Wisconsin Secretary of State election, 2026
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←2022 |
| Wisconsin Secretary of State |
|---|
 |
| Democratic primary Republican primary General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: June 1, 2026 |
| Primary: August 11, 2026 General: November 3, 2026 |
| How to vote |
| Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| Federal and state primary competitiveness State executive elections in 2026 Impact of term limits in 2026 State government trifectas State government triplexes Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026 |
| Wisconsin executive elections |
| Governor Lieutenant Governor |
Wisconsin is holding an election forsecretary of state onNovember 3, 2026. The primary is August 11, 2026. The filing deadline is June 1, 2026.
For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:
- Wisconsin Secretary of State election, 2026 (August 11 Democratic primary)
- Wisconsin Secretary of State election, 2026 (August 11 Republican primary)
Candidates and election results
Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia definesofficial candidates as people who:
- Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
- Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies
General election
The primary will occur on August 11, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. Additional general election candidates will be added here following the primary.
General election for Wisconsin Secretary of State
Pete Karas is running in the general election for Wisconsin Secretary of State on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Pete Karas (G) | ||
| There are noincumbents in this race. | |||
 = 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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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Wisconsin Secretary of State
IncumbentSarah Godlewski,Collin McNamara,Lorenzo Southall, andJoCasta Zamarripa are running in the Democratic primary for Wisconsin Secretary of State on August 11, 2026.
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. | |||
| = 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 Wisconsin Secretary of State
Nathan Pollnow andCindy Werner are running in the Republican primary for Wisconsin Secretary of State on August 11, 2026.
| There are noincumbents in this race. | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Candidate profiles
There are currently no candidate profiles created for this race. Candidate profiles will appear here as they are created. Encourage the candidates in this race to completeBallotpedia's Candidate Connection survey so that their profile will appear here. You can ask candidates in this race to fill out the survey by clicking their names below:
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No candidate in this race has completedBallotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia is seeking 100 percent participation so voters can learn more about all the candidates on their ballots.
You can ask candidates in this race to fill out the survey by clicking their names below:
Voting information
- See also:Voting in Wisconsin
Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.
Past elections
The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2014.
2022
General election
General election for Wisconsin Secretary of State
IncumbentDouglas J. La Follette defeatedAmy Loudenbeck,Neil Harmon, andSharyl McFarland in the general election for Wisconsin Secretary of State on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Douglas J. La Follette (D) | 48.3 | 1,268,748 |
 | Amy Loudenbeck (R) | 48.0 | 1,261,306 | |
 | Neil Harmon (L) | 2.1 | 54,413 | |
 | Sharyl McFarland (G) | 1.6 | 41,532 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.0 | 944 | ||
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 2,626,943 | ||
| = 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 Wisconsin Secretary of State
IncumbentDouglas J. La Follette defeatedAlexia Sabor in the Democratic primary for Wisconsin Secretary of State on August 9, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Douglas J. La Follette | 63.6 | 300,773 |
 | Alexia Sabor | 36.4 | 171,954 | |
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 472,727 | ||
| = 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 Wisconsin Secretary of State
Amy Loudenbeck defeatedJay Schroeder andJustin Schmidtka in the Republican primary for Wisconsin Secretary of State on August 9, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Amy Loudenbeck | 46.3 | 264,940 |
 | Jay Schroeder | 39.9 | 228,191 | |
 | Justin Schmidtka | 13.8 | 78,846 | |
| There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 571,977 | ||
| = 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. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Dmitry Becker (R)
Libertarian primary election
Libertarian primary for Wisconsin Secretary of State
Neil Harmon advanced from the Libertarian primary for Wisconsin Secretary of State on August 9, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Neil Harmon | 95.8 | 769 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 4.2 | 34 | ||
| There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 803 | ||
| = 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. | ||||
2018
General election
General election for Wisconsin Secretary of State
IncumbentDouglas J. La Follette defeatedJay Schroeder in the general election for Wisconsin Secretary of State on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Douglas J. La Follette (D) | 52.7 | 1,380,752 |
| Jay Schroeder (R) | 47.2 | 1,235,034 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 2,162 | ||
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 2,617,948 | ||
| = 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 Wisconsin Secretary of State
IncumbentDouglas J. La Follette defeatedArvina Martin in the Democratic primary for Wisconsin Secretary of State on August 14, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Douglas J. La Follette | 65.9 | 327,020 |
 | Arvina Martin | 34.1 | 169,130 | |
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 496,150 | ||
| = 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 Wisconsin Secretary of State
Jay Schroeder defeatedSpencer Zimmerman in the Republican primary for Wisconsin Secretary of State on August 14, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jay Schroeder | 71.4 | 254,424 |
 | Spencer Zimmerman | 28.6 | 101,818 | |
| There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 356,242 | ||
| = 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. | ||||
2014
Democratic incumbentDoug La Follette won re-election on November 4, 2014.
| Secretary of State of Wisconsin, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Doug La FolletteIncumbent | 50% | 1,161,113 | |
| Republican | Julian Bradley | 46.3% | 1,074,835 | |
| Libertarian | Andy Craig | 2.5% | 58,996 | |
| Constitution | Jerry Broitzman | 1.1% | 25,744 | |
| Nonpartisan | Scattering | 0.1% | 1,347 | |
| Total Votes | 2,322,035 | |||
| Election results viaWisconsin Government Accountability Board | ||||
Election analysis
Click the tabs below to view information about demographics, past elections, and partisan control of the state.
- Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the state.
- Statewide elections - Information about recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in the state.
