Connecticut Secretary of State election, 2014

Connecticut Secretary of State Election

Primary Date: August 12, 2014

General Election Date: November 4, 2014

November 4 Election Winner: Denise Merrill

Incumbent prior to election: Denise Merrill

Connecticut State Executive Elections Top Ballot Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General Down Ballot Treasurer, Controller

The Connecticut Secretary of State election took place on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Denise Merrill (D) was first elected in 2010. She faced Republican candidate Peter Lumaj and Green Party candidate Mike DeRosa in the general election. Merrill won another four-year term.

All three candidates for the office spoke about their priorities in the election, as detailed in the campaign themes section. The Democratic Party won the previous three races for Connecticut Secretary of State, though Merrill's 2010 victory was significantly narrower than the 2006 win for Susan Bysiewicz.

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate whom they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Connecticut utilizes a closed primary system, in which only registered party members may vote in a party's primary. However, Connecticut state law allows parties to decide whether unaffiliated voters can vote in their primary before each election.

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Candidates

General election

Denise Merrill - Incumbent
Peter Lumaj - Attorney, 2012 GOP U.S. Senate candidate
Mike DeRosa

Results

General election

Secretary of State of Connecticut, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Denise Merrill Incumbent	51%	533,543
	Republican	Peter Lumaj	46.7%	489,515
	Green	Mike DeRosa	2.3%	24,038
Total Votes				1,047,096
Election results via Connecticut Secretary of State

Campaign themes

Mike DeRosa, Denise Merrill and Peter Lumaj made public statements about issues related to the office's responsibilities. The following sections quote these statements verbatim from campaign websites.

Mike DeRosa

“	The time has come for real change. My slogan during this election is: MORE CHOICES, MORE VOICES. The two-party system dominates and distorts our political possibilities and our political choices. We need new ideas and new programs to build a better Connecticut. What better place to start than at the level of elections and the ballot access rules that frustrate real choices and real voices in CT?	”
—Mike DeRosa's campaign website, (2014)

Peter Lumaj

“	Return accountability and transparency to state government: Reopen channels of communication between state and local governments Decrease spending at the office of Secretary of the State Never use the office for partisan purposes or personal political gain Fight against over taxation, regulation and other unnecessary obstacles that hurt Connecticut small business: Eliminate the business entity tax Streamline the small business creation and filing process Reduce unnecessary and burdensome taxes and fees that hurt small business Fight to protect the integrity of our election process: Call for legislation that implements a voter ID requirement to vote Pursue measures that expand qualified voter participation Investigate all allegations of voter fraud in Connecticut and hold all perpetrators responsible for their actions	”
—Peter Lumaj's campaign website, (2014)

Denise Merrill

“	MOVING BUSINESSES FORWARD Denise has a proven track record of promoting entrepreneurship and supporting small businesses in Connecticut. Denise has: Launched an innovative, award-winning online tool to help new businesses succeed, expand, and create jobs. Simplified businesses’ interaction with state government by creating an online portal for business owners to access information and resources more easily. In partnership with the U.S. Commerce Department, educated Connecticut businesses on expanding their sales overseas in order to generate profit and create new jobs at home. MODERNIZING ELECTIONS As Connecticut’s chief elections officer, Denise is committed to expanding democratic participation so every citizen can exercise his or her right to vote. Denise has: Established online and mobile voter registration. Over 16,000 people have registered to vote or updated their voting records using these tools since they launched in February 2014. Enacted Election Day registration. Last year – the first election with Election Day registration – nearly 3,000 people who would not have been able to under the old system were able to vote by registering on Election Day. Ensured that Connecticut is prepared to respond to emergencies that may arise on Election Day. Increased oversight of polling locations to make elections more secure. Championed an upcoming ballot question that would lead to early voting in Connecticut	”
—Denise Merrill's campaign website, (2014)

Past elections

2010

Secretary of State of Connecticut, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Denise Merrill	52.9%	584,313
	Republican	Jerry Farrell	43.8%	484,163
	Independent	Michael J. Telesca	1.3%	14,530
	Green	S. Michael DeRosa	1.2%	13,566
	Libertarian	Ken Mosher	0.8%	8,631
Total Votes				1,105,203
Election results via Connecticut Secretary of State

2006

Secretary of State of Connecticut, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Susan Bysiewicz	69.8%	729,070
	Republican	Richard J. Abbate	26.4%	276,033
	Green	S. Michael DeRosa	1.7%	17,851
	Libertarian	Ken Mosher	1.2%	13,043
	Concerned Citizens	Jean Marie Burness	0.8%	8,874
Total Votes				1,044,871

Campaign finance

Comprehensive donor information for this election has been collected by Follow the Money. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of $1,790,893 during the election. This information was last updated on May 11, 2015.

Campaign Contribution Totals
Candidate	Office	Result	Contributions
Peter Lumaj	Connecticut Secretary of State		$895,486
Denise Merrill	Connecticut Secretary of State		$895,407
Mike DeRosa	Connecticut Secretary of State		$0
Grand Total Raised			$1,790,893

Key deadlines

Deadline	Event
June 10, 2014	Filing deadline (Major Parties)
August 6, 2014	Filing deadline (Independents)
August 12, 2014	Primary election
September 3, 2014	Filing deadline (Minor Parties)
November 4, 2014	General election
December 4, 2014	Certificate of canvass completion for general election results
January 7, 2015	Inauguration day for state executive officials in general election

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term "Connecticut + Secretary + State + Election"

Connecticut Secretary of State election, 2014 News Feed

See also

• Connecticut Secretary of State
• Connecticut state executive official elections, 2014
• State executive official elections, 2014

External links

Suggest a link

• Office of the Secretary of State of Connecticut