The 2022 Michigan Secretary of State election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the Secretary of State of Michigan. Incumbent Democrat Jocelyn Benson decisively won reelection to a second term, defeating Republican Kristina Karamo by a nearly 14 percentage point margin.

Michigan does not hold partisan primaries for statewide offices other than governor. Instead, the state parties hold conventions in August to nominate candidates for the general election. Party nomination conventions were held on April 9 for the Michigan Democratic Party and April 23 for the Michigan Republican Party.

Some analysts originally predicted for the race to be competitive, especially during the final days, but Benson's performance seemingly outperformed the polls following the election. The results held the largest margin in the 2022 state elections, as well as the worst performance by Republican candidate in the Secretary of State election since 1990. It was also the first time since 1990 that a Democratic candidate won re-election.

Background The position of Secretary of State of Michigan is responsible for overseeing elections in the state.About the Michigan Department of State (Michigan.gov) Benson, a Democrat, was first elected to the position in 2018. She received national attention in her position following Joe Biden's victory in the state in the 2020 presidential election. Donald Trump's campaign contested Biden's victory in Michigan and filed a lawsuit over the counting of absentee ballots.

The race for Michigan Secretary of State in 2022 received national attention over its potential impact on how the state would oversee the 2024 presidential election there.

Democratic convention

Candidates

Nominee Jocelyn Benson, incumbent secretary of state

Endorsements

Republican convention

Candidates

Nominee Kristina Karamo, activist and educator

Eliminated at convention Cindy Berry, Chesterfield Township clerk Beau LaFave, member of the Michigan House of Representatives from the 108th district Cathleen Postmus, Plainfield Township clerk

Declined Ann Bollin, member of the Michigan House of Representatives from the 42nd district Meghan Reckling, Livingston County Republican Party chair

Endorsements

General election

Predictions SourceRankingAs of Sabato's Crystal BallNovember 3, 2022Elections DailyNovember 7, 2022

Post-primary endorsements

Polling Graphical summary

Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Marginof error JocelynBenson (D) KristinaKaramo (R) Other UndecidedCygnal (R)Cygnal (R)November 1–4, 20221,603 (LV)± 2.5%49%44%2%6%Mitchell ResearchMitchell ResearchNovember 3, 2022658 (LV)± 3.8%51%40%2%7%Cygnal (R)Cygnal (R)October 31 – November 2, 20221,754 (LV)± 2.3%49%42%3%6%EPIC-MRAEPIC-MRAOctober 28 – November 1, 2022600 (LV)± 4.0%50%41%3%6%Cygnal (R)Cygnal (R)October 27–31, 20221,584 (LV)± 2.5%50%40%3%7%Cygnal (R)Cygnal (R)October 25–29, 20221,543 (LV)± 2.5%50%39%3%8%The Glengariff Group, Inc.The Glengariff Group, Inc.October 26–28, 2022600 (LV)± 4.0%49%39%5%7%Cygnal (R)Cygnal (R)October 23–27, 20221,822 (LV)± 2.3%49%41%3%8%Cygnal (R)Cygnal (R)October 21–25, 20221,378 (LV)± 2.6%50%40%3%8%Cygnal (R)Cygnal (R)October 19–23, 20221,459 (LV)± 2.6%48%41%3%8%Cygnal (R)Cygnal (R)October 17–21, 20221,904 (LV)± 2.3%49%39%3%9%Mitchell ResearchMitchell ResearchOctober 19, 2022541 (LV)± 4.2%49%40%2%9%Cygnal (R)Cygnal (R)October 15–19, 20221,793 (LV)± 2.3%48%40%4%9%CNN/SSRSCNN/SSRSOctober 13–18, 2022901 (RV)± 4.2%54%41%5%1%651 (LV)± 4.9%51%47%1%–Cygnal (R)Cygnal (R)October 12–14, 2022640 (LV)± 3.9%48%42%3%7%EPIC-MRAEPIC-MRAOctober 6–12, 2022600 (LV)± 4.0%47%37%4%12%The Glengariff Group, Inc.The Glengariff Group, Inc.September 26–29, 2022600 (LV)± 4.0%47%29%8%14%The Trafalgar Group (R)The Trafalgar Group (R)September 24–28, 20221,075 (LV)± 2.9%50%45%4%2%EPIC-MRAEPIC-MRASeptember 15–19, 2022600 (LV)± 4.0%51%37%–12%EPIC-MRAEPIC-MRASeptember 7–13, 2022800 (LV)± 3.5%48%40%7%5%EPIC-MRAEPIC-MRAAugust 18–23, 2022600 (LV)± 4.0%44%38%–18%The Glengariff Group, Inc.The Glengariff Group, Inc.July 5–8, 2022600 (LV)± 4.0%46%39%–15%Target InsyghtTarget InsyghtMay 26–27, 2022600 (RV)± 4.0%56%23%–22%EPIC-MRAEPIC-MRAMay 11–17, 2022600 (LV)± 4.0%47%38%–15%The Glengariff Group, Inc.The Glengariff Group, Inc.January 3–7, 2022600 (LV)± 4.0%46%32%–22%

