Democrats hold and flip battleground offices
Democrats won secretary of state races in four presidential battleground states, according to NBC News. That gives the party authority over election administration in places that have been central to recent White House contests, ahead of the 2028 election.
The party retained the offices in Arizona, Michigan and Nevada and flipped Georgia. In Arizona and Nevada, incumbents Adrian Fontes and Cisco Aguilar beat Republican challengers whose careers were built on promoting election conspiracy theories. NBC News reported that both Democrats did considerably better than in comparable 2022 matchups.
In Michigan, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist defeated Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini, a Republican, to succeed Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who won the governor's race. Gilchrist had attacked Forlini for passing voter data to the Trump administration and for employing a person who took part in the Jan. 6 events.
A new face in Georgia
In Georgia, Democrat Penny Brown Reynolds will take over from Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Raffensperger earned the anger of President Donald Trump by refusing to go along with efforts to overturn the state's 2020 results.
Reynolds defeated state Rep. Tim Fleming, a onetime aide to outgoing Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who had Trump's endorsement. Reynolds is known for a television family court show and for service in the Biden administration. She pitched herself as a judge who would resist pressure from Trump and stick to the law while running the state's elections.
Fleming stopped short of the stolen-election claims made by some other Republicans, NBC News reported. He did say there were "irregularities" and urged new limits on mail voting.
Gains in Ohio and Indiana
Democrats also made progress in traditionally Republican territory. In Ohio, state Rep. Allison Russo defeated Republican state Treasurer Robert Sprague. NBC News noted that Democrats also flipped the Senate and governor's seats in a state that has moved right in recent years.
In Indiana, 30-year-old Beau Bayh, who comes from a longtime Democratic family, beat Republican state Rep. Max Engling. Party delegates had chosen Engling at their convention to replace incumbent Diego Morales, who faced allegations of corruption and ethics violations. According to AdImpact, Bayh spent more than $8.6 million on advertising and focused heavily on fighting corruption. Indiana had no Senate or governor's race this year, so he topped the ticket.
In Texas, Democrat Gina Hinojosa's victory in the governor's race is expected to bring Democratic control over election administration, NBC News reported. The governor appoints the state's secretary of state, and the terms run concurrently.
Mixed results elsewhere
Democrats had also targeted Kansas and Iowa late in the campaign, along with Indiana and Ohio. They won two of those four and lost one. In Kansas, NBC News' Decision Desk had not called the race between Democratic state Rep. Jennifer Day and Republican state Rep. Pat Proctor. A Democrat has not won the office there since 1948. Democrats did win elsewhere in Kansas, where pastor Adam Hamilton upset GOP Sen. Roger Marshall.
Strength at the top of the ticket did not carry down the ballot everywhere. In Iowa, Republican Secretary of State Paul Pate defeated Democrat Ryan Peterman even as Democrats won the Senate and governor's races. In South Carolina, Republican Mark Hammond beat Democrat Jason Belton, although Democrat Annie Andrews won the Senate race.
Why the office draws attention
NBC News described secretary of state as once a low-profile downballot job that has become far more prominent amid persistent, unfounded claims of election fraud from Trump and his allies. All four battleground states saw challenges to their 2020 results, and secretaries of state in these and other states have faced a steady stream of lawsuits and threats, the outlet reported.
