2018 Georgia Secretary of State election
← 2014 November 6, 2018 (general)
December 4, 2018 (runoff)		 2022 →
Turnout61.44% Increase (first round)
22.98% Decrease (runoff)
 
Nominee Brad Raffensperger John Barrow
Party Republican Democratic
First round 1,906,588
49.1% 		1,890,310
48.7%
Runoff 764,855
51.9% 		709,049
48.1%
Raffensperger:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Barrow:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Tie:      50%
Secretary of State before election

Brian Kemp
Republican

Elected Secretary of State

Brad Raffensperger
Republican

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The 2018 Georgia Secretary of State election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the Secretary of State of Georgia. It was held concurrently with the 2018 gubernatorial election, as well as elections for the United States Senate and elections for the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Republican Incumbent Secretary of State Brian Kemp chose not to run for re-election and instead ran successfully for governor.[1] Since no candidate received the requisite 50 percent of the vote, the top two candidates, Democrat John Barrow and Republican Brad Raffensperger proceeded to a runoff on December 4, 2018.[2]

At 22.98%, the runoff saw the lowest voter turnout out of any Georgia statewide election since the senate runoff of 1992.

In the runoff election, Raffensperger unexpectedly flipped rural counties Sumter and Warren, which were reliably Democratic counties that have not voted Republican on the presidential levels since 1972 for Warren, and 2004 for Sumter. However, both counties have been trending Republican in recent elections. Raffensperger also flipped Atlanta suburban counties Cobb and Newton, which have been trending away from Republicans in recent elections. As of 2022, this was the last time Cobb and Newton went Republican in a statewide race in Georgia

Georgia has been a Republican triplex since 2011, meaning that its governor, attorney general, and secretary of state have all been members of the same party. The state maintained that status following this election, as Republicans won every statewide office. This was the first time in Georgia state history that any statewide executive election went to a second round.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Eliminated in runoff

Eliminated in primary

Declined

Endorsements

David Belle Isle

[10]

Buzz Brockway
State Representatives

First round

Results

Republican primary results[12]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Brad Raffensperger 185,386 34.96%
Republican David Belle Isle 151,328 28.54%
Republican Joshua McKoon 112,113 21.14%
Republican Buzz Brockway 81,492 15.37%
Total votes 530,319 100.00%

Runoff

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size 		Margin
of error 		David
Belle Isle 		Brad
Raffensperger 		Undecided
Rosetta Stone June 7, 2018 400 ± 4.9% 24% 42% 34%

Results

Republican primary runoff results[13]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Brad Raffensperger 331,127 61.74%
Republican David Belle Isle 205,223 38.26%
Total votes 536,350 100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Eliminated in primary

Declined

Results

Democratic primary results[17]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic John Barrow 264,864 51.48%
Democratic Dee Dawkins-Haigler 151,963 29.54%
Democratic RJ Hadley 97,682 18.99%
Total votes 514,509 100.00%

Libertarian convention

Candidates

Nominee

General election

Predictions

Source Ranking As of
Governing magazine[19] Lean R June 4, 2018

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size 		Margin
of error 		Brad
Raffensperger (R) 		John
Barrow (D) 		Smythe
DuVal (L) 		Undecided
20/20 Insights (D-Southern Majority) October 31 – November 2, 2018 614 ± 4.0% 42% 48% 3% 7%
Cygnal (R) October 27–30, 2018 467 ± 4.4% 47% 45% 6% 2%
University of Georgia September 30 – October 9, 2018 1,232 ± 2.8% 41% 37% 6% 15%
Public Policy Polling October 5–6, 2018 729 ± 3.0% 43% 41% – 16%
Gravis Marketing July 27–29, 2018 650 ± 3.8% 41% 45% – 15%

Results

2018 Georgia Secretary of State election[20]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Brad Raffensperger 1,906,588 49.09% −8.38
Democratic John Barrow 1,890,310 48.67% +6.14
Libertarian Smythe DuVal 86,696 2.23% N/A
Total votes 3,883,594 100.0%

Runoff

2018 Georgia Secretary of State runoff election[21]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Brad Raffensperger 764,855 51.89% −5.58
Democratic John Barrow 709,049 48.11% +5.58
Total votes 1,473,904 100.0%
Republican hold

References

  1. ^ a b Bluestein, Greg (March 31, 2017). "Brian Kemp enters race for governor". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on March 31, 2017. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
  2. ^ "11 Alive: Georgia's Secretary of State race will go to a runoff on Dec. 4". Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  3. ^ Hassinger, Mike (April 4, 2017). "New Entrant For Secretary Of State". GeorgiaPol.com. Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  4. ^ a b Bluestein, Greg (April 24, 2017). "Alpharetta mayor announces candidacy for Georgia Secretary of State". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d Bluestein, Greg (March 13, 2017). "Buzz Brockway to seek Secretary of State gig in 2018". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on April 12, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  6. ^ Salzer, James (July 6, 2017). "Georgia's "religious liberty" senator joins Secretary of State race". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  7. ^ a b c Bluestein, Greg (March 29, 2017). "Vogtle fallout: Ending reactor project, loss of thousands of jobs on table". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on March 30, 2017. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
  8. ^ Bluestein, Greg (July 5, 2016). "An early Donald Trump backer aims for higher office in Georgia". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on September 24, 2016. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
  9. ^ Bluestein, Greg (June 2, 2017). "Pro-Trump loyalist Michael Williams enters governor race". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on June 1, 2017. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  10. ^ "Release: Belle Isle Campaign for Secretary of State Announces Endorsements From Across Georgia". davidbelleisle.com. Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  11. ^ Michael Caldwell. "I could not be more excited to support @votehunterhill for Governor, @GeoffDuncanGA for Lt. Governor and @buzzbrockway for Secretary of State. Please consider these great, Conservative Georgians when you hit the ballot box today and Tuesday! #gapol #gahouse #gagop #gop". Twitter. Archived from the original on June 2, 2020. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  12. ^ "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election". Georgia Secretary of State. Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  13. ^ "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election Runoff". Georgia Secretary of State. Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  14. ^ Bluestein, Greg (September 25, 2017). "John Barrow aims for comeback with bid for Georgia secretary of state". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on September 25, 2017. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
  15. ^ Williams, Chuck (April 12, 2017). "Columbus Mayor Teresa Tomlinson weighs run for governor, secretary of state". Ledger-Enquirer. Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  16. ^ Williams, Chuck (May 10, 2017). "Mayor Teresa Tomlinson makes decision on running for 2018 statewide office". Ledger-Enquirer. Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  17. ^ "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election". Georgia Secretary of State. Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  18. ^ "J. Smythe DuVal for Secretary of State". Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  19. ^ Jacobson, Louis (June 4, 2018). "Secretary of State Races Are More Competitive and Important Than Ever". Governing. Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  20. ^ "November 6, 2018 General Election". GA - Election Night Reporting. Georgia Secretary of State. November 10, 2018. Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  21. ^ "December 4, 2018 General Election Runoff". GA - Election Night Reporting. Georgia Secretary of State. December 4, 2018. Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved December 5, 2018.

External links

Official campaign websites
(2017 ←)   2018 United States elections   (→ 2019)
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