Results

By county County Jocelyn Benson Democratic Kristina KaramoRepublican Other Votes % # % # % #Alcona 34.5%2,04963.4% 3,7652.2%128Alger 46.4%1,98251.7% 2,2092.0%85Allegan 41.8%23,77755.8% 31,7302.4%1,357Alpena 41.0%5,67956.5% 7,8192.5%343Antrim 42.3%5,89255.8% 7,7732.0%273Arenac 39.7%2,82757.2% 4,0693.1%218Baraga 37.9%1,30360.1%2,0651.9%66Barry 39.8%12,09657.6% 16,5392.6%821Bay 52.9%25,73344.4%21,5892.8%1,339Benzie 50.3%5,35247.9% 5,0961.7%185Berrien 45.8%29,08652.0% 33,0042.2%1,425Branch 36.3%5,81660.9% 9,7522.7%435Calhoun 49.5%25,34147.9%24,4972.6%1,411Cass 35.4%7,13262.3%12,5602.4%476Charlevoix 45.4%6,62952.5% 7,6622.0%298Cheboygan 39.6%5,24058.1% 7,6872.2%293Chippewa 43.5%6,27753.9% 7,7742.6%367Clare 38.4%5,03159.1% 7,7492.5%321Clinton 50.9%20,72247.1%19,1672.0%799Crawford 40.0%2,59057.4%3,7092.6%168Delta 40.4%6,94257.3% 9,8482.3%394Dickinson 35.9%4,27662.1%7,4012.0%233Eaton 54.4%28,89143.4%23,0462.2%1,148Emmet 47.7%9,08750.3% 9,5952.0%386Genesee 59.6%101,39138.1%64,6942.3%3,731Gladwin 39.0%4,65458.4% 6,9642.6%312Gogebic 45.6%2,91752.0% 3,3292.4%151Grand Traverse 52.4%27,23645.5%23,6552.0%1,054Gratiot 42.0%6,39455.1%8,3822.9%448Hillsdale 31.0%5,74066.4% 12,2972.6%477Houghton 45.8%7,02451.9% 7,9622.3%360Huron 38.7%5,73958.9% 8,7472.4%361Ingham 69.0%81,44428.7%33,8862.3%2,672Ionia 42.3%11,36354.9% 14,7472.8%764Iosco 42.7%5,36554.7% 6,8642.6%322Iron 40.7%2,28457.4% 3,2251.9%108Isabella 53.0%12,55544.5%10,5282.5%587Jackson 45.5%29,19751.9% 33,3112.5%1,635Kalamazoo 62.8%72,62534.9% 40,3942.3%2,664Kalkaska 33.7%2,95763.3% 5,5533.1%288Kent 55.9%166,40341.9% 124,6562.2%6,396Keweenaw 48.0%66550.1%6931.9%26Lake 39.8%2,07958.1% 3,0332.1%110Lapeer 38.5%16,68858.1%25,5172.1%1,196Leelanau 55.4%8,53443.1%6,6331.5%226Lenawee 42.5%17,97655.0%23,2892.6%1,080Livingston 45.5%49,06052.2%56,2472.3%2,444Luce 32.9%77064.7% 1,5152.4%56Mackinac 42.8%2,54255.3%3,2821.9%115Macomb 54.6%207,11543.2% 164,0112.2%8,387Manistee 46.9%5,88750.8% 6,3882.3%289Marquette 60.3%18,74337.4%11,6312.2%596Mason 43.0%6,31654.7% 8,0332.3%350Mecosta 39.4%6,85658.0% 10,0902.6%449Menominee 