Alabama Secretary of State election, 2018

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2022
2014
Alabama Secretary of State
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline:February 9, 2018
Primary: June 5, 2018
Primary runoff: July 17, 2018 (if needed)
General: November 6, 2018

Pre-election incumbent(s):
John Merrill (Republican)
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Voting in Alabama
Ballotpedia analysis
Federal and state primary competitiveness
State executive elections in 2018
Impact of term limits in 2018
State government trifectas
State government triplexes
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2018
Alabama
executive elections
Governor

Lieutenant governor
Attorney general
Secretary of state
Treasurer
Auditor
Agriculture commissioner
State board of education
Public service commissioner

Alabama held an election forsecretary of state onNovember 6, 2018. The primary election was on June 5, 2018. The candidate filing deadline was February 9, 2018.

Democratic PartyFor more information about the Democratic primary,click here.
Republican PartyFor more information about the Republican primary,click here.

For more information about secretary of state elections in 2018,click here.

SETTING THE STAGE
  • Heading into the election, the sittingsecretary of state wasJohn Merrill (R), who was first elected in2014.
  • Heading into the election,Alabama was aRepublican trifecta. It had been under this status since 2011, when Republicans gained majorities in thestate Senate andstate House. Alabama was also aRepublican triplex.
  • TheRepublican presidential candidate wonAlabama in each of the past five election cycles. The most narrow margin of victory wasGeorge W. Bush's 15 percent margin in 2000 while the widest wasDonald Trump's 28 percent margin in 2016.

  • Candidates and election results

    General election

    General election for Alabama Secretary of State

    IncumbentJohn Merrill defeatedHeather Milam in the general election for Alabama Secretary of State on November 6, 2018.

    Candidate
    %
    Votes
    Image of John Merrill
    John Merrill (R)
     
    61.0
     
    1,032,425
    Image of Heather Milam
    Heather Milam (D)
     
    38.9
     
    658,537
     Other/Write-in votes
     
    0.1
     
    1,064

    Ballotpedia Logo

    Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

    Total votes: 1,692,026
    (100.00% precincts reporting)
    Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
    If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

    Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

    Democratic primary election

    Democratic primary for Alabama Secretary of State

    Heather Milam defeatedLula Albert in the Democratic primary for Alabama Secretary of State on June 5, 2018.

    Candidate
    %
    Votes
    Image of Heather Milam
    Heather Milam
     
    63.7
     
    161,062
    Lula Albert
     
    36.3
     
    91,965

    Ballotpedia Logo

    There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified.

    Total votes: 253,027
    Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
    If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

    Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

    Republican primary election

    Republican primary for Alabama Secretary of State

    IncumbentJohn Merrill defeatedMichael Johnson in the Republican primary for Alabama Secretary of State on June 5, 2018.

    Candidate
    %
    Votes
    Image of John Merrill
    John Merrill
     
    71.6
     
    335,852
    Image of Michael Johnson
    Michael Johnson
     
    28.4
     
    133,014

    Ballotpedia Logo

    Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified.

    Total votes: 468,866
    Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
    If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

    Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.


    State overview

    Partisan control

    This section details the partisan control of federal and state positions in Alabama heading into the 2018 elections.

    Congressional delegation

    State executives

    State legislature

    • Republicans controlled both chambers of theAlabama State Legislature. They had a 72-32 majority in the state House and a 26-8 majority in the state Senate.

    Trifecta status

    • Alabama was a Republicanstate government trifecta, meaning Republicans held the governorship, a majority in the state senate, and a majority in the state house.

    2018 elections

    See also:Alabama elections, 2018

    Alabama held elections for the following positions in 2018:

    Demographics

    Demographic data for Alabama
     AlabamaU.S.
    Total population:4,853,875316,515,021
    Land area (sq mi):50,6453,531,905
    Race and ethnicity**
    White:68.8%73.6%
    Black/African American:26.4%12.6%
    Asian:1.2%5.1%
    Native American:0.5%0.8%
    Pacific Islander:0.1%0.2%
    Two or more:1.7%3%
    Hispanic/Latino:4%17.1%
    Education
    High school graduation rate:84.3%86.7%
    College graduation rate:23.5%29.8%
    Income
    Median household income:$43,623$53,889
    Persons below poverty level:23.3%11.3%
    Source:U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
    Clickhere for more information on the 2020 census andhere for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Alabama.
    **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the censushere.

