2022 Georgia Secretary of State election
← 2018 November 8, 2022 2026 →
Turnout57.02% Increase
 
Nominee Brad Raffensperger Bee Nguyen
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 2,081,421 1,719,922
Percentage 53.2% 44.0%
Raffensperger:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Nguyen:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Secretary of State before election

Brad Raffensperger
Republican

Elected Secretary of State

Brad Raffensperger
Republican

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The 2022 Georgia Secretary of State election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the Secretary of State of Georgia. Incumbent Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger won re-election to a second term. Raffensperger emerged as a major national figure in early January, 2021 when he faced significant pressure from then-President Donald Trump to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. The party primary elections took place on May 24, with runoffs scheduled for June 21. Trump had been taped in a phone call asking Raffensperger to "find 11,780 votes," the exact number needed for Trump to carry the state.[1]

Raffensperger was elected in 2018 to a first term in a runoff against Democratic former U.S. representative John Barrow, the first time in Georgia history that any statewide executive election went to a second round.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Eliminated in primary

Endorsements

Jody Hice
U.S. Executive Branch officials
U.S. Representatives
Organizations
David Belle Isle
County commissioners
Mayors
City councilors

Debates

2022 Georgia Secretary of State Republican primary election debates
No. Date Organizer  P  Participant  A  Absent (invited)  I  Invited  N  Not invited Source
David Belle Isle Jody Hice T.J. Hudson Brad Raffensperger
1 May 2, 2022 Atlanta Press Club,
Georgia Public Broadcasting 		P P P P [14]

Polling

Graphical summary
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[a] 		Margin
of error 		David
Belle Isle 		Jody
Hice 		T.J.
Hudson 		Brad
Raffensperger 		Undecided
Landmark Communications May 22, 2022 500 (LV) ± 4.4% 9% 39% 2% 38% 11%
SurveyUSA April 22–27, 2022 559 (LV) ± 4.9% 4% 20% 5% 31% 40%
University of Georgia April 10–22, 2022 886 (LV) ± 3.3% 5% 26% 4% 28% 37%
Landmark Communications April 9–10, 2022 660 (LV) ± 3.8% 10% 35% 3% 18% 33%
University of Georgia March 20 – April 8, 2022 ~329 (LV) ± 5.4% 4% 30% 4% 23% 39%
Emerson College April 1–3, 2022 509 (LV) ± 4.3% 6% 26% 3% 29% 37%

Results

Primary results map by county:
  Raffensperger
  •   30–40%
      40–50%
      50–60%
      60–70%
  Hice
  •   40–50%
      50–60%
      60–70%
      70–80%
  Hudson
  •   70–80%

Despite opinion polls suggesting a tight race between Brad Raffensperger and Jody Hice as well as Trump's endorsement of Hice, Raffensperger ultimately won the primary election with a 19-point margin over Hice and avoided a potential runoff by winning an outright majority of the vote. This has been attributed to Hice's insufficient name recognition across the state and crossover voting in Georgia's open primary system where some Democratic voters voted in the Republican primary to vote against "Trump-backed extremists" like Hice.[15]

Raffensperger performed best in the Atlanta metropolitan area, while Hice performed best in Georgia's 10th congressional district, where he served as a U.S. representative; only five counties outside the district are won by Hice. The only county to not be won by either Raffensperger or Hice is Treutlen County, Hudson's home county, which he won with 76.42% of the vote.[16]

Republican primary results[17]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Brad Raffensperger (incumbent) 611,616 52.37%
Republican Jody Hice 389,447 33.34%
Republican David Belle Isle 103,272 8.84%
Republican TJ Hudson 63,646 5.45%
Total votes 1,167,981 100.0%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Eliminated in runoff

Eliminated in initial primary

Did not file

Endorsements

Michael Owens
Statewide officials
State senators
Organizations
  • The Collective PAC[24]
Bee Nguyen
State senators
State representatives
Local officials
Organizations

First round

Debates

2022 Georgia Secretary of State Democratic primary election debates
No. Date Organizer  P  Participant  A  Absent (invited)  I  Invited  N  Not invited Source
Dee Dawkins-Haigler John Eaves Floyd Griffin Bee Nguyen Michael Owens
1 May 2, 2022 Atlanta Press Club,
Georgia Public Broadcasting 		P P P P P [31]

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[a] 		Margin
of error 		Dee
Dawkins-Haigler 		John
Eaves 		Floyd
Griffin 		Bee
Nguyen 		Michael
Owens 		Manswell
Peterson 		Undecided
SurveyUSA April 22–27, 2022 549 (LV) ± 5.1% 7% 7% 6% 12% 9% – 60%
Emerson College April 1–3, 2022 509 (LV) ± 4.3% 13% 14% 4% 7% 5% 0% 57%

