Secretary of State elections, 2023
 |
There were three secretary of state seats on the ballot in 2023. These elections were in Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
Heading into the election, Republicans held the secretary of state office in all three states. Republicans won all three secretary of state elections. Two incumbents ran for re-election, with both being re-elected.
Michael Adams (R) won re-election as Kentucky secretary of state and Michael Watson (R) won re-election as Mississippi secretary of state on November 7, 2023. Nancy Landry (R) won election as Louisiana secretary of state on November 18, 2023. Incumbent Kyle Ardoin (R) did not seek re-election.
In 2023, there were three triplexes — one Republican and two divided governments — on the ballot. A triplex is when one political party holds the following three statewide offices: governor, attorney general, and secretary of state. Louisiana was the only triplex to change partisan control. It changed from a divided government to a Republican triplex after Jeff Landry (R) was elected governor and Republicans retained control of the attorney general and secretary of state offices.
After the November 2023 elections, there were 25 Republican triplexes, 20 Democratic triplexes, and five divided governments where neither party held triplex control. Before the 2023 elections, there were 24 Republican triplexes, 20 Democratic triplexes, and six divided governments.
In 47 states — all except Alaska, Hawaii, and Utah — the secretary of state is among the top executive offices. In Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, the office is called the secretary of the commonwealth and differs only in name. The voters directly elect the secretary of state in 35 states. In the other 12, the secretary is appointed by either the governor or the state legislature.
Although the duties and powers of the secretary of state vary from state to state, a common responsibility is management and oversight of elections and voter rolls, which are assigned to the secretary of state in 41 states. Other common responsibilities include registration of businesses, maintenance of state records, and certification of official documents.
A state government triplex describes when one political party holds the following three positions in a state's government: governor, attorney general, and secretary of state.
Six states impose some form of term limits on the office of the secretary of state.
Offices on the ballot in 2023
In 2023, there were three secretary of state offices—all Republican—on the ballot. The table below highlights the partisan balance of those three positions before and after the election.
| Secretary of state seats up in 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of the 2023 elections | After the 2023 elections | |
| Democratic Party | 0 | 0 | |
| Republican Party | 3 | 3 | |
| Uncalled races | |||
| Total | 3 | 3 | |
Election results
Kentucky
General election
General election for Kentucky Secretary of State
Incumbent Michael Adams defeated Charles Wheatley and Ken Moellman in the general election for Kentucky Secretary of State on November 7, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Michael Adams (R) | 60.6 | 785,237 |
 | Charles Wheatley (D)  | 39.4 | 510,090 | |
 | Ken Moellman (No Party Affiliation) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 518 | |
| Total votes: 1,295,845 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Charles Wheatley advanced from the Democratic primary for Kentucky Secretary of State.
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Kentucky Secretary of State
Incumbent Michael Adams defeated Stephen L. Knipper and Allen Maricle in the Republican primary for Kentucky Secretary of State on May 16, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Michael Adams | 63.9 | 171,391 |
 | Stephen L. Knipper | 26.5 | 70,991 | |
 | Allen Maricle | 9.6 | 25,771 | |
| Total votes: 268,153 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Louisiana
Louisiana elections use the majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50 percent of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.
