Kim Crockett wins Minnesota GOP secretary of state nomination

The race for Minnesota’s Secretary of State is set, with Republican Kim Crockett taking on incumbent Democrat Steve Simon.

The Associated Press called the race in Crockett’s favor Tuesday night. As of 10:10 p.m. CST, Crockett led with over 63% of the vote.

Crockett is an attorney that advocates for far-right policies like restrictions on voting. While appearing as a guest on the Justice and Drew radio show in 2020, Crockett questioned whether non-English speakers and people with physical disabilities should have the right to vote.

Minnesota currently allows early voting 46 days before an election, one of the longest periods for any state. This resulted in Minnesota having the highest voter turnout rate in the U.S. in 2020, with just shy of 80% of all eligible voters participating. If elected secretary of state, the highest election official, one of Crockett’s policy proposals is to reduce the early voting period to one week before the election, which would likely damage voter turnout.

Simon was elected secretary of state in 2014 and previously served in Minnesota’s House of Representatives from 2005 to 2015. He has never lost an election and is campaigning on preserving voting rights for Minnesota residents.