2024 United States secretary of state elections
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7 Secretary of State offices | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2024 United States Secretary of State elections were held on November 5, 2024, to elect the Secretaries of State in seven states. 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 claims that the 2020 election was stolen.[1]
The previous elections for this group of states took place in 2020. The secretary of state of Vermont serves two-year terms and was last elected in 2022.
Going into the election, there were 26 Republican secretaries of state and 21 Democratic secretaries of state. 4 Democratic secretaries of state were up for election, of whom LaVonne Griffin-Valade of Oregon retired. 3 Republican secretaries of state were up for election, of whom Jay Ashcroft of Missouri and Mac Warner of West Virginia retired.
Partisan composition
Going into these elections, this class of secretaries of state was made up of 4 Democrats and 3 Republicans. Democrats were defending one state won by Donald Trump in 2020 (North Carolina), while Republicans did not hold any states won by Joe Biden.
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
- "safe" or "solid" : near-certain chance of victory
| State | PVI | Incumbent[2] | Sabato[3] January 31, 2024 |
Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri | R+10 | Jay Ashcroft (retiring) |
Solid R | Hoskins 57.7% R |
| Montana | R+11 | Christi Jacobsen | Safe R | Jacobsen 61.4% R |
| North Carolina | R+3 | Elaine Marshall | Lean D | Marshall 51.2% D |
| Oregon | D+6 | LaVonne Griffin-Valade (retiring) |
Safe D | Read 54.45% D |
| Vermont | D+16 | Sarah Copeland Hanzas | Solid D | Copeland Hanzas 59.61% D |
| Washington | D+8 | Steve Hobbs | Safe D | Hobbs 59.2% D |
| West Virginia | R+22 | Mac Warner | Safe R | Kris Warner 71.15% R |
Race summary
| State | Secretary of State |
Party | First elected |
Status | Candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri | Jay Ashcroft | Republican | 2016 | Incumbent retired to run for governor.[4] Republican hold. |
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| Montana | Christi Jacobsen | Republican | 2020 | Incumbent re-elected. |
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| North Carolina | Elaine Marshall | Democratic | 1996 | Incumbent re-elected. |
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| Oregon | LaVonne Griffin-Valade | Democratic | 2023 (appointed) | Interim appointee retired.[5] Democratic hold. |
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| Vermont | Sarah Copeland Hanzas | Democratic | 2022 | Incumbent re-elected. |
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| Washington | Steve Hobbs | Democratic | 2022 | Incumbent re-elected. |
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| West Virginia | Mac Warner | Republican | 2016 | Incumbent retired to run for governor.[6] Republican hold. |
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Closest races
States where the margin of victory was between 1% and 5%:
- North Carolina, 2.08%
Blue denotes races won by Democrats. Red denotes races won by Republicans.