General election
General election for Louisiana Secretary of State
Nancy Landry defeated Gwen Collins-Greenup in the general election for Louisiana Secretary of State on November 18, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Nancy Landry (R) | 66.8 | 446,494 |
 | Gwen Collins-Greenup (D) | 33.2 | 221,739 | |
| Total votes: 668,233 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Louisiana Secretary of State
The following candidates ran in the primary for Louisiana Secretary of State on October 14, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Nancy Landry (R) | 19.3 | 197,514 |
| ✔ | | Gwen Collins-Greenup (D) | 19.2 | 196,534 |
 | Mike Francis (R) | 17.9 | 182,842 | |
 | Clay Schexnayder (R) | 14.7 | 149,987 | |
 | Arthur Morrell (D) | 11.1 | 113,703 | |
 | Thomas Kennedy III (R) | 10.1 | 102,628 | |
 | Brandon Trosclair (R) | 6.3 | 64,686 | |
 | Amanda Smith Jennings (Independent) | 1.3 | 13,275 | |
| Total votes: 1,021,169 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Mississippi
General election
General election for Mississippi Secretary of State
Incumbent Michael D. Watson Jr. defeated Ty Pinkins in the general election for Mississippi Secretary of State on November 7, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Michael D. Watson Jr. (R) | 59.5 | 481,895 |
 | Ty Pinkins (D) | 40.5 | 328,067 | |
| Total votes: 809,962 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Shuwaski Young (D)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Mississippi Secretary of State
Shuwaski Young advanced from the Democratic primary for Mississippi Secretary of State on August 8, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Shuwaski Young | 100.0 | 183,120 |
| Total votes: 183,120 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Mississippi Secretary of State
Incumbent Michael D. Watson Jr. advanced from the Republican primary for Mississippi Secretary of State on August 8, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Michael D. Watson Jr. | 100.0 | 351,774 |
| Total votes: 351,774 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
On August 27, 2023, Democratic candidate Shuwaski Young announced his withdrawl from the 2023 Mississippi Secretary of State election.[1]
List of elections
The table and map below show which states held secretary of state elections in 2023.
| State | Triplex status (before) | Incumbent | Incumbent party | Incumbent ran? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | Divided triplex status |  Michael Adams |
 Republican |
Yes |
| Louisiana | Divided triplex status |  Kyle Ardoin |
Republican |
No[2] |
| Mississippi | Republican triplex |  Michael Watson |
Republican |
Yes |
Partisan balance
The following table displays the number of secretary of state offices held by each party before and after the 2023 elections.
| U.S. secretaries of state partisan breakdown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of the 2023 elections | After the 2023 elections | |
| Democratic Party | 21 | TBD | |
| Republican Party | 26 | TBD | |
| Total | 47 | 47 | |
As a result of the 2022 elections, the partisan composition of state secretaries of state was 25 Republicans and 22 Democrats. In two states—Nevada and Maryland—the office changed party control, resulting in a net gain of two offices for Democrats and a net loss of two offices for Republicans. Before the 2022 election, the nationwide partisan balance of secretaries of state was 20 Democrats and 27 Republicans.
Triplexes
- See also: State government triplexes
State government triplex is a term to describe when one political party holds the following three positions in a state's government: governor, attorney general, and secretary of state. In states where the attorney general or secretary of state are appointed by the governor, Ballotpedia considers the office to be held by the governor's party for the purposes of defining triplexes until the governor appoints a specific person to those offices.[3] If a state does not have a secretary of state, Ballotpedia considers that state a triplex if one party controls both triplex offices.
As of June 1, 2025, there are 25 Republican triplexes, 20 Democratic triplexes, and 5 divided governments where neither party holds triplex control.
The table below shows the triplex statuses in the three states that held state executive elections in 2023. Bolded offices were up for election.
| Triplex statuses and state executive elections, 2023 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Triplex | Gov. | Attorney General | Secretary of State | ||
| Kentucky | Divided | D | R | R | ||
| Louisiana | Divided | D | R | R | ||
| Mississippi | Republican | R | R | R | ||
Results of 2022 secretary of state elections
Voters decided who would control 35 of the country’s 47 secretary of state offices on November 8, 2022. Twenty-seven offices were up for election, and eight offices’ appointment authorities were on the ballot. As a result of the 2022 elections, the partisan control of one secretary of state changed from Republican to Democrat. Democrats won appointment control over another secretary of state—in Maryland—after winning that state's gubernatorial election.
- In Nevada, Cisco Aguilar (D) was elected secretary of state, succeeding incumbent Barbara Cegavske (R), who was term-limited.
- Wes Moore (D) was elected governor of Maryland, succeeding Larry Hogan (R), who was term-limited. This gave Democrats appointment control over the secretary of state's office. Maryland had at the time of the election a Republican secretary of state that Hogan appointed.
All 15 incumbents that ran for re-election—8 Democrats and 7 Republicans—were re-elected.
