What Simon says in House goes, but temporary chamber leader tiptoes through intensely partisan terrain
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In recent weeks, the person with the most power and speaking time in the Minnesota House isn’t even one of its members.
Secretary of State Steve Simon finds himself in the middle of the party power fight in the Minnesota House. Since January, he’s sued and been sued over his role as presiding officer, a usually temporary gig that has proven anything but that.
The Democrat has held public office for two decades and has served as the top election official in Minnesota for half of that time. Now, Simon finds himself going into the House chamber at 3:30 p.m. several days per week.
It has become routine: He gavels in, takes a head count and adjourns until the next day.
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That’s because the count of only 67 Republicans present while Democrats continue to boycott floor sessions because of a standoff over power is short of the number needed to do any House business.
“I signed up for this job so no whining allowed,” Simon told MPR News in an interview this week.
A deal struck late Wednesday could mean Thursday is the last time Simon has to go through the drill.
Throughout the standoff, Simon insisted he wasn’t taking sides.
“I knew, at least in the back of my mind, that this had the potential to go on and on. But that’s just what you do when you run for office and hold an office,” Simon said. “You take the good with the bad, you take the comfortable with the uncomfortable, and that’s what I’m doing. I’m just doing my best to uphold my duty under the law.”
Republican leaders contend Simon is playing politics and going beyond the law.
They have asked the Minnesota Supreme Court to find he’s violating his role by not recognizing one of their members who wants to introduce a measure that would put pressure on Democrats to show up.
“It is very out of line that a ceremonial presider over this chamber from the executive branch would shut down the voices,” House Republican leader Lisa Demuth said.
Simon’s lawyers counter that he’s operating inside the bounds of the law.
“Members of the House can only compel the attendance of absent members after the House is duly organized, which has not yet happened this session,” Solicitor General Liz Kramer wrote on Simon’s behalf this week.
Oral arguments in the case are planned for Thursday morning.
Started in House
Simon, 55, used to be part of the body that he is presiding over.
An attorney, he was first elected to the House in 2004 and represented a district covering St. Louis Park and Hopkins.
He counts enabling vote-by-mail in the state and the Child Victims Act, which gave sexual abuse survivors greater ability to sue, among his proudest accomplishments during his time in the House.
Simon kept a somewhat low profile during his time in the House, preferring to grind through policy minutiae in even, carefully calibrated language rather than rush to the microphone on the floor or TV cameras with a zippy soundbite.
Sometimes, he did draw outsized attention, including a 2013 speech ahead of a vote to legalize gay marriage that racked up millions of views online.
As secretary, he proudly touts Minnesota’s place nationally atop voter turnout lists.
His former colleagues doubt he enjoys the current predicament.
“I think the current situation that he’s in is out of his comfort zone,” said former Republican Rep. Dean Urdahl. “He’s also a politician, he’s also a Democrat. So, there were certainly areas where we had some disagreement, but we never became belligerent about that disagreement.”
Laurie Halverson, a former DFL legislator and current Dakota County commissioner, served with Simon in the House. She praised his leadership skills and commitment to bipartisanship during their time on the House Elections Committee.
“I have never seen him play politics,” Halverson said. “I’ve seen him be very good at being a legislator. But playing a game is not what Steve Simon does.”
Halverson said Simon was a driving force in teaching her what it meant to be a legislator and reaching out across partisan lines.
Attracting votes and dollars
At the ballot box, Simon has been among the top vote-getters the three times he’s run statewide. In 2022, his tally of 1,345,685 was more than anybody else that year and earned him a third term with 54 percent of the vote.
Simon has also proven to be a strong fundraiser of late. In 2024, when he wasn’t even on the ballot, he took in almost $200,000. He entered 2025 with the second-most money in the bank of any candidate for Minnesota state office; only Gov. Tim Walz had more.
And he’s not letting up at the start of 2025, blasting out email solicitations for campaign dollars with subject lines “This is serious” or “The stakes just got higher.” Those bring up actions by President Donald Trump’s new administration and don’t get into the state-level dispute now weeks old.
Asked about interest in seeking higher office, Simon sidestepped the question in the MPR News interview.
“For now, I’m focused on my official duties,” Simon said. “And just making sure that we can get a whole Legislature at some point and continue to work for all Minnesotans.”
