Secretary of State elections, 2018
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In 2018, 27 states held elections forsecretary of state out of the 35 states in which the office is elected. Among other duties, secretaries of state serve as the chief election official in their state, administering state elections and maintaining official election results. They often oversee areas of election law such as voter identification requirements. The office of secretary of state is officially nonpartisan inPennsylvania and does not exist inAlaska,Hawaii, orUtah.
Heading into the 2018 elections, the majority of elected secretary of state offices were held by Republicans, with 28 secretary of state offices to Democrats' 17. Three Republican-held seats (Arizona,Colorado, andMichigan)flipped to Democratic control. No Democratic-held seats flipped or advanced to runoffs.
2018 election analysis and context
In total, 36 out of 47 secretary of state seats were contested in the 2018 election cycle. On top of the 27 states where elections were held, six states where the secretary of state is appointed by thegovernor heldelections for governor in 2018, and all three of the states where the secretary of state is chosen by thestate legislature heldlegislative elections.
Seventeen Republican-held seats were up for election, of which eight were open seats. One incumbent lost. Nine of 17 Democratic-held seats were up for election. Democratic incumbents ran and won re-election in each race. IndependentNorth Dakota Secretary of StateAl Jaeger won his 2018 re-election bid.
Ballotpedia identified seven secretary of state elections, all inRepublican-held seats, asbattleground races. Of those,Republicans successfully defended four seats whileDemocrats gained control in three.
- InGeorgia,Michigan, andOhio,Republican-held secretary of state seats were open and a battlegroundgubernatorial election was taking place. DemocratJocelyn Benson won Michigan's secretary of state race, RepublicanFrank LaRose won in Ohio, and RepublicanBrad Raffensperger won in Georgia.
- InColorado andNevada, first-term incumbentRepublican secretaries of state were seeking re-election as a battleground gubernatorial election took place. Colorado Secretary of StateWayne W. Williams (R) was defeated by DemocratJena Griswold. In Nevada,Barbara Cegavske (R) won re-election.
- InArizona, incumbentMichele Reagan (R) was unseated in theRepublican primary, leaving the seat open. In the general election,Katie Hobbs (D) defeatedSteve Gaynor (R).
- InIowa, DemocratDeidre DeJear challenged incumbentPaul Pate (R), who began phasing in a new voter ID law in 2018. Pate won re-election.
Ballotpedia provided in-depth coverage of secretary of state primary elections. Click the links below for more information:
Secretary of state offices that changed party control
This table lists secretary of state offices where party control changed as a result of the November 6, 2018 elections.
| Secretary of State offices that changed party control, 2018 elections | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Pre-election control | Post-election control | ||
| Arizona | Michele Reagan | Katie Hobbs | ||
| Colorado | Wayne Williams | Jena Griswold | ||
| Michigan | Ruth Johnson | Jocelyn Benson | ||
List of Secretary of State elections
In 47 states thesecretary of state is among the top executive offices. Although the duties and powers of the secretary of state vary from state to state, a common responsibility is management and oversight of elections and voter rolls, which are assigned to the secretary of state in 41 states. Other common responsibilities include registration of businesses, maintenance of state records, and certification of official documents.
Astate government triplex describes when one political party holds the following three positions in a state's government: governor, attorney general, and secretary of state.
Six states impose some form of term limits on the office of secretary of state.
