Democrats won elections for secretary of state in four presidential battlegrounds while making inroads into red territory, giving them the power to oversee elections in key states for the 2028 elections.
Democratic candidates retained control of secretaries of state offices in Arizona, Michigan and Nevada, while flipping the office in Georgia, all states that have been the focus of recent campaigns for the White House. And Democrats gained control of the secretary of state in the Republican-leaning states of Indiana and Ohio.
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In Georgia, Democrat Penny Brown Reynolds will succeed Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who drew the ire of President Donald Trump for rebuffing his push to overturn the state’s 2020 election results. She defeated state Rep. Tim Fleming, a former aide to incumbent Republican Gov. Brian Kemp who was endorsed by Trump.
Reynolds, who is known for a TV show about family court and who served in the Biden administration, campaigned as a judge who would stand up to Trump while following the law in running the national election. Fleming didn’t go as far as other Republicans in claiming the 2020 election was stolen, but he said there were “irregularities” and called for new restrictions on mail-in voting.
In Michigan, Democratic Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist defeated Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini, a Republican, to succeed Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who won the state’s gubernatorial race. Gilchrist had criticized Forlini for sharing voter data with the Trump administration and hiring a protester on Jan. 6 in his office.
In Arizona and Nevada, incumbent Democrats Adrian Fontes and Cisco Aguilar fended off challenges from far-right Republicans whose careers were rooted in advancing election conspiracy theories, enjoying much better margins than in similar matchups in 2022.
And in Texas, Democrat Gina Hinojosa’s victory in the gubernatorial race is also expected to give the party authority over the administration of state elections. The Texas Secretary of State is appointed by the governor, serving concurrent terms.
Once a low-profile, low-profile position, secretary of state has become a much higher-profile position amid a constant drumbeat of unfounded election fraud claims from Trump and his allies. All four battleground states saw the results of the 2020 election contested and secretaries of state in those states and others faced a steady stream of lawsuits and threats.
In the latter part of the midterm campaign, Democrats began targeting Indiana, Kansas, Ohio and Iowa for gains in red states. So far, they have won two of their goals and lost one.
Democratic Rep. Allison Russo will be Ohio’s next secretary of state, with her party also flipping Senate and governor’s seats in a state that has shifted to the right in recent years. Russo defeated Republican state treasurer Robert Sprague.
In Indiana, Beau Bayh, a 30-year-old scion of the state’s longtime Democratic family, defeated Republican state Rep. Max Engling. Engling had replaced Indiana Republican incumbent Diego Morales, embroiled in allegations of corruption and ethics violations, at the party’s inaugural convention.
Bayh spent more than $8.6 million on ads, according to AdImpact, actively campaigning to fight corruption. He ran at the top of the ticket in Indiana, which did not have a race for Senate or governor this year.
In Kansas, where voters have not elected a Democrat as secretary of state since 1948, the race between Democratic Rep. Jennifer Day and Republican Rep. Pat Proctor was too close to call, according to NBC News’ Decision Desk.
Democrats have had success elsewhere in the state, with Pastor Adam Hamilton angering Republican Sen. Roger Marshall.
The most important victories did not translate into success for secretaries of state everywhere.
In Iowa, Republican Secretary of State Paul Pate fended off a challenge from Democrat Ryan Peterman, even as Democrats were winning state Senate and gubernatorial elections.
And in South Carolina, Republican Secretary of State Mark Hammond defeated his Democratic challenger Jason Belton, even as Democrat Annie Andrews prevailed in the Senate race.
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