The 2018 Georgia Secretary of State election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the

Secretary of State of Georgia The Secretary of State of the U.S. state of Georgia is an elected official with a wide variety of responsibilities, including supervising elections and maintaining public records. The office has had a four-year term since 1946. Before 1880, the ...

. It was held concurrently with the 2018 gubernatorial election, as well as

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and ...

and

for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together the ...

and various

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * '' Our ...

and

local elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...

. Republican Incumbent Secretary of State

Brian Kemp Brian Porter Kemp (born November 2, 1963) is an American businessman and politician serving as the 83rd governor of Georgia since January 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Kemp served as the 27th secretary of state of Georgia from 2010 to ...

chose not to run for re-election in order to run for governor. Since no candidate received the requisite 50 percent of the vote, the top two candidates, Democrat John Barrow and Republican

Brad Raffensperger Bradford Jay Raffensperger (born May 18, 1955) is an American politician, businessman, and civil engineer, serving as the Secretary of State of Georgia since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the Georgia House of Re ...

proceeded to a runoff on December 4, 2018. At 22.98%, the runoff saw the lowest

voter turnout In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This can be the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford Univ ...

out of any Georgia statewide election since the senate runoff of

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engines ...

. In the runoff election, Raffensperger unexpectedly flipped rural counties

Sumter Sumter may refer to: People Given name * Sumter S. Arnim (1904–1990), American dentist * Sumter de Leon Lowry Jr. (1893–1985), United States Army general Surname * Rowendy Sumter (born 1988), Curaçaoan footballer * Shavonda E. Sumter ( ...

and

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval Angl ...

, which were reliably Democratic counties that have not voted Republican on the presidential levels since

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

for Warren, and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

for Sumter. However, both counties have been trending Republican in recent elections. Raffensperger also flipped Atlanta suburban counties

Cobb Cobb may refer to: People * Cobb (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the surname Cobb * Cobb Rooney (1900–1973), American professional football running back Places New Zealand * Cobb River * Cobb Reservoir * Cobb Power ...

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 A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

, 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

, state representative

Eliminated in runoff

* David Belle Isle, Mayor of

Alpharetta Alpharetta is a city in northern Fulton County, Georgia, United States, and is a part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 US Census, Alpharetta's population was 65,818 The population in 2010 was 57,551. History In the 1830s, the C ...

Eliminated in primary

* Buzz Brockway, state representative * Joshua McKoon, state senator

Declined

John Albers John Albers is a Georgia State Senator serving the 56th District, which encompasses portions of Fulton, Cobb and Cherokee Counties. Early life and education Senator Albers earned his bachelor of science degree in organizational leadership from t ...

, state senator * Steve Gooch, state senator * Liz Hausmann,

Fulton County Fulton County is the name of eight counties in the United States of America. Most are named for Robert Fulton, inventor of the first practical steamboat: *Fulton County, Arkansas, named after Governor William Savin Fulton *Fulton County, Georgia *F ...

Commissioner *

, incumbent

secretary of state of Georgia The Secretary of State of the U.S. state of Georgia is an elected official with a wide variety of responsibilities, including supervising elections and maintaining public records. The office has had a four-year term since 1946. Before 1880, the ...

( running for governor) * Michael Williams, State Senator ( running for governor)

Endorsements

First round

Results

Runoff

Polling

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

* John Barrow, former U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

Dee Dawkins-Haigler Dee Dawkins-Haigler (; January 31, 1970) is an American politician from the U.S. state of Georgia. A Democrat, she was a member of the Georgia House of Representatives representing the state's 91st district from 2008 until 2017. She has also ru ...

, former state representative and candidate for the State Senate in 2016 *

RJ Hadley RJ Hadley (born Rakeim Jerhal Hadley on January 14, 1969) is an American activist and former Tax Commissioner of Rockdale County, Georgia. In 2008 he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention representing Georgia. Hadley is a graduat ...

, former

Rockdale County Rockdale County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 93,570 up from 85,215 in 2010. The county seat is Conyers. Rockdale County is included in the ''Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Me ...

Tax Commissioner and candidate for U.S. Senate in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Declined

* Teresa Tomlinson, Mayor of

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

* David Worley, Georgia State Elections Board member, former Chair of the

Democratic Party of Georgia The Democratic Party of Georgia is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is one of the two major political parties in the state and is chaired by Nikema Williams. President Jimmy Carter was a Georgia Democrat. Si ...

and nominee for GA-06 in

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

Results

Libertarian convention

Candidates

Nominee

* J. Smythe DuVal, registered nurse and medical I.T. entrepreneur

General election

Predictions

Polling

Results

Runoff

References

External links

;Official campaign websites
John Barrow (D) for Secretary of StateBrad Raffensperger (R) for Secretary of StateJ. Smythe DuVal (L) for Secretary of State
{{2018 United States elections Secretary of State

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...