Updated November 9, 2018
| State | Triplex status (before) | Triplex status (after) | Incumbent | Democratic candidate | Republican candidate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Republican triplex | Republican triplex |  John Merrill | Heather Milam | John Merrill |
| Arizona | Republican triplex | Divided triplex control |  Michele Reagan[1] | Katie Hobbs | Steve Gaynor |
| Arkansas | Republican triplex | Republican triplex |  Mark Martin | Susan Inman | John Thurston |
| California | Democratic triplex | Democratic triplex |  Alex Padilla | Alex Padilla | Mark P. Meuser |
| Colorado | Divided triplex control | Democratic triplex |  Wayne W. Williams | Jena Griswold | Wayne W. Williams |
| Connecticut | Democratic triplex | Democratic triplex |  Denise Merrill | Denise Merrill | Susan Chapman |
| Georgia | Republican triplex | Republican triplex |  Brian Kemp | John Barrow | Brad Raffensperger |
| Idaho | Republican triplex | Republican triplex |  Lawerence Denney | Jill Humble | Lawerence Denney |
| Illinois | Divided triplex control | Democratic triplex |  Jesse White | Jesse White | Jason Helland |
| Indiana | Republican triplex | Republican triplex |  Connie Lawson | Jim Harper | Connie Lawson |
| Iowa | Divided triplex control | Divided triplex control |  Paul Pate | Deidre DeJear | Paul Pate |
| Kansas | Republican triplex | Divided triplex control |  Kris Kobach | Brian "BAM" McClendon | Scott Schwab |
| Louisiana | Divided triplex control | Divided triplex control |  Kyle Ardoin | Gwen Collins-GreenupRenee Fontenot Free | Kyle ArdoinHeather CloudA.G. CroweRick EdmondsThomas Kennedy IIIJulie Stokes |
| Massachusetts | Divided triplex control | Divided triplex control |  William Galvin | William Galvin | Anthony Amore |
| Michigan | Republican triplex | Democratic triplex |  Ruth Johnson | Jocelyn Benson | Mary Treder Lang |
| Minnesota | Democratic triplex | Democratic triplex |  Steve Simon | Steve Simon | John Howe |
| Nebraska | Republican triplex | Republican triplex |  John A. Gale | Spencer Danner | Bob Evnen |
| Nevada | Republican triplex | Divided triplex control |  Barbara Cegavske | Nelson Araujo | Barbara Cegavske |
| New Mexico | Divided triplex control | Democratic triplex |  Maggie Toulouse Oliver | Maggie Toulouse Oliver | Gavin Clarkson |
| North Dakota | Republican triplex | Divided triplex control |   Al Jaeger[2] | Joshua Boschee | None |
| Ohio | Republican triplex | Republican triplex |  Jon Husted | Kathleen Clyde | Frank LaRose |
| Rhode Island | Democratic triplex | Democratic triplex |  Nellie Gorbea | Nellie Gorbea | Pat Cortellessa |
| South Carolina | Republican triplex | Republican triplex |  Mark Hammond | Melvin Whittenburg | Mark Hammond |
| South Dakota | Republican triplex | Republican triplex |  Shantel Krebs | Alexandra Frederick | Steve Barnett |
| Vermont | Divided triplex control | Divided triplex control |  Jim Condos | Jim Condos | Brooke Paige |
| Wisconsin | Divided triplex control | TBD |  Douglas La Follette | Douglas La Follette | Jay Schroeder |
| Wyoming | Republican triplex | Republican triplex |  Edward Buchanan | James Byrd | Edward Buchanan |
Battleground elections
The following map displays which Secretary of State seats were up for election in 2018 and identifies those races that were consideredbattleground elections. Mouse over a state for more detailed information.
| 2018 Secretary of State Battleground Races | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| State | Pre-election Incumbent | Open Seat (Y/N) | 2018 Winner |
| Arizona | Michele Reagan | Yes | Katie Hobbs |
| Colorado | Wayne Williams | No | Jena Griswold |
| Iowa | Paul Pate | No | Paul Pate |
| Georgia | Brian Kemp | Yes | Brad Raffensperger |
| Michigan | Ruth Johnson | Yes | Jocelyn Benson |
| Nevada | Barbara Cegavske | No | Barbara Cegavske |
| Ohio | Jon Husted | Yes | Frank LaRose |
About the office
Thesecretary of state is a state-level position in 47 of the 50 states. The position does not exist inAlaska,Hawaii andUtah. InMassachusetts,Pennsylvania andVirginia, the office is called thesecretary of the commonwealth and differs only in name. The voters directly elect the secretary of state in 35 states. In the other 12, the secretary is appointed by either thegovernor or the state legislature.
The position's duties are generally administrative, and no two states have identical responsibilities delegated to the secretary of state. Many are tasked with keeping state records, from registering businesses to recording the official acts of the governor. The officeholder also often serves as the chief election official in their state, administering state elections and maintaining official election results. The commissioning and regulation of notaries public, keeping of the official state seal, and certification of official documents all typically fall under the purview of the secretary of state.
Historical elections
In 1977, theDemocratic Party held a total of 25 elected secretary of state offices to theRepublican Party's 10. The Democratic lead in secretary of state offices narrowed somewhat throughout the 1980s, but once again reached a 25-10 majority of elected offices in 1989 and 1990. Following the 1994 midterm elections, the Republican Party gained an 18-17 majority of elected secretary of state offices. The Democrats would regain their lead following the 2008 presidential election but lose it once again in the 2010 midterm elections. The gap between the parties widened following the 2016 elections, which increased the Republican majority of elected secretary of state offices from 21-14 to 24-11.
See also
Footnotes
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