Missouri
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County results Hoskins: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Phifer: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% | |||||||||||||||||
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Incumbent Republican Jay Ashcroft was eligible to serve a third term, but has instead decided to run for governor.[4]
State senator Denny Hoskins defeated businesswoman Valentina Gomez, state senate President pro tempore Caleb Rowden, Greene County clerk Shane Schoeller and state representative Adam Schwadron to win the Republican primary.[7][8][9][10][11][12]
State representative Barbara Phifer defeated accountant Monique Williams, and travel agent Haley Jacobson in the Democratic primary.[13] A fourth candidate, Gavin Bena, initially filed to run but later withdrew from the race.[14][15][16]
On November 5, 2024, Hoskins defeated Phifer by 18 percentage points.[17]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Denny Hoskins | 157,116 | 24.42 | |
| Republican | Shane Schoeller | 108,289 | 16.83 | |
| Republican | Mike Carter | 91,866 | 14.28 | |
| Republican | Dean Plocher | 86,659 | 13.47 | |
| Republican | Mary Elizabeth Coleman | 72,938 | 11.34 | |
| Republican | Valentina Gomez | 47,931 | 7.45 | |
| Republican | Jamie Corley | 46,314 | 7.20 | |
| Republican | Adam Schwadron | 32,335 | 5.03 | |
| Total votes | 643,448 | 100.00 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Barbara Phifer | 146,284 | 40.86 | |
| Democratic | Monique Williams | 123,270 | 34.43 | |
| Democratic | Haley Jacobsen | 88,491 | 24.72 | |
| Total votes | 358,045 | 100.00 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Denny Hoskins | 1,677,902 | 57.66% | −2.93% | |
| Democratic | Barbara Phifer | 1,154,090 | 39.66% | +3.38% | |
| Libertarian | Carl Freese | 49,113 | 1.69% | −0.18% | |
| Green | Jerome Bauer | 29,012 | 1.00% | +0.19% | |
| Total votes | 2,910,117 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
| Republican hold | |||||
Montana
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County results Jacobsen: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% 90–100% Mullen: 40–50% 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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Incumbent Republican Christi Jacobsen successfully ran for a second term, defeating Democratic newspaper publisher Jesse Mullen.[20][21][22]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Christi Jacobsen (incumbent) | 364,319 | 61.39% | ||
| Democratic | Jesse Mullen | 210,651 | 35.49% | ||
| Libertarian | John Lamb | 18,500 | 3.12% | ||
| Total votes | 593,470 | 100.00% | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
North Carolina
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County results Marshall: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Brown: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% | |||||||||||||||||
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Incumbent Democrat Elaine Marshall successfully ran for re-election to an eighth term, defeating Republican Chad Brown.[24][25]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Chad Brown | 373,166 | 43.26% | |
| Republican | Christine Villaverde | 258,569 | 29.98% | |
| Republican | Jesse Thomas | 230,829 | 26.76% | |
| Total votes | 862,564 | 100.0% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Elaine Marshall (incumbent) | 2,837,994 | 51.04% | –0.12% | |
| Republican | Chad Brown | 2,722,794 | 48.96% | +0.12% | |
| Total votes | 5,560,788 | 100.0% | |||
| Democratic hold | |||||
Oregon
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County results Read: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Linthicum: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Tie: 40–50% 50% No votes | |||||||||||||||||
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Incumbent Democrat LaVonne Griffin-Valade was appointed by Governor Tina Kotek to replace Shemia Fagan, who resigned in May 2023 after revelations that she took a consulting job at a cannabis company while her office was auditing Oregon's marijuana industry, which many considered to be a conflict of interest.[28][29] Griffin-Valade did not seek election to a full term.
Democratic nominee Tobias Read won the general election on November 5, 2024.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Tobias Read | 303,089 | 69.40% | |
| Democratic | James Manning Jr. | 97,427 | 22.31% | |
| Democratic | Jim Crary | 16,340 | 3.74% | |
| Democratic | Paul Damian Wells | 9,425 | 2.16% | |
| Democratic | Dave Stauffer | 7,921 | 1.81% | |
| Write-in | 2,515 | 0.58% | ||
| Total votes | 436,717 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Dennis Linthicum | 199,243 | 65.99% | |