- State partisanship - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
- Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.
Cook PVI by congressional district
| District | Incumbent | PVI |
|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin's 1st | Bryan Steil | R+2 |
| Wisconsin's 2nd | Mark Pocan | D+21 |
| Wisconsin's 3rd | Derrick Van Orden | R+3 |
| Wisconsin's 4th | Gwen Moore | D+26 |
| Wisconsin's 5th | Scott Fitzgerald | R+11 |
| Wisconsin's 6th | Glenn Grothman | R+8 |
| Wisconsin's 7th | Tom Tiffany | R+11 |
| Wisconsin's 8th | Tony Wied | R+8 |
2024 presidential results by 2026 congressional district lines
| District | Kamala Harris | Donald Trump |
|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin's 1st | 47.0% | 52.0% |
| Wisconsin's 2nd | 69.0% | 29.0% |
| Wisconsin's 3rd | 46.0% | 53.0% |
| Wisconsin's 4th | 75.0% | 23.0% |
| Wisconsin's 5th | 38.0% | 60.0% |
| Wisconsin's 6th | 41.0% | 58.0% |
| Wisconsin's 7th | 38.0% | 61.0% |
| Wisconsin's 8th | 41.0% | 57.0% |
| Source:The Downballot | ||
2016-2024
How a state's counties vote in a presidential election and the size of those counties can provide additional insights into election outcomes at other levels of government including statewide and congressional races. Below, four categories are used to describe each county's voting pattern over the 2016, 2020, and 2024 presidential elections:Solid,Trending,Battleground, andNew. Click [show] on the table below for examples:
| County-level voting pattern categories | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | |||||||
| Status | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 | ||||
| Solid Democratic | D | D | D | ||||
| Trending Democratic | R | D | D | ||||
| Battleground Democratic | D | R | D | ||||
| New Democratic | R | R | D | ||||
| Republican | |||||||
| Status | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 | ||||
| Solid Republican | R | R | R | ||||
| Trending Republican | D | R | R | ||||
| Battleground Republican | R | D | R | ||||
| New Republican | D | D | R | ||||
Following the 2024 presidential election,62.9% of Wisconsinites lived in one of the state's58 Solid Republican counties, which voted for the Republican presidential candidate in every election from 2016 to 2024, and35.5% lived in one of12 Solid Democratic counties. Overall, Wisconsin wasBattleground Republican, having voted forDonald Trump (R) in 2016,Joe Biden (D) in 2020, andDonald Trump (R) in 2024. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in Wisconsin following the 2024 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.
| Wisconsin county-level statistics, 2024 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solid Republican | 58 | 62.9% | |||||
| Solid Democratic | 12 | 35.5% | |||||
| Battleground Republican | 1 | 1.1% | |||||
| Trending Democratic | 1 | 0.5% | |||||
| Total voted Democratic | 13 | 36.0% | |||||
| Total voted Republican | 59 | 64.0% | |||||
Historical voting trends
Wisconsin presidential election results (1900-2024)
- 15Democratic wins
- 16Republican wins
- 1other win
| Year | 1900 | 1904 | 1908 | 1912 | 1916 | 1920 | 1924 | 1928 | 1932 | 1936 | 1940 | 1944 | 1948 | 1952 | 1956 | 1960 | 1964 | 1968 | 1972 | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winning Party | R | R | R | D | R | R | P[1] | R | D | D | D | R | D | R | R | R | D | R | R | D | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | D | R |
This section details the results of the five most recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections held in the state.
U.S. Senate elections
The table below details the vote in the five most recent U.S. Senate races in Wisconsin.
Gubernatorial elections
- See also:Governor of Wisconsin
The table below details the vote in the five most recent gubernatorial elections in Wisconsin.
Congressional delegation
The table below displays the partisan composition of Wisconsin's congressional delegation as of October 2025.
| Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Wisconsin | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | U.S. Senate | U.S. House | Total |
| Democratic | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Republican | 1 | 6 | 7 |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vacancies | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 8 | 10 |
State executive
The table below displays the officeholders in Wisconsin's top four state executive offices as of October 2025.
| Office | Officeholder |
|---|---|
| Governor | Tony Evers |
| Lieutenant Governor | Sara Rodriguez |
| Secretary of State | Sarah Godlewski |
| Attorney General | Josh Kaul |
State legislature
Wisconsin State Senate
| Party | As of October 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 15 | |
| Republican Party | 18 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 0 | |
| Total | 33 | |
Wisconsin State Assembly
| Party | As of October 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 45 | |
| Republican Party | 54 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 0 | |
| Total | 99 | |
Trifecta control
Wisconsin Party Control: 1992-2025
Two years of Democratic trifectas • Ten years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
The table below details demographic data in Wisconsin and compares it to the broader United States as of 2023.
| Demographic Data for Wisconsin | ||
|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin | United States | |
| Population | 5,893,718 | 331,449,281 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 54,167 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 81.3% | 63.4% |
| Black/African American | 6.1% | 12.4% |
| Asian | 2.9% | 5.8% |
| Native American | 0.7% | 0.9% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.1% | 0.4% |
| Other (single race) | 2.4% | 6.6% |
| Multiple | 6.5% | 10.7% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 7.8% | 19% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 93.4% | 89.4% |
| College graduation rate | 32.8% | 35% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $75,670 | $78,538 |
| Persons below poverty level | 10.6% | 12.4% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau,"Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau,"American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2018-2023). | ||
| **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. | ||
Secretary of State elections in 2026
There are 26secretary of state seats on the ballot in2026.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑Progressive Party
