Democrats score key secretary of state wins ahead of the 2028 election

Democrats won secretary of state contests in four presidential battlegrounds while making inroads in red territory, giving them election oversight authority in key states for the 2028 elections. Democratic candidates maintained control of secretary of state offices in Arizona, Michigan and Nevada, while flipping the office in Georgia, all states that have been at the center of recent campaigns for the White House. And Democrats gained secretary of state control in the GOP-leaning states of Indiana and Ohio. In Georgia, Democrat Penny Brown Reynolds will succeed Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who drew President Donald Trump’s ire for rebuffing his push to overturn the state’s 2020 election results. She defeated state Rep. Tim Fleming, a former aide to outgoing Republican Gov. Brian Kemp who was endorsed by Trump.Reynolds, who is known for a family court television show and serving in the Biden administration, campaigned as a judge who would stand up to Trump while following the law in running state elections. Fleming did not go as far as other Republicans in claiming the 2020 election was stolen, but said there were “irregularities” and called for new mail voting restrictions.In Michigan, Democratic Lt. Gov Garlin Gilchrist bested Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini, a Republican, to succeed Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who won the state’s race for governor. Gilchrist had criticized Forlini for sharing voter data with the Trump administration and hiring a Jan. 6 protester to 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 far better margins than they had in similar 2022 matchups.And in Texas, Democrat Gina Hinojosa’s win in the governor’s race is also expected to give the party authority over the administration of state elections. Texas’ secretary of state is appointed by the governor, with concurrent terms. Once an under-the-radar, downballot job, secretary of state has become a much more high-profile position amid a constant drumbeat of unfounded election fraud claims from Trump and his allies. All four battleground states saw challenges to the 2020 election results and secretaries of state in these and other states have faced a steady stream of lawsuits and threats. In the final stretch of the midterm campaign, Democrats started targeting Indiana, Kansas, Ohio and Iowa for red-state gains. So far, they’ve won two of their targets and lost one.Democratic state Rep. Allison Russo will be the next secretary of state of Ohio as her party also flipped Senate and gubernatorial 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 a longtime Democratic family in the state, beat Republican state Rep. Max Engling. Engling had replaced Indiana’s Republican incumbent, Diego Morales, who was embroiled in allegations of corruption and ethics violations, at the party’s nominating convention. Bayh spent more than $ 8.6 million on ads, according to AdImpact, campaigning heavily on fighting corruption. He ran at the top of the ticket in Indiana, which didn’t have any races for Senate or governor this year. In Kansas, where voters haven’t elected a Democrat as secretary of state since 1948, the race between Democratic state Rep. Jennifer Day and Republican state Rep. Pat Proctor was too close to call, according to NBC News’ Decision Desk. Democrats saw success elsewhere in the state, with pastor Adam Hamilton pulling off an upset over GOP Sen. Roger Marshall. Top-of-the-ticket wins didn’t translate to secretary of state success everywhere.In Iowa, Republican Secretary of State Paul Pate fended off a challenge from Democrat Ryan Peterman, even as Democrats won Senate and governor’s races in the state. And In South Carolina, Republican Secretary of State Mark Hammond beat Democratic challenger Jason Belton, even as Democrat Annie Andrews prevailed in the Senate race.