JoCasta Zamarripa (D), Jay Schroeder (R), and Pete Karas (G) are running in the general election for Wisconsin secretary of state on Nov. 3. Incumbent Sarah Godlewski (D) is running for lieutenant governor of Wisconsin. According to the Wisconsin Examiner, this is the first time in more than 40 years that the incumbent is not running for re-election.
In Wisconsin, the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission conducts elections, making the state one of 13 where the secretary of state does not oversee elections. The secretary of state previously conducted elections; however, the state legislature removed this power when it created the first of three election boards and/or commissions in 1974. Schroeder is campaigning on dismantling the commission, saying, "The current system is an arbitrary disaster that lacks the transparency Wisconsinites deserve. [I am] committed to ... Moving the role of Chief Election Official back to the Secretary of State." Zamarripa says that the election authority should remain with the commission.
In September 2026, Sabato's Crystal Ball's Louis Jacobson shifted his rating of the office from Toss-up to Leans Democratic, writing, "On the Democratic side, Milwaukee alderwoman and former state Rep. JoCasta Zamarripa was unopposed in the primary. On the Republican side, businessman and activist Jay Schroeder took nearly half the primary vote in a four-way race. Democrats have a small edge here, so we are moving the race to Leans Democratic."
