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Georgia Secretary of State
Democratic primary Republican primary General election
Election details
Filing deadline:March 9, 2018
Primary: May 22, 2018 Primary runoff: July 24, 2018 (if needed) General: November 6, 2018 General runoff: December 4, 2018 (if needed) Pre-election incumbent(s): Brian Kemp (Republican)
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voting in Georgia
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
Georgia executive elections
Governor Lieutenant governor Attorney general Secretary of state Agriculture commissioner Insurance commissioner Labor commissioner Superintendent of public instruction Public service commissioner

State Rep.Brad Raffensperger (R) won the runoff election forGeorgia's secretary of state against former U.S. Rep.John Barrow (D).^[2] Barrow and Raffensperger advanced to a runoff following the November 6, 2018, general election to replaceGeorgia Secretary of StateBrian Kemp (R), who ran for governor. Neither candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote in the general election. The runoff was held December 4, 2018.

LibertarianSmythe DuVal ran in the general election and was defeated.

This was one of seven opensecretary of state seats Republicans were defending in 2018.Governing listed it as one of nine competitive secretary of state races of the year, with a rating ofLean Republican.^[3]

Going into the 2018 election, a Democrat had not won election to statewide office in Georgia since 2006.^[4]

Barrow represented a rural south Georgia district in the U.S. House from 2005 to 2015; helost a re-election bid in 2014.^[5] Raffensperger was elected to theGeorgia House of Representatives in a2015 special election.

In 2018,Georgia was a Republicantriplex, meaning thegovernor,attorney general, and secretary of state were all Republicans. The party maintained that status following the runoff election; Republicans also won the gubernatorial and attorney general elections.

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

Election aftermath

• December 4, 2018: A runoff election was held to determine whether Barrow or Raffensperger would be the next secretary of state.
• November 26, 2018: Pres.Donald Trump (R)endorsed Raffensperger on the first day of early voting for the runoff.^[6]
• November 19, 2018: Smythe DuVal (L), who was defeated in the general election, endorsed Barrow.^[7]
• November 6, 2018: Barrow and Raffensperger each received about 49 percent of the vote, triggering a runoff election as neither candidate received more than 50 percent.

Candidates and election results

General runoff election

General runoff election for Georgia Secretary of State

Brad Raffensperger defeatedJohn Barrow in the general runoff election for Georgia Secretary of State on December 4, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brad Raffensperger (R)	51.9	764,855
		John Barrow (D)	48.1	709,049

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,473,904 (100.00% precincts reporting)
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General election

General election for Georgia Secretary of State

Brad Raffensperger andJohn Barrow advanced to a runoff. They defeatedSmythe DuVal in the general election for Georgia Secretary of State on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brad Raffensperger (R)	49.1	1,906,588
✔		John Barrow (D)	48.7	1,890,310
		Smythe DuVal (L)	2.2	86,696

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,883,594 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for Georgia Secretary of State

Brad Raffensperger defeatedDavid Belle Isle in the Republican primary runoff for Georgia Secretary of State on July 24, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brad Raffensperger	61.8	329,708
		David Belle Isle	38.2	204,194

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 533,902
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Georgia Secretary of State

John Barrow defeatedDee Dawkins-Haigler andR.J. Hadley in the Democratic primary for Georgia Secretary of State on May 22, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Barrow	51.5	264,864
		Dee Dawkins-Haigler	29.5	151,963
		R.J. Hadley	19.0	97,682

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 514,509
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Georgia Secretary of State

Brad Raffensperger andDavid Belle Isle advanced to a runoff. They defeatedJoshua McKoon andBuzz Brockway in the Republican primary for Georgia Secretary of State on May 22, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brad Raffensperger	35.0	185,386
✔		David Belle Isle	28.5	151,328
		Joshua McKoon	21.1	112,113
		Buzz Brockway	15.4	81,492

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 530,319
= 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.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Ken Brown (R)