| Republican | Brent Barker | 61,011 | 20.21% | |
| Republican | Tim McCloud | 39,109 | 12.95% | |
| Write-in | 2,560 | 0.85% | ||
| Total votes | 301,923 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Tobias Read | 1,166,447 | 54.45% | +4.14% | |
| Republican | Dennis Linthicum | 897,704 | 41.90% | –1.31% | |
| Pacific Green | Nathalie Paravicini | 76,170 | 3.56% | –0.05% | |
| Write-in | 2,011 | 0.09% | –0.01% | ||
| Total votes | 2,142,332 | 100.0% | |||
| Democratic hold | |||||
Vermont
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Hanzas: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Paige: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% No votes | |||||||||||||||||
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Incumbent secretary of state Sarah Copeland Hanzas was re-elected to a second two-year term, defeating Republican newsstand owner H. Brooke Paige.[32]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Sarah Copeland Hanzas (incumbent) | 43,182 | 99.32% | |
| Write-in | 294 | 0.68% | ||
| Total votes | 43,476 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | H. Brooke Paige | 18,989 | 98.10% | |
| Write-in | 368 | 1.90% | ||
| Total votes | 19,357 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Sarah Copeland Hanzas (incumbent) | 205,378 | 59.61% | |
| Republican | H. Brooke Paige | 138,673 | 40.25% | |
| Write-in | 473 | 0.14% | ||
| Total votes | 344,524 | 100.00% | ||
Washington
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County results Hobbs: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Whitaker: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% | |||||||||||||||||
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Incumbent Democratic Secretary of State Steve Hobbs was appointed to the position in 2021 after the resignation of Kim Wyman. He won a 2022 special election to serve out the remaining two years of Wyman's term and ran for re-election to a full term in 2024. Hobbs won the election decisively against Republican candidate Dale Whitaker.[35]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Steve Hobbs (incumbent) | 930,533 | 48.38% | |
| Republican | Dale Whitaker | 709,046 | 36.87% | |
| Democratic | Marquez Tiggs | 185,628 | 9.65% | |
| No Labels | Damon Townsend | 96,586 | 5.02% | |
| Write-in | 1,534 | 0.08% | ||
| Total votes | 1,923,327 | 100.0% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Steve Hobbs (incumbent) | 2,234,420 | 59.20% | +9.43% | |
| Republican | Dale Whitaker | 1,535,977 | 40.70% | N/A | |
| Write-in | 3,958 | 0.10% | –4.30% | ||
| Total votes | 3,774,355 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
| Democratic hold | |||||
West Virginia
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County results Warner: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% | |||||||||||||||||
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Incumbent Republican Mac Warner is eligible to run for re-election, but has instead decided to run for governor.[6]
Mac's brother and Former West Virginia Republican Party chair Kris Warner won the Republican nomination defeating state senator Kenny Mann, former state delegate Ken Reed, former Democratic House of Delegates minority leader Doug Skaff, and Putnam County clerk Brian Wood.[38] Attorney Thornton Cooper won the Democratic nomination unopposed.[39]
The Republican nominee, Kris Warner, was elected West Virginia's Secretary of State on November 5, 2024.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Kris Warner | 92,488 | 45.89% | |
| Republican | Doug Skaff | 42,291 | 20.98% | |
| Republican | Ken Reed | 33,891 | 16.81% | |
| Republican | Brian Wood | 32,892 | 16.32% | |
| Total votes | 201,562 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Thornton Cooper | 81,773 | 100.0% | |
| Total votes | 81,773 | 100.0% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Kris Warner | 510,992 | 71.15% | +12.89% | |
| Democratic | Thornton Cooper | 207,238 | 28.85% | −12.89% | |
| Total votes | 718,230 | 100.00% | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
Notes
References
- ^ Martin, John J. (March 2, 2024). "Why state secretaries of state are important to elections - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
- ^ Parentheses around an incumbent's name indicates that the incumbent is not running for re-election.
- ^ Jacobson, Louis (January 31, 2024). "This Year's Key Attorney General and Secretary of State Races". University of Virginia Center for Politics.
- ^ a b Shorman, Jonathan (April 6, 2023). "Missouri's top election official Jay Ashcroft launches Republican campaign for governor". The Kansas City Star.
