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
editCandidates
editNominee
edit- Brad Raffensperger, state representative[3]
Eliminated in runoff
edit- David Belle Isle, Mayor of Alpharetta[4]
Eliminated in primary
edit- Buzz Brockway, state representative[5]
- Joshua McKoon, state senator[6]
Declined
edit- 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
editDavid Belle Isle
- 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
Buzz Brockway
State Representatives
- Michael Caldwell, state representative[11]
First round
editResults
edit| 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
editPolling
edit| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
David Belle Isle |
Brad Raffensperger |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rosetta Stone[13] | June 7, 2018 | 400 | ± 4.9% | 24% | 42% | 34% |
Results
edit| 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
editCandidates
editNominee
edit- John Barrow, former U.S. Representative[15]
Eliminated in primary
edit- 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
edit- Teresa Tomlinson, Mayor of Columbus[16][17]
- 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
edit| 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
editCandidates
editNominee
edit- J. Smythe DuVal, registered nurse and medical I.T. entrepreneur[19]
General election
editPredictions
edit| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Governing magazine[20] | Lean R | June 4, 2018 |
Polling
edit| 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)[21] | October 31 – November 2, 2018 | 614 | ± 4.0% | 42% | 48% | 3% | 7% |
| Cygnal (R)[22] | October 27–30, 2018 | 467 | ± 4.4% | 47% | 45% | 6% | 2% |
| University of Georgia[23] | September 30 – October 9, 2018 | 1,232 | ± 2.8% | 41% | 37% | 6% | 15% |
| Public Policy Polling[24] | October 5–6, 2018 | 729 | ± 3.0% | 43% | 41% | – | 16% |
| Gravis Marketing[25] | July 27–29, 2018 | 650 | ± 3.8% | 41% | 45% | – | 15% |
Results
edit| 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
edit| 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
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election". Georgia Secretary of State. Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
- ^ Rosetta Stone
- ^ "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election Runoff". Georgia Secretary of State. Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election". Georgia Secretary of State. Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
- ^ "J. Smythe DuVal for Secretary of State". Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 20/20 Insights (D-Southern Majority)
- ^ Cygnal (R)
- ^ University of Georgia
- ^ Public Policy Polling
- ^ Gravis Marketing
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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
editOfficial campaign websites