Historical control
In 1977, the Democratic Party held a total of 25 elected secretary of state offices to the Republican Party's 10. The Democratic lead in secretary of state offices narrowed somewhat throughout the 1980s, but once again reached a 25-10 majority of elected offices in 1989 and 1990. Following the 1994 midterm elections, the Republican Party gained an 18-17 majority of elected secretary of state offices. The Democrats would regain their lead following the 2008 presidential election but lose it once again in the 2010 midterm elections. The gap between the parties widened following the 2016 elections, which increased the Republican majority of elected secretary of state offices from 21-14 to 24-11. Democrats picked up 3 net seats in the 2018 elections, and North Dakota incumbent Secretary of State Al Jaeger won re-election as an independent, leaving Republicans with a 20-14 majority. One seat switched from Democrat to Republican in the 2019 elections. In the 2020 elections, one office switched from Republican to Democrat and Jaeger returned to identifying as a Republican, which returned the margin of elected secretaries of state to 21-14 in favor of Republicans. Democrats gained one elected secretary of state office in the 2022 elections, leaving Republicans with a 20-15 majority.
Important dates and deadlines
The table below lists important dates throughout the 2023 election cycle for states that held statewide elections in 2023, including filing deadlines and primary dates.
| Primary dates and filing deadlines, 2023 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Primary date | Primary runoff date | Filing deadline for primary candidates | Source |
| Kentucky | 5/16/2023 | N/A | 1/6/2023 | Source |
| Louisiana | 10/14/2023 | N/A | 8/10/2023 | Source |
| Mississippi | 8/8/2023 | 8/29/2023 | 2/1/2023 | Source |
| New Jersey | 6/6/2023 | N/A | 3/27/2023 | Source |
| Pennsylvania | 5/16/2023 | N/A | 3/7/2023 | Source |
| Virginia | 6/20/2023 | N/A | 4/6/2023 | Source |
| Washington | 8/1/2023 | N/A | 5/19/2023 | Source |
| Wisconsin | 2/21/2023 | N/A | 1/3/2023 | Source |
About the office
Method of selection
Although the position of secretary of state is popularly elected in the majority of states, it is an appointed position in 12 states. Of those 12, the governor is given the power of appointment in nine, while the state Legislature appoints the secretary of state in the remaining three.
Partisan affiliation
Compensation
According to compensation figures for 2017 compiled by the Council of State Governments in the Book of the States, the highest salary for a secretary of state is $195,972 in Tennessee, while the lowest is $68,500 in Colorado. To view the compensation of a specific secretary of state, hover your mouse cursor over the state.[4]
In 37 states, the secretary of state is the chief elections officer with ultimate oversight over state elections and voter registration.[5]
Ballot measures
In 23 states, the secretary of state is responsible for receiving and certifying ballot measure petitions.[5]
Political party eligibility
In 36 states, the secretary of state is responsible for determining which parties qualify for major-party ballot access.[5]
Term limits
16 states impose some form of term limits on the office of secretary of state.
Historical control
In 1977, the Democratic Party held a total of 25 elected secretary of state offices to the Republican Party's 10. The Democratic lead in secretary of state offices narrowed somewhat throughout the 1980s, but once again reached a 25-10 majority of elected offices in 1989 and 1990. Following the 1994 midterm elections, the Republican Party gained an 18-17 majority of elected secretary of state offices. The Democrats would regain their lead following the 2008 presidential election but lose it once again in the 2010 midterm elections. The gap between the parties widened following the 2016 elections, which increased the Republican majority of elected secretary of state offices from 21-14 to 24-11.
See also
- State executive official elections, 2023
- Secretary of State elections, 2022
- State executive official elections, 2022
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Twitter.com, "Shuwaski Young for Mississippi," August 28, 2023
- ↑ Lafayette Daily Advertiser, "Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin won't seek reelection," April 11, 2023
- ↑ This is because it is very uncommon for an attorney general or secretary of state appointed by a governor to often be in direct conflict with that governor.
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Book of the States 2017 - Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries," accessed December 3, 2017
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Council of State Governments, "Book of the States 2017 - Secretaries of State: Election and Registration Duties," accessed December 3, 2017
| |||||||||||||||||||