35.6%3,41162.1%5,9592.3%220Midland 48.6%19,78948.9% 19,9272.5%1,032Missaukee 26.1%1,93471.4% 5,2872.5%186Monroe 44.5%30,28453.0%36,0212.5%1,771Montcalm 38.6%10,07358.5%15,2632.9%753Montmorency 33.1%1,68664.5%3,2902.4%121Muskegon 56.1%40,91641.5%30,2752.4%1,763Newaygo 35.0%7,90762.3% 14,0892.7%621Oakland 62.6%390,70735.5% 221,3571.9%11,574Oceana 41.8%5,01055.6% 6,6682.6%308Ogemaw 38.1%3,72759.4% 5,8032.5%241Ontonagon 41.3%1,33756.5%1,8292.2%72Osceola 30.6%3,15767.0% 6,9162.5%253Oscoda 32.4%1,28965.0%2,5812.6%103Otsego 38.1%4,73559.4% 7,3742.4%303Ottawa 42.2%61,24055.9% 81,1131.9%3,701Presque Isle 41.3%2,99756.6%4,1052.1%153Roscommon 40.7%5,23057.0% 7,3142.3%292Saginaw 55.0%44,37642.7%34,5052.3%1,855Sanilac 34.6%6,44262.7% 11,6632.7%502Schoolcraft 39.9%1,53857.8%2,2302.4%91Shiawassee 46.9%15,03850.5% 16,2042.6%844St. Clair 43.2%31,77753.8%39,5223.0%2,189St. Joseph 38.9%8,46058.0%12,6073.0%960Tuscola 37.2%8,86560.0%14,3112.8%670Van Buren 49.2%15,57248.1%15,2192.7%851Washtenaw 76.0%136,41222.2%39,8471.8%3,175Wayne 72.0%460,02325.9% 165,5852.0%13,117Wexford 37.7%5,65859.8% 8,9852.5%370Totals55.86%2,467,85941.93%1,852,5102.21%97,534

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Gogebic (Largest city: Ironwood)

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Benzie (Largest city: Frankfort) Calhoun (largest city: Marshall) Clinton (largest city: St. Johns) Grand Traverse (Largest city: Traverse City) Van Buren (largest city: South Haven)

By congressional district Benson won nine of 13 congressional districts, including two that elected Republicans. District Benson Karamo Representative 44% 53%Jack Bergman 42% 56%John Moolenaar57%41%Peter Meijer (117th Congress)Hillary Scholten (118th Congress) 51% 47%Bill Huizenga 42% 56%Tim Walberg 68% 30%Debbie Dingell 55% 42%Elissa Slotkin 56% 41%Dan Kildee 43% 54%Lisa McClain 58% 40%John James 66% 32%Haley Stevens 76% 22%Rashida Tlaib 77% 21%Shri Thanedar

Notes

References

External links Official campaign websites Jocelyn Benson (D) for Secretary of State Kristina Karamo (R) for Secretary of State