Candidate profiles

See also:Editorial approach to writing about key campaign messages

John Barrow, former U.S. representative

Party:Democratic

Incumbent: No

Political office: U.S. representative forGeorgia's 12th Congressional District (2005-2015); Athens-Clarke city-county commissioner (1990-2004)

Biography:John Barrow received a degree in political science and history from the University of Georgia and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. His professional experience includes clerking for a judge on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and teaching at the University of Georgia.^[8]

Key messages

• Barrow said that protecting voting rights would be his priority as secretary of state. He discussed the topic in conjunction with his family's involvement in the civil rights movement, saying his parents worked to desegregate the University of Georgia.^[9][10]

• Barrow said his record in the U.S. House and as county commissioner attested to him putting the needs of Georgians ahead of partisan politics. He said he worked to prevent tax increases, supported health care access, and worked with presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama to open a new Veterans Affairs clinic.^[9][10]

Brad Raffensperger, state assemblyman

Party:Republican

Incumbent: No

Political office:Georgia state assemblyman (Assumed office: 2015)

Biography:Raffensperger received a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Western University and an M.B.A. from Georgia State University. At the time of the election, he was the CEO and owner of Tendon Systems, LLC, an engineering design firm, and he owned steel manufacturing plants in Georgia.^[11]

Key messages

• Raffensperger emphasized his background as a business owner, saying his goal as secretary of state would be to make Georgia "the best place to get a job and the best place to build a business." He supported a proposal to replace the income tax with a consumption tax.^[12][13]

• Raffensperger stressed his identification as a conservative.^[12]

Polls

See also:Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

Campaign finance

The last finance reports before the November 6 general election were filed on November 1, 2018. At the time:

• Barrow had raised $1.8 million and spent $1.7 million
• Raffensperger had raised $2.1 million and spent $1.8 million

Satellite spending

Satellite spending, commonly referred to asoutside spending, describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees,super PACs, trade associations, and501(c)(4)nonprofit groups.^[14][15][16]

This section lists satellite spending in this race reported by news outlets in alphabetical order. If you are aware of spending that should be included, pleaseemail us.

Noteworthy endorsements

See also:Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

This section lists noteworthy endorsements issued in this election, including those made by high-profile individuals and organizations, cross-party endorsements, and endorsements made by newspaper editorial boards. It also includes a bulleted list of links to official lists of endorsements for any candidates who published that information on their campaign websites. Please note that this list is not exhaustive. If you are aware of endorsements that should be included, pleaseclick here.

Click the links below to see endorsement lists published on candidate campaign websites, if available.

• John Barrow

Campaign advertisements

This section shows advertisements released in this race. Ads released by campaigns and, if applicable, satellite groups are embedded or linked below. If you are aware of advertisements that should be included, pleaseemail us.

John Barrow

Brad Raffensperger

Raffensperger posted several videos on his campaign's Facebook page.Click here to view the videos.

Debates and forums

• October 2, 2018: Raffensperger, Barrow, and DuVal participated in a debate. View coverage of the event fromThe Atlanta Journal-Constitutionhere.

Campaign themes

John Barrow

The following is a press release about Barrow's announcement of his candidacy for secretary of state.

Brad Raffensperger

The following themes were found on Raffensperger's campaign website.

Social media

Twitter accounts

Tweets by John BarrowTweets by Brad Raffensperger
Note: As of November 6, 2018, Raffensperger had not used his Twitter account.

Facebook accounts

Click the icons below to visit the candidates' Facebook pages.

John Barrow

Brad Raffensperger

Pivot Counties

See also:Pivot Counties by state

Five of 159 Georgia counties—3.14 percent—arepivot counties. These 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.

In the 2016 presidential election,Donald Trump (R) won Georgia with 50.8 percent of the vote.Hillary Clinton (D) received 45.6 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Georgia voted Democratic 63.33 percent of the time and Republican 36.67 percent of the time. Georgia voted Republican in every presidential election from 2000 to 2016.