Results

Initial primary results map by county:
  Nguyen
  •   20–30%
  •   30–40%
  •   40–50%
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  Dawkins-Haigler
  •   20–30%
  •   30–40%
  •   40–50%
  Owens
  •   20–30%
  •   30–40%
  •   40–50%
  Griffin
  •   20–30%
  •   30–40%
  •   40–50%
  •   70–80%
  Nguyen/Owens tie
  •   20–30%
Democratic primary results[32]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Bee Nguyen 309,437 44.33%
Democratic Dee Dawkins-Haigler 130,278 18.67%
Democratic Michael Owens 114,621 16.42%
Democratic Floyd Griffin 75,423 10.81%
Democratic John Eaves 68,233 9.78%
Total votes 697,992 100.0%

Runoff

Debate

2022 Georgia Secretary of State democratic primary runoff debate
No. Date Host Moderator Link Democratic Democratic
Key:
 P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
Dee Dawkins-Haigler Bee Nguyen
1 Jun. 6, 2022 Atlanta Press Club Lisa Rayam YouTube P P

Results

Runoff primary results map by county:
  Nguyen
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  •   80–90%
  •   >90%
  Dawkins-Haigler
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
Nguyen/Dawkins-Haigler tie
  •   50–60%
Democratic primary runoff results[33]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Bee Nguyen 198,511 77.00%
Democratic Dee Dawkins-Haigler 59,310 23.00%
Total votes 257,821 100.0%

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Declared

General election

Debate

2022 Georgia Secretary of State debate
No. Date Host Moderator Link Republican Democratic Libertarian
Key:
 P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
Brad Raffensperger Bee Nguyen Ted Metz
1 Oct. 28, 2022 Atlanta Press Club
Georgia Public Broadcasting 		Lisa Rayam YouTube P P P

Predictions

Source Ranking As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball[35] Lean R November 3, 2022
Elections Daily[36] Lean R November 7, 2022

Endorsements

Brad Raffensperger (R)
U.S. Representatives
Bee Nguyen (D)
U.S. executive branch officials
State senators
State representatives
Local officials
Organizations

Polling

Graphical summary
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[a] 		Margin
of error 		Brad
Raffensperger (R) 		Bee
Nguyen (D) 		Ted
Metz (L) 		Other Undecided
Landmark Communications November 4–7, 2022 1,214 (LV) ± 2.8% 48% 40% 6% – 6%
SurveyUSA September 30 – October 4, 2022 1,076 (LV) ± 3.7% 39% 36% – 7% 18%
University of Georgia September 5–16, 2022 861 (LV) ± 3.3% 50% 31% 6% – 13%
Phillips Academy August 3–7, 2022 971 (RV) ± 3.1% 50% 34% – – 16%
SurveyUSA July 21–24, 2022 604 (LV) ± 5.3% 40% 33% – 7% 20%
University of Georgia July 14–22, 2022 902 (LV) ± 3.3% 46% 32% 7% – 15%

Results

2022 Georgia Secretary of State election[40]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Brad Raffensperger (incumbent) 2,081,241 53.23% +4.14%
Democratic Bee Nguyen 1,719,922 43.99% -5.32%
Libertarian Ted Metz 108,884 2.78% +0.55%
Total votes 3,910,047 100.0%
Republican hold

By congressional district

Raffensperger won 9 of 14 congressional districts.[41]

District Raffensperger Nguyen Representative
1st 60% 37% Buddy Carter
2nd 48% 49% Sanford Bishop
3rd 67% 30% Drew Ferguson
4th 24% 74% Hank Johnson
5th 22% 77% Nikema Williams
6th 63% 34% Lucy McBath (117th Congress)
Rich McCormick (118th Congress)
7th 42% 56% Carolyn Bourdeaux (117th Congress)
Lucy McBath (118th Congress)
8th 67% 30% Austin Scott
9th 72% 25% Andrew Clyde
10th 63% 34% Jody Hice (117th Congress)
Mike Collins (118th Congress)
11th 61% 35% Barry Loudermilk
12th 59% 38% Rick Allen
13th 21% 77% David Scott
14th 70% 27% Marjorie Taylor Greene