- ^ Lugo, Dianne (June 30, 2023). "LaVonne Griffin-Valade sworn in as 29th Oregon secretary of state". Statesman Journal. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
- ^ a b Staff Reports (January 10, 2023). "Mac Warner announces campaign for West Virginia governor in 2024". WV News. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
- ^ Dereuck, Kelly (October 29, 2023). "Greene County's Schoeller among crowded field of GOP candidates for MO Secretary of State". Springfield News-Leader. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
- ^ Erickson, Kurt (June 6, 2023). "With focus on voter fraud, senator from Warrensburg launches run for top state election post". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
- ^ "Caleb Rowden announces his intent to run for Missouri secretary of state". Columbia Missourian. October 22, 2023. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
- ^ Skalicky, Michele (February 11, 2023). "Greene County Clerk Shane Schoeller announces run for Missouri secretary of state". KSMU. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
- ^ Gladney, Nick (October 23, 2023). "St. Charles representative announces bid for Missouri Secretary of State". KOMU-TV. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
- ^ Bayless, Kacen (August 7, 2024). "Denny Hoskins wins GOP primary for Missouri secretary of state in crowded field". Kansas City Star. Retrieved February 18, 2025.
- ^ "Secretary of State Unofficial Candidate Filing List". Missouri Secretary of State.
- ^ "Questions remain about key Missouri races as August primary filing opens". Spectrum Local News.
- ^ "2024 Withdrawn Candidates". Missouri Secretary of State.
- ^ Bayless, Kacen (August 7, 2024). "Denny Hoskins wins GOP primary for Missouri secretary of state in crowded field". Kansas City Star. Retrieved February 18, 2025.
- ^ "General Election, November 05, 2024". State of Missouri. Retrieved February 18, 2025.
- ^ a b Missouri Secretary of State (August 6, 2024). "State of Missouri - State of Missouri - Primary Election, August 06, 2024". enr.sos.mo.gov/. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
- ^ General Election, November 05, 2024, Official Results, Missouri Secretary of State, December 23, 2024.
- ^ Sakariassen, Alex (November 13, 2023). "Jacobsen announces re-election bid for top election office". Montana Free Press. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
- ^ Hill, Deb (January 31, 2024). "Deer Lodge newspaper owner running for Secretary of State". Lewiston News-Argus. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
- ^ "Montana Secretary of State Election Results 2024". The New York Times. November 5, 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
- ^ "2024 Statewide General Election Canvass". Secretary of State of Montana. December 11, 2024. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
- ^ Square, Alan Wooten | The Center (December 4, 2023). "Marshall, vying for eighth term alongside sixth governor, among early filers". The Center Square. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
- ^ "North Carolina Secretary of State Election Results". The New York Times. December 13, 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
- ^ "03/05/2024 OFFICIAL PRIMARY ELECTION RESULTS - STATEWIDE". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
- ^ "11/05/2024 OFFICIAL GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS - STATEWIDE". North Carolina State Board of Elections.
- ^ Borrud, Hillary (May 2, 2023). "Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan resigns". The Oregonian/OregonLive. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
- ^ Shumway, Julia (June 30, 2023). "LaVonne Griffin-Valade takes over as Oregon secretary of state with pledge to rebuild trust". Oregon Capital Chronicle. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
- ^ a b "May 21, 2024, Primary Election Abstract of Votes" (PDF). Oregon Secretary of State. May 21, 2024. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
- ^ "November 5, 2024, General Election Abstract of Votes" (PDF). Oregon SOS. December 12, 2024. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
- ^ "Vermont Secretary of State Election 2024 Live Results". NBC News. November 5, 2024. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
- ^ a b Secretary of State of Vermont (August 13, 2024). "Vermont Election Night Results". electionresults.vermont.gov. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
- ^ "2024 General Election Canvass Report" (PDF). VT SOS. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
- ^ Fortin, Daniel (November 5, 2024). "Steve Hobbs wins Washington U.S. Secretary of State race with 59.6% of the vote, NBC reports". NonStop Local Tri-Cities/Yakima. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
- ^ "Certification of Results" (PDF). Washington Secretary of State.
- ^ "Official Canvass of the Returns" (PDF). Secretary of State of Washington. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
- ^ Hannahs, Alyssa (May 15, 2024). "Kris Warner wins GOP Secretary of State Primary". www.wsaz.com. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
- ^ "WV SOS - Elections - Candidate - Online Data Services". apps.sos.wv.gov. Retrieved February 2, 2024.