Secretary of State Races in 2022
States United Action
Last Updated: December 7, 2022
1 Overview
What we tracked:
Announced and/or filed candidates who ran for Secretary of State in 2022.
Methodology:
To qualify as an Election Denier, a candidate must meet one or more of the criteria below:
Falsely claimed former President Trump won the 2020 election instead of the legitimate winner, President Joe Biden.
Spread lies about the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election in public fora, including in social media, press statements, and/or comments to press.
Called for a “forensic audit” of the 2020 presidential election after the results were certified and/or officially audited and/or stood up to multiple legal challenges.
Promoted conspiracies about the 2020 presidential election in public fora, including in social media, press statements, and/or comments to press.
Took actions to undermine the integrity of the 2020 presidential election, including: filed or supported litigation seeking to overturn the results; and/or promoted/participated in a Stop the Steal sponsored/branded event or rally.
2 By the Numbers
In 2022, 27 states held races for secretary of state. In all, 37 Election Deniers ran in 25 of those races.
13 Election Deniers advanced through the primaries to the November general election.
As of December 7, 2022, Election Deniers were kept out of office in 89% (24/27) of this year’s secretary of state races. Only three Election Deniers won their races for secretary of state; they were all in states that voted for Trump in 2020: Alabama, Indiana, and Wyoming.
Election Deniers lost secretary of state races in 10 states: Arizona, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, and Vermont.
3 Secretary of State Races in 2022
The table below lists candidates who were on the ballot for the general election on November 8, 2022. The table is organized by state and contains candidate name, party, whether they’ve been coded as an Election Denier using the methodology above, and whether they won or lost.
*Candidates with open filings from a past election cycle who did not
appear to be actively running are not included in the tracker. Actively
running means that a candidate has announced they are running and/or has
an active website and/or has recent filings or activity relating to the
2022 cycle as of October 2021.
Party Key
D = Democrat
R = Republican
C = Constitution
G = Green
L = Libertarian
O = Other party or no party
4 Election Deniers
This section includes press statements, news coverage including comments, or social media posts by Election Deniers who won their races for secretary of state this year.
4.1 Alabama - Wes Allen
4.2 Indiana - Diego Morales
Associated Press: Ex-Pence aide seeks Indiana elections office that fired him
