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. 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.
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 had been trending Republican in recent elections. Raffensperger also flipped Atlanta suburban counties Cobb and Newton, which had 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 Brad Raffensperger, state representative
Eliminated in runoff David Belle Isle, mayor of Alpharetta
Eliminated in primary Buzz Brockway, state representative Joshua McKoon, state senator
Declined John Albers, state senator Steve Gooch, state senator Liz Hausmann, Fulton County commissioner Brian Kemp, incumbent secretary of state of Georgia (running for governor) Michael Williams, State Senator (running for governor)
Endorsements
First round Results
Runoff Polling Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Marginof error DavidBelle Isle BradRaffensperger UndecidedRosetta StoneRosetta Stone June 7, 2018 400 ± 4.9% 24% 42% 34%
Results
Democratic primary Candidates Nominee John Barrow, former U.S. representative
Eliminated in primary Dee Dawkins-Haigler, former state representative and candidate for state senate in 2016 RJ Hadley, former Rockdale County tax commissioner and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2010
Declined Teresa Tomlinson, mayor of Columbus David Worley, Georgia State Elections Board member, former chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia and nominee for GA-06 in 1990
Results
Libertarian convention Candidates Nominee J. Smythe DuVal, registered nurse and medical I.T. entrepreneur
General election Predictions SourceRankingAs ofGoverningOctober 11, 2018
Polling Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Marginof error BradRaffensperger (R) JohnBarrow (D) SmytheDuVal (L) Undecided20/20 Insights (D-Southern Majority)20/20 Insights (D-Southern Majority) October 31 – November 2, 2018 614 ± 4.0% 42% 48% 3% 7%Cygnal (R)Cygnal (R) October 27–30, 2018 467 ± 4.4% 47% 45% 6% 2%University of GeorgiaUniversity of Georgia September 30 – October 9, 2018 1,232 ± 2.8% 41% 37% 6% 15%Public Policy PollingPublic Policy Polling October 5–6, 2018 729 ± 3.0% 43% 41% – 16%Gravis MarketingGravis Marketing July 27–29, 2018 650 ± 3.8% 41% 45% – 15%
Results
Runoff
References
External links Official campaign websites John Barrow (D) for Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) for Secretary of State J. Smythe DuVal (L) for Secretary of State