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear

References

  1. ^ Amy, Jeff; Superville, Darlene; Brumback, Kate (January 3, 2021). "Trump, on tape, presses Ga. official to 'find' him votes". Associated Press. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  2. ^ Murphy, Patricia; Bluestein, Greg; Mitchell, Tia (May 19, 2021). "The Jolt: Brad Raffensperger: 'Yes, I'm running again'". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  3. ^ Levine, Sam, He became a hero for halting Trump’s efforts to overturn the election. Will voters now punish him?, The Guardian, May 19, 2022
  4. ^ Bluestein, Greg (March 22, 2021). "Hice launches challenge to Raffensperger in race for secretary of state". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on February 4, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  5. ^ Bluestein, Greg (April 20, 2021). "Georgia 2022: Probate judge challenges Raffensperger in GOP race". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  6. ^ Williams, Dave (March 23, 2021). "Republicans Jody Hice, David Belle Isle announce primary challenges to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger". Gwinnett Daily Post. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  7. ^ Haberman, Maggie (March 22, 2021). "Trump Endorses a Loyalist, Jody Hice, for Georgia Secretary of State". The New York Times. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  8. ^ Lauren Souther (March 22, 2021). "Hice begins raking in endorsements for SOS". FYN.
  9. ^ Russell Berman (July 12, 2021). "Trump's Revenge Begins in Georgia". The Atlantic.
  10. ^ "Candidates - America First Secretary of State Coalition". americafirstsos.com. November 26, 2018. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  11. ^ Walters, Ian. "The American Conservative Union (ACU) today announced its endorsement of Jody Hice for Secretary of State in Georgia". American Conservative Union. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  12. ^ "GOA Endorses Jody Hice of Secretary of State in the Peach State". Gun Owners of America. December 1, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Yeomans, Curt (August 12, 2021). "Mayors of Suwanee, Sugar Hill reportedly backing David Belle Isle's bid to unseat Secretary of State Bard Raffensperger". www.gwinnettdailypost.com. Gwinnett Daily Post. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  14. ^ "Georgia Secretary of State Republican Debate | C-SPAN.org". C-SPAN. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  15. ^ Peoples, Steve; Kessler, Aaron (May 31, 2022). "Some Democrats voting in GOP contests to block Trump picks". Associated Press. Archived from the original on May 31, 2022. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
  16. ^ "General Primary/Special Election - Official & Complete Results". GEORGIA SECRETARY OF STATE. May 24, 2022. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
  17. ^ "General Primary/Special Election - Official & Complete Results". GEORGIA SECRETARY OF STATE. May 24, 2022. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
  18. ^ Fausset, Richard (May 4, 2021). "Bee Nguyen, Georgia Democrat, Enters Race for Secretary of State". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 5, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
  19. ^ "Who is running for office in the Athens elections + what races are on the ballot in 2022".
  20. ^ "Former Fulton County Chairman John Eaves announces campaign for Georgia Secretary of State". Fox 5 Atlanta. June 2, 2021.
  21. ^ a b Bluestein, Greg (September 22, 2021). "Democrat Owens launches bid to be Georgia's top election official". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on September 22, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  22. ^ Fletcher, Carlton (April 3, 2021). "Albany's Manswell Peterson kicks off Georgia secretary of state campaign". The Albany Herald. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  23. ^ a b Johnson, Larry (January 20, 2022). "Michael Owens Lines Up Endorsements For Secretary Of State Race". www.cobbcountycourier.com/. Cobb County Courier. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  24. ^ "In endorsement news". www.ajc.com. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. April 1, 2022. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  25. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af Yeomans, Curt (December 9, 2021). "Seventeen elected officials endorse state Rep. Bee Nguyen's secretary of state bid". www.gwinnettdailypost.com. Gwinnett Daily Post. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  26. ^ a b "Stacey Abrams releases endorsements in Georgia Democratic runoffs". FOX 5 Atlanta. June 2, 2022. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  27. ^ a b "EMILY's List Endorses Two Candidates for Statewide Office in Georgia". EMILY's List. December 9, 2021. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  28. ^ a b "End Citizens United backs Jordan, Nguyen for Georgia offices". www.ajc.com. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. December 16, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
  29. ^ a b "NARAL Pro-Choice America Endorses Georgia State Representative Bee Nguyen for Secretary of State". www.prochoiceamerica.org. December 7, 2021.
  30. ^ a b "People For Proudly Announces Its Endorsement of Bee Nguyen, Candidate for Georgia Secretary of State" (Press release). Washington, DC: People For the American Way. May 11, 2021. Archived from the original on June 8, 2021. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  31. ^ Fowler, Stephen (May 3, 2022). "Democrats offer vision for elections in secretary of state primary debate". Georgia Public Broadcasting. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  32. ^ "General Primary/Special Election - Official & Complete Results". GEORGIA SECRETARY OF STATE. May 24, 2022. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
  33. ^ "General Primary/Special Election Runoff - Official & Complete Results". June 21, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  34. ^ Melton, Elizabeth (January 17, 2022). "Press Release: Libertarian Party of Georgia Makes History at 2022 Convention with Full Slate of Statewide Candidates". Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  35. ^ "Secretary of State and Attorney General: What to Watch for Next Week in Key Statewide Contests". Sabato's Crystal Ball. November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  36. ^ Solomon, Zack (November 7, 2022). "Elections Daily Secretary of State Ratings". Elections Daily. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  37. ^ Montellaro, Zach. "Kinzinger endorses Dems in major governor, secretary of state races". POLITICO. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  38. ^ "Obama urges Georgians to turn out for Democrats".
  39. ^ "2022 Endorsements - Georgia Equality PAC". georgiaequalitypac.org. Georgia Equality.
  40. ^ "Secretary of State - November 8, 2022 General Election". Georgia Secretary of State. November 12, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  41. ^ @DrewSav (March 24, 2023). "Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger easily won reelection last year and had the best performance of any statewide Republican in the Peach State" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

External links

Official campaign websites
(2021 โ†) ย  2022 United States elections ย  (โ†’ 2023)
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