2020 Election: Secretaries of State Races

There’s a lot more at stake in 2020 than just who sits in the White House.

For example, there are several Secretary of State elections this November. Secretaries of State are important executive positions in state government, and typically oversee all aspects of elections.  The more Democrats we have in these seats, the better position we’ll be in to stop Republican voter suppression.

Today we’re looking at the races that will determine who holds these seats in 7 states. Right now, 5 of those states have Secretaries of State who are Republican, and 2 are Democratic. Clicking the highlighted candidate name will take you to their campaign website where you can sign up to volunteer or support them. 

Missouri

The current Secretary of State is  Republican Jay Ashcroft. (If that last name seems familiar, it’s because he’s the son of former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft.) The Democrat running against him is Yinka Faleti.

Montana

The current Secretary of State (SoS) is a  Republican who is not running for re-election. The Democrat running in the race is Bryce Bennett.

North Carolina

The current Secretary of State (SoS) is  Democrat Elaine Marshall. She is running for re-election.

Oregon

The current Secretary of State (SoS) is a  Republican who is not running for election. The winner of the Democratic primary was Shemia Fagan.

Vermont

The current Secretary of State (SoS) is  Democrat Jim Condos.  He is expected to run for re-election. Vermont’s primary is on August 11.

Washington

The current Secretary of State (SoS) is  Republican Kim Wyman.  The Democrat running against her is Gael Tarleton. Washington’s primary is on August 4.

West Virginia

The current Secretary of State (SoS) is  Republican Mac Warner.  The Democrat running against her is Natalie Tennant. West Virginia’s primary is on June 9.

How you can help

For those of you who live in or near these states, check out 15 Ways to Help a Campaign Win Their Election. (Many of these actions can still be done even as we shelter at home.)

For those of you who want to help out with one of these races, but you don’t live near the state, check out 9 Ways to Help a Campaign From Afar.

Be sure to follow your favorite Democratic candidates on social media and share information about their campaigns on your accounts, as well as how people can donate to their campaigns.

Keep an eye out for postcarding campaigns to help these elections at sites like Postcards for Voters.

Get involved with a texting campaign to register voters in these states and/or turn them out on election day. There are several organizations that run texting campaigns, but I can personally vouch for Open Progress and can attest to how great their program works.

  Follow me on Instagram to get additional content, chat with me, and find shareable nuggets of Political Charge posts!