Steve Simon (born December 12, 1969) is an American politician from the state of

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 t ...

serving as the 22nd Minnesota Secretary of State. A member of the

Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) is the Minnesota affiliate of the U.S. Democratic Party. As of 2022, it controls four of Minnesota's eight U.S. House seats, both of its U.S. Senate seats, the Minnesota House of Repr ...

(DFL), he previously represented District 46B 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 ...

Early life, education, and career

Simon graduated from

Hopkins High School Hopkins High School is a public high school located in Minnetonka, Minnesota, United States. Minnetonka is a southwestern suburb of Minneapolis. It offers classes for grades 10, 11, and 12, making it one of the only schools in the state still wi ...

Minnetonka Minnetonka ( ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. A western suburb of the Twin Cities, Minnetonka is located about west of downtown Minneapolis. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 53,781. Minnetonka is the ...

, then went on to

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

Medford, Massachusetts Medford is a city northwest of downtown Boston on the Mystic River in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, Medford's population was 59,659. It is home to Tufts University, which has its campus al ...

, receiving his

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in Political Science in 1992. He earned his J.D. from the

University of Minnesota Law School The University of Minnesota Law School is the law school of the University of Minnesota, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school confers four law degrees: a Juris Doctor (J.D.), a Master of Laws (LL.M.), a Master of Science in Patent Law ...

in 1996. He worked as an assistant attorney general for Minnesota attorneys general

Hubert H. Humphrey III Hubert Horatio "Skip" Humphrey III (born June 26, 1942) is an American retired politician who served as Minnesota Attorney General, attorney general of the state of Minnesota (1983–99) and Minnesota Senate, State Senator (1973–83). Humphrey l ...

and

Mike Hatch Michael Alan Hatch (born November 12, 1948) is an American politician and lawyer. He was the Attorney General of Minnesota from 1999 to 2007, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Commerce from 1983 to 1989, and chair of the Minnesota DF ...

from 1996 to 2001, and has been an associate with the law firm of

Robins, Kaplan, Miller, and Ciresi Robins Kaplan LLP is an American law firm headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1938 as Robins & Davis, the firm is active in trial work in intellectual property, business litigation, antitrust, entertainment and media law, and mass ...

since 2001.

Minnesota House of Representatives

Simon was first elected in 2004, and was re-elected in 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2012. On Monday, May 2, 2011, Simon testified regarding and opposed a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage in Minnesota. His comments drew national attention: "How many more gay people does God have to create before we ask ourselves whether or not God actually wants them around?"

2014 and 2018 Minnesota Secretary of State campaigns

On August 6, 2013, Simon announced his candidacy in the 2014 Minnesota Secretary of State election. He narrowly defeated Republican

Dan Severson Daniel Mark "Doc" Severson (born August 31, 1954) is an American Republican Party of Minnesota, Republican politician. He is a former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives who represented District 14A, which includes portions of Bento ...

for the office. Simon was re-elected by a fairly large margin in 2018. As of 2021, Simon has never lost an election.

Personal life

Steve Simon is married to Leia Christoffer Simon, and they have two children together. Active in his local community, Simon is a member of the TwinWest

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...

, the

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. Established in 1913, the society is organized into six geographical regions of both medical and lay volunteers operating in more than ...

, the local

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV or the League) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan political organization in the United States. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include registering voters, providing voter information, and advocating for vot ...

, the St. Louis Park Community Education Advisory Council, and the Lenox Foundation, which raises funds for the St. Louis Park Senior Program. He is a member of Temple Israel, serves on the board of the Minnesota Chapter of the

Jewish Community Relations Council A Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) is a locally based Jewish organization that carries out "action agendas on behalf of and in the name of the local Jewish communities." Councils may aim "to represent the consensus of the organized Jewish ...

, and is an attorney.

Electoral history

References

External links

Government websiteSteve Simon for Secretary of State
official campaign website
Steve Simon for State Representative
campaign website (archived) * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Simon, Steve 1969 births 21st-century American politicians 20th-century American Jews Living people Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives People from Hopkins, Minnesota People from St. Louis Park, Minnesota Secretaries of State of Minnesota Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences alumni University of Minnesota Law School alumni Hopkins High School alumni 21st-century American Jews