas Aquinas University, Colombia *Saint Thomas Aquinas University of the North, Tucumán province, Argentina *St. Thomas University (Canada), Fredericton, New Brunswick *St. ...

and

William Mitchell College of Law William Mitchell College of Law was a private, independent law school located in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States, from 1956 to 2015. Accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA), it offered full- and part-time legal education in pursuit of ...

. He is a nephew of doctor

James Jude James R. Jude (June 7, 1928 – July 28, 2015) was an American thoracic surgeon who was one of the developers of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). He was the brother of Victor N. Jude, a businessman and politician from Minnesota, and the uncl ...

, who was one of the developers of

cardiopulmonary resuscitation Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore spont ...

(CPR).

Political and Legal Career

Jude was the youngest person ever elected to the

Minnesota Legislature The Minnesota Legislature is the bicameral legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota consisting of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Senators are elected from 67 single-member districts. In order to account for decennia ...

, elected at the age of 20 when he won election in 1972 and was sworn in at the age of 21 the following January. His father,

, also served in the Minnesota Legislature. In

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

, Jude ran for

Minnesota's 6th congressional district Minnesota's 6th congressional district includes most or all of Benton County, Minnesota, Benton, Carver County, Minnesota, Carver, Sherburne County, Minnesota, Sherburne, Stearns County, Minnesota, Stearns, Wright County, Minnesota, Wright, A ...

. However, he lost the election to

Bill Luther William Paul Luther (born June 27, 1945) is an American politician and lawyer from Minnesota. Luther was a Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) member of the United States House of Representatives representing Minnes ...

by 0.24%. He ran again in

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

, but lost to Luther by 11.82%. Jude made Minnesota history in emerging from a field of 24 candidates to be elected District Court Judge to Minnesota's 10th Judicial District in 2010. He was reelected without an opponent in 2016. He served as a judge on Minnesota's 10th Judicial District Court.

Legal Experience

Jude is a 1977 graduate of

. His employment includes legal work at the law firms of Jude and Guenningsman; Magsam and Harwig; and Trimble and Associates. He practiced workers' compensation law for the Special Compensation Fund. As a Minnesota Legislature, he was chair of the full House Judiciary Committee and the Senate Civil Justice division. He has served on the Hennepin County Law Library Board and as president of the Richard T. Oakes Inn of Court. His judicial education includes Law and Economics,

Antonin Scalia Law School The Antonin Scalia Law School (previously George Mason University School of Law) is the law school of George Mason University, a public research university in Virginia. It is located in Arlington, Virginia, roughly west of Washington, D.C., a ...

, and George Mason University.

Legislative Interests

Jude chaired the full House Judiciary Committee. His achievements include: • Laws to protect preborn children from injury or homicide. • Proposing the constitutional amendment establishing Minnesota's Court of Appeals and the current structure of the Minnesota Supreme Court. • Combining municipal and county courts into a unified district court trial bench. • Converting abandoned rail corridors into recreational trials, beginning with the Luce Line Trial. • Establishing waste to energy, recycling, and composting as alternatives to landfills. • A statewide 911 emergency reporting and response system. • Establishing graphic license plates for Minnesota vehicles. • MTC policing and shelter implementation. The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce named Jude their citizen legislator of the year in 1987. In 1988, MCCL named Jude their legislator of the year. MADD has given him the outstanding service award. He has been active in many civic organizations, including the American Legion. He has served on the boards of Senior Community Services, Action for Children - Zambia, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Jodi's Network of Hope, and Catholic Charities.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Jude, Tad 1951 births Living people Politicians from St. Cloud, Minnesota Military personnel from Minnesota University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) alumni William Mitchell College of Law alumni Minnesota lawyers Minnesota state court judges Democratic Party Minnesota state senators Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives