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]
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| Turnout | 61.44%  (first round)22.98%  (runoff) | ||||||||||||||||
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 .svg)  .svg) Raffensperger: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Barrow: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Tie: 50% | |||||||||||||||||
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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
- Brad Raffensperger, state representative[3]
Eliminated in runoff
- David Belle Isle, Mayor of Alpharetta[4]
Eliminated in primary
- Buzz Brockway, state representative[5]
- Joshua McKoon, state senator[6]
Declined
- John Albers, state senator[5]
- Steve Gooch, state senator[5]
- Liz Hausmann, Fulton County Commissioner[7]
- Brian Kemp, incumbent secretary of state of Georgia (running for governor)[1]
- Michael Williams, State Senator (running for governor)[8][9]
Endorsements
- Tommy Allegood, Acworth Mayor
- Boyd Austin, Dallas Mayor
- Peter Banks, Barnesville Mayor
- Billy Copeland, McDonough Mayor
- Danny Dunagan Gainesville Mayor
- Jamie Doss, Rome Mayor
- Ken Gowen, Tunnel Hill Mayor
- Alan Hallman, Hapeville Mayor
- John Harley, Centerville Mayor
- Donnie Henriques, Woodstock Mayor
- Gene Hobgood, Canton Mayor
- Bucky Johnson, Norcross Mayor
- Joe Lockwood, Milton Mayor
- Jack Longino, College Park Mayor
- Steve Miller, Holly Springs Mayor
- Dennis Mock, Dalton Mayor
- Robert Price, Locust Grove Mayor
- Tom Reed, Chattahoochee Hills Mayor
- Rick Roberts, Ball Ground Mayor
- Jim Sill, Mountain Park Mayor
- Julie Smith, Tifton Mayor
- Gary Thrower, Milledgeville Mayor
- Vince Williams, Union City Mayor
- State Representatives
- Michael Caldwell, state representative[11]
First round
Results
| 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
| 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
- John Barrow, former U.S. Representative[14]
Eliminated in primary
- Dee Dawkins-Haigler, former state representative and candidate for the State Senate in 2016[7]
- RJ Hadley, former Rockdale County Tax Commissioner and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2010[4]
Declined
- Teresa Tomlinson, Mayor of Columbus[15][16]
- David Worley, Georgia State Elections Board member, former Chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia and nominee for GA-06 in 1990[5][7]
Results
| 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
- J. Smythe DuVal, registered nurse and medical I.T. entrepreneur[18]
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
| 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
| 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
External links
- Official campaign websites