Thaddeus Victor Jude (born December 13, 1951) is a Republican politician and lawyer from

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. Jude was a candidate in the 2022 Minnesota Attorney General election, 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, Jude has previously served in the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the U.S. state of Minnesota's Minnesota Legislature, legislature. It operates in conjunction with the Minnesota Senate, the state's upper chamber, to write and pass legislation, whic ...

and in the

Minnesota Senate The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Minnesota Legislature, 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 State legislature (Unite ...

. He also served on the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners and was a Minnesota District Court Judge. Jude ran for Minnesota's 3rd congressional district in 2024. He lost the election to Kelly Morrison.

Early life

Thaddeus Victor Jude was born on December 13, 1951, in St. Cloud, Minnesota. He is the oldest of 11 children of Ruth (Huisentruit) Jude and Victor N. Jude. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

Reserves from 1971 to 1977. Jude went to the University of St. Thomas and William Mitchell College of Law. He is a nephew of doctor James Jude, who was one of the developers of

cardiopulmonary resuscitation Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure used during Cardiac arrest, cardiac or Respiratory arrest, respiratory arrest that involves chest compressions, often combined with artificial ventilation, to preserve brain function ...

(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 decenn ...

, 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, Victor N. Jude, also served in the Minnesota Legislature. In

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, Jude ran for Minnesota's 6th congressional district. However, he lost the election to Bill Luther by 0.24%. He ran again in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, but lost to Luther by 11.82%. Jude was elected District Court Judge to Minnesota's 10th Judicial District in 2010, from a field of 24 candidates. 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 William Mitchell College of Law. 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 legislator, he was chair of the 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 is the law school of George Mason University, Virginia's largest public research university. It is located in Arlington, Virginia, roughly west of Washington, D.C., and east-northeast of George Mason University's ...

, and George Mason University.

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 Candidates in the 2024 United States House of Representatives elections 20th-century members of the Minnesota Legislature