    As of July 2016, Alabama's three largest cities were Birmingham (pop. est. 211,000), Montgomery (pop. est. 200,000), and Huntsville (pop. est. 195,000).[1]

    State election history

    This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Alabama from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from theAlabama Secretary of States.

    Historical elections

    Presidential elections, 2000-2016

    This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Alabama every year from 2000 to 2016.

    Election results (President of the United States), Alabama 2000-2016
    YearFirst-place candidateFirst-place candidate votes (%)Second-place candidateSecond-place candidate votes (%)Margin of victory (%)
    2016Republican PartyDonald Trump62%Democratic PartyHillary Clinton34%28%
    2012Republican PartyMitt Romney61%Democratic PartyBarack Obama38%23%
    2008Republican PartyJohn McCain60%Democratic PartyBarack Obama39%21%
    2004Republican PartyGeorge W. Bush62%Democratic PartyJohn Kerry37%25%
    2000Republican PartyGeorge W. Bush56%Democratic PartyAl Gore42%14%

    U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016

    This chart shows the results ofU.S. Senate races in Alabama from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.

    Election results (U.S. Senator), Alabama 2000-2016
    YearFirst-place candidateFirst-place candidate votes (%)Second-place candidateSecond-place candidate votes (%)Margin of victory (%)
    2016Republican PartyRichard Shelby64%Democratic PartyRon Crumpton36%28%
    2014Republican PartyJeff Sessions97%No Democratic candidate0%97%
    2010Republican PartyRichard Shelby65%Democratic PartyWilliam Barnes35%30%
    2008Republican PartyJeff Sessions63%Democratic PartyVivian Figures37%26%
    2004Republican PartyRichard Shelby68%Democratic Party Wayne Sowell32.0%36%
    2002Republican PartyJeff Sessions59%Democratic Party Susan Parker40.0%19%

    Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2016

    This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Alabama.

    Election results (Governor), Alabama 2000-2016
    YearFirst-place candidateFirst-place candidate votes (%)Second-place candidateSecond-place candidate votes (%)Margin of victory (%)
    2014Republican PartyRobert Bentley64%Democratic PartyParker Griffith36%28%
    2010Republican PartyRobert Bentley58%Democratic PartyRon Sparks42%16
    2006Republican PartyBob Riley57%Democratic PartyLucy Baxley42%15%
    2002Republican PartyBob Riley49%Democratic Party Don Siegelman49%0%

    Congressional delegation, 2000-2016

    This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Alabama in theU.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.

    Congressional delegation, Alabama 2000-2016
    YearRepublicansRepublicans (%)DemocratsDemocrats (%)Balance of power
    2016Republican Party686%Democratic Party114%R+5
    2014Republican Party686%Democratic Party114%R+5
    2012Republican Party686%Democratic Party114%R+5
    2010Republican Party686%Democratic Party114%R+5
    2008Republican Party571%Democratic Party229%R+3
    2006Republican Party571%Democratic Party229%R+3
    2004Republican Party571%Democratic Party229%R+3
    2002Republican Party571%Democratic Party229%R+3
    2000Republican Party571%Democratic Party229%R+3

    Trifectas, 1992-2017

    Astate government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.

    Alabama Party Control: 1992-2026
    Six years of Democratic trifectas  •  Sixteen years of Republican trifectas
    Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

    Year9293949596979899000102030405060708091011121314151617181920212223242526
    GovernorRDDRRRRDDDDRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
    SenateDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
    HouseDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR



    Pivot Counties

    See also:Pivot Counties by state

    Pivot Counties are counties that voted forBarack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and forDonald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states. No counties in Alabama are Pivot Counties.

    In the 2016 presidential election,Donald Trump (R) won Alabama with 62.1 percent of the vote.Hillary Clinton (D) received 34.4 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Alabama voted Democratic 53.33 percent of the time and Republican 40 percent of the time. In the five presidential elections between 2000 and 2016, Alabama voted Republican all five times.

    Recent news

    The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the termsAlabama secretary of state election 2018. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

    See also

    Alabama government:

    Elections:

    Ballotpedia exclusives:

    External links

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