Democratic hold Democratic gain Republican hold Secretary of state not elected No election
The 2022 United States secretary of state elections were held on November 8, 2022, to elect the secretaries of state in twenty-seven states.[1] These elections took place concurrently with several other federal, state, and local elections.
The elections for secretary of state had taken on heightened importance due to former President Donald Trump's baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen. Many had argued that election officials such as secretaries of state could have the power to overturn the 2024 election, should its outcome be disagreeable to the losing candidate. As such, both parties are expending far more resources than in previous cycles on these races.[2][3][4] A coalition of Republican candidates for secretary of state who have endorsed Trump's false claim that the 2020 election was stolen have organized under the America First Secretary of State Coalition slate.[5][6][7]
The previous elections for this group of states took place in 2018. The secretary of state of Vermont serves two-year terms and was last elected in 2020. Additionally, there is a special election being held in Washington (secretary of state elections in Washington are regularly held in presidential election years) due to the resignation of Republican Kim Wyman to take a position in the administration of PresidentJoe Biden.
Republicans defended one state won by Joe Biden in 2020 (Georgia), while Democrats do not hold any states won by Donald Trump. However, Democrats defended several seats in states Biden won only narrowly, including Arizona, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Furthermore, Democrats had a net gain of one seat in Nevada, another state narrowly won by Biden.
Partisan composition
Going into these elections, this class of secretaries of state is made up of 14 Republicans and 13 Democrats. Additionally, Democrats hold secretary of state offices in three states with Republican governors. By contrast, Republicans hold secretariat offices in two states with Democratic governors.
Election predictions
Several sites and individuals published predictions of competitive seats. These predictions looked at factors such as the strength of the incumbent (if the incumbent is running for re-election), the strength of the candidates, and the partisan leanings of the state (reflected in part by the state's Cook Partisan Voting Index rating). The predictions assigned ratings to each seat, with the rating indicating the predicted advantage that a party has in winning that seat.
Most election predictors use:
"tossup": no advantage
"tilt" (used by some predictors): advantage that is not quite as strong as "lean"
"lean": slight advantage
"likely": significant, but surmountable, advantage
Incumbent Republican John Merrill was term-limited. Republican state representative Wes Allen, election administrator Ed Packard, Alabama State AuditorJim Zeigler and activist Christian Horn ran for the seat.[20] Corrections officer Pamela Laffitte was the only Democratic candidate in that party's primary.[20]
Allen won his runoff on June 21, while Laffitte won her primary on May 24.
Incumbent Republican John Thurston ran for re-election. Former state representative Eddie Joe Williams unsuccessfully challenged Thurston in the Republican primary.[22]
Democratic primary candidates included executive director of the Women's Foundation of Arkansas Anna Beth Gorman and former Pulaski County election commissioner Josh Price.[22]
Thurston and Gorman won their respective primaries on May 24.
Republican primary candidates included former Jefferson County clerk Pam Anderson, former head of the nonprofit Colorado Lending Source Mike O'Donnell, and Mesa CountyclerkTina Peters.[24] Walter James Rutledge ran as a Libertarian.[24]
Griswold and Anderson won their respective primaries on June 28.
Republican primary candidates included Apple senior account manager Dominic Rapini, New Britain executive mayoral aide Brock Weber, and state representative Terrie Wood.[26]
Environmental attorney Cynthia Jennings ran on the Independent Party of Connecticut ticket.[26] Harold Harris ran as a Libertarian, while Douglas Lary ran as the Green Party candidate.[26]
Thomas and Rapini won their respective primaries on August 9.[27]
Incumbent Democrat William F. Galvin ran for re-election.[36] Tanisha Sullivan, president of the Boston chapter of the NAACP, challenged Galvin in the Democratic primary.[36]
The only Republican candidate was former dental assistant and insurance claims manager Rayla Campbell.[36]
Incumbent Republican Bob Evnen ran for re-election.[43] Former Palmyra fire chief Rex Schroder and Robert J. Borer challenged him in the Republican primary.[43]
Evnen won his primary on May 10. He won re-election.
Incumbent Republican Barbara Cegavske was term-limited and cannot seek a third term.
Republican candidates included Sparks city councilman Kristopher Dahir, entrepreneur John Cardiff Gerhardt, former state senator Jesse Haw, businesswoman Socorro Kennan, former member of the Nevada AssemblyJim Marchant, former news anchor Gerard Ramalho, and former Nevada 8th judicial district court judge Richard Scotti.[44]
Incumbent Democrat Maggie Toulouse Oliver ran for re-election.[45] Republican rancher Audrey Trujillo challenged Oliver.[45] Libertarian candidate Mayna Erika Myers was also running.[45]
Oliver and Trujillo won their respective primaries on June 7.
Podcaster Terpsehore Tore Maras, also known as Terpsichore "Tore" Maras-Lindeman, initially challenged LaRose in the primary, but was disqualified. She is now running as an Independent.[48]
LaRose and Clark won their respective primaries on May 3.
Incumbent Democrat Nellie Gorbea was term-limited and couldn't seek a third term. Democratic candidates included state representativeGregg Amore, Stephanie Beaute, and tax preparer Anthony Tamba.[49]
The only Republican candidate was perennial candidate Pat Cortellessa.[49]
Cannabis activist Anne Armstrong ran as an independent.[49]
Incumbent Republican Steve Barnett ran for re-election.[51] He faced a successful primary challenge from secretary of state office worker Monae Johnson, who won the nomination at the Republican state convention on June 25.[51]
Incumbent Democrat Jim Condos retired.[18] Democratic candidates included state representativeSarah Copeland-Hanzas, Montpelier city clerk John Odum, and Deputy Secretary of State Chris Winters.[52] Copeland-Hanzas won the August 9 primary. The only Republican candidate was perennial candidate H. Brooke Paige.[52] Robert Millar ran as the candidate of the Vermont Progressive Party.[52]
Incumbent Democrat Steve Hobbs was appointed November 22, 2021, after his predecessor, Kim Wyman, resigned. He is running in the special election.[53] He faced an intraparty primary challenge from Marquez Tiggs.[53]
Incumbent Democrat Doug La Follette ran for re-election.[55]Dane County Democratic party chair Alexia Sabor challenged him in the Democratic primary.[55]
Republican candidates included assemblywomanAmy Loudenbeck, former firefighter Daniel Schmidtka, and businessman Jay Schroeder.[55]
Neil Harmon ran as a Libertarian, while Sharyl McFarland ran as an independent.[55]
La Follette and Loudenbeck won their respective primaries on August 9.
Incumbent Republican Edward Buchanan did not seek re-election and resigned before the end of his term.[56] Governor Mark Gordon appointed Karl Allred to serve as interim secretary. Allred is not on the general election ballot.[19]