Incumbent Brad Raffensperger (R), Bee Nguyen (D), Ted Metz (L), and Brenda Nelson-Porter (write-in) are running for Georgia secretary of state on November 8, 2022.
Raffensperger was elected secretary of state in 2018 after serving two terms in the Georgia House of Representatives. His dispute with former President Donald Trump (R) about the outcome of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia has drawn national attention to this race. According to Raffensperger, “When Georgia’s election results were questioned in 2020, The system [I] deployed was proven accurate after two recounts and a full audit…For the first time, it was possible to recount Georgia’s vote by hand, if necessary.” Raffensperger’s campaign has focused on the new election policies enacted during his time in office and his response to the public pressure and national scrutiny he received after the 2020 election.
Nguyen has represented District 89 in the Georgia House of Representatives since 2017. Nguyen replaced gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams (D) in the 89th district. Nguyen says “Raffensperger is no election hero” and criticizes his support for election policies like exact match voter registration, which she says she fought to overturn in the state House of Representatives. According to Nguyen, “What we’re looking at here is a secretary of state who talks out of both sides of his mouth.” Nguyen says that if elected she will uphold the law and protect the freedom to vote in Georgia. A win would make Nguyen the first Asian-American to win statewide election in Georgia.
Metz, a libertarian, and Nelson-Porter, a nonpartisan write-in candidate, are also running in this race.
This is one of 27 elections for secretary of state taking place in 2022. All but three states have a secretary of state. Although the specific duties and powers of the office vary from state to state, secretaries of state are often responsible for the maintenance of voter rolls and for administering elections. Other common responsibilities include registering businesses, maintaining state records, and certifying official documents. There are currently 27 Republican secretaries of state and 20 Democratic secretaries of state. Click here for an overview of all 27 secretary of state elections taking place in 2022.
A state government triplex refers to a situation where the governor, attorney general, and secretary of state are all members of the same political party.
As of October 4, 2022, there are 23 Republican triplexes, 18 Democratic triplexes, and 9 divided governments where neither party holds triplex control.
As of 2022, Georgia was both a Republican trifecta and a Republican triplex.
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