Maple Grove attorney Ryan Wilson announced a run to challenge DFL incumbent State Auditor Julie Blaha, while former Washington County District Court Judge Tad Jude on Monday joined a growing field of Republicans seeking to challenge Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison this fall.

Jude stepped down from the bench at the end of last year, capping a decade as a judge in Stillwater. He also served as a Hennepin County Commissioner and spent 16 years in the Minnesota Legislature. When Jude was first elected to the House in 1972 at the age of 20, he was the youngest person ever elected.

Jude, like other Republican candidates, is fast making public safety a focus of his bid to challenge Ellison, a Democrat. In an announcement video released Monday, Jude noted that he was "born and raised a Democrat" but that party forbearers would not recognize the party of today. His video superimposed news clippings of Ellison's support of the failed Minneapolis ballot measure to replace its police department onto scenes of the uprising that followed George Floyd's 2020 killing.

"Minnesotans need a change from hyper-partisan Keith Ellison," Jude said in a news release announcing his candidacy. "Our story belongs to us — not to the state of political theater or to the demands of the mob."

State Rep. Dean Urdahl, R-Grove City, is listed as Jude's campaign chair.

Former judge and legislator Tad Jude is running as a GOP candidate for attorney general. (Provided/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Ellison is seeking a second term, focusing on consumer protection and criminal justice in his campaign launch. At least three other Republicans are seeking to challenge him.

Minnesota DFL Party Chair Ken Martin on Monday responded to Jude's announcement by pointing to Jude's opposition to abortion rights and called him a "far-right extremist who wants to ban and criminalize virtually all abortion, even in cases of sexual assault."

On Monday, Wilson attributed his decision to run for state auditor to recent reports of fraud investigations into the Feeding Our Future nonprofit and management of the Southwest Light Rail project's budget.

"Minnesotans want good government, and they deserve a state auditor that is not afraid to root out political favoritism and cronyism," Wilson said in a news release. "Partisanship has no place in the auditor's office — math is not partisan. As auditor I will shine a light on government actions and Minnesotans can decide for themselves whether their government is serving them well."

Wilson's practice focuses on constitutional litigation. He is also a former CEO of Symbios Clinical, a medical device contract research company based in Blaine.

In a statement Monday, Blaha welcomed news of Wilson's candidacy and said she looked forward to a "robust discussion about supporting Minnesotans' ability to make local decisions effectively."

"Minnesota's state auditors have had a proud history of working as unbiased arbiters of truth — holding governments accountable for their spending and helping local governments create local solutions," Blaha said in a statement Monday. "Unfortunately, my opponent has a different approach. He has a history of politicizing issues, including pandemic responses, education, and local control. That's exactly the wrong approach for a state auditor."