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Georgia. Click[show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled byDaily Kos.^[18][19]

Election history

2014

Secretary of State of Georgia, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Brian KempIncumbent	57.5%	1,452,554
	Democrat	Doreen Carter	42.5%	1,075,101
Total Votes				2,527,655
Election results viaGeorgia Secretary of State

2010

2010 Race for Secretary of State - General Election[20]
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Republican Party	aBrian Kemp	56.4%
	Democratic Party	Georganna Sinkfield	39.4%
	Libertarian Party	David Chastain	4.2%
Total Votes			2,552,722

State overview

Partisan control

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

Congressional delegation

• Following the2016 elections, Republicans held both U.S. Senate seats in Georgia.
• Republicans held 10 of 14U.S. House seats in Georgia.

State executives

• As of September 2018, Republicans held 12 of 15state executive positions, while three positions were held by nonpartisan officials.
• The governor of Georgia was RepublicanNathan Deal. The state heldan election forgovernor onNovember 6, 2018.

State legislature

• Republicans controlled both chambers of theGeorgia General Assembly. They had a 114-64 majority in the state House and a 37-19 majority in the state Senate.

Trifecta status

• Georgia was aRepublican trifecta, meaning that theRepublican Party controlled the state government.Nathan Deal (R) served as governor and Republicans controlled the state legislature.

2018 elections

See also:Georgia elections, 2018

Georgia held elections for the following positions in 2018:

• 14 U.S. House seats
• Governor
• Nine lower state executive positions
• 56 state Senate seats
• 180 state House seats
• Municipal elections in DeKalb and Fulton Counties

Demographics

As of July 2017, Georgia's three largest cities were Atlanta (pop. est. 470,000), Columbus (pop. est. 200,000), and Augusta (pop. est. 200,000).^[21][22]

State election history

This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Georgia from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from theGeorgia Secretary of State.

Historical elections

Presidential elections, 2000-2016

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

Election results (President of the United States), Georgia 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	Donald Trump	51.1%	Hillary Clinton	45.9%	5.2%
2012	Mitt Romney	53.3%	Barack Obama	45.5%	7.8%
2008	John McCain	52.2%	Barack Obama	47.0%	5.2%
2004	George Bush	58.0%	John Kerry	41.4%	16.6%
2000	George Bush	55.0%	Al Gore	43.2%	11.8%

U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results ofU.S. Senate races in Georgia 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), Georgia 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	Johnny Isakson	54.8%	Jim Barksdale	41.0%	13.8%
2014	David Perdue	52.9%	Michelle Nunn	45.2%	7.7%
2010	Johnny Isakson	58.3%	Mike Thurmond	39.0%	19.3%
2008	Saxby Chambliss	49.8%	Jim Martin	46.8%	3.0%
2004	Johnny Isakson	57.9%	Denise Majette	40.0%	17.9%
2002	Saxby Chambliss	52.8%	Max Cleland	45.9%	6.9%

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 Georgia.

Election results (Governor), Georgia 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2014	Nathan Deal	52.8%	Jason Carter	44.9%	7.9%
2010	Nathan Deal	53.0%	Roy Barnes	43.0%	10.0%
2006	Sonny Perdue	57.9%	Mark Taylor	38.2%	19.7%
2002	Sonny Perdue	51.4%	Roy Barnes	46.3%	5.1%

Congressional delegation, 2000-2016

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

Congressional delegation, Georgia 2000-2016
Year	Republicans	Republicans (%)	Democrats	Democrats (%)	Balance of power
2016	10	71.4%	4	28.6%	R+6
2014	10	71.4%	4	28.6%	R+6
2012	9	64.3%	5	35.7%	R+4
2010	8	61.5%	5	38.5%	R+3
2008	7	53.8%	6	46.2%	R+1
2006	7	53.8%	6	46.2%	R+1
2004	7	53.8%	6	46.2%	R+1
2002	8	61.5%	5	38.5%	R+3
2000	8	72.7%	3	27.3%	R+5

Trifectas, 1992-2017

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

Recent news

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

See also

External links

Suggest a link

• Georgia secretary of state official website

Footnotes

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