Americas
Secretaries of State: A State-by-State Breakdown
[This article was updated 1/25/26]
Secretaries of state can't single-handedly change an election's results, but they can undermine and disrupt the process and the system in undemocratic ways.
Knowing your secretaries of state can help you better understand your state's election procedures and make you a more informed voter.
And keeping up with your secretary of state's policy actions, especially election-related ones, can help ensure accountability.
The Secretary of State is an official in the state governments of 47 of the 50 states of the United States.
In three states, there is no secretary of state, so the lieutenant governors perform those duties: Alaska (Republican, Nancy Dahlstrom), Hawaii (Democrat, Sylvia Luke), and Utah (Republican, Deidre Henderson).
Of the 50 current Secretaries of State or Lt. Governors, 27 are Republican, and 23 are Democrats.
In 35 states, the secretary of state is elected by the people and serves a four-year term, except in Vermont, where the term is two years.
In the other 12 states, the secretary of state is appointed by either the Governor or the state legislature. The General Courts of Maine and New Hampshire select their secretaries of state for two-year terms.
Below is a state-by-state breakdown of secretaries of state by voter elected or governor/legislator appointed, political party, state, and reelection year where applicable:
DEMOCRATS UP FOR REELECTION IN NOVEMBER 2026
Arizona (Voter Elected): (Term ends January 4, 2027)
Adrian Fontes
Four-year term
Term limit: Two Consecutive Terms
California (Voter Elected): (Term ends January 4, 2027)
Shirley Weber
Four-year term
Term limit: Two Terms
Colorado (Voter Elected): (Can't run due to term limits) (Term ends January 12, 2027)
Jena Griswold
Four-year term
Term limit: Two Consecutive Terms
Connecticut: (Voter Elected): (Term ends January 6, 2027)
Stephanie Thomas
Four-year term
Term limit: None
Illinois (Voter Elected): (Term ends January 11, 2027)
Alexi Giannoulias
Four-year term
Term limit: None
Massachusetts (Voter Elected): (Term ends January 6, 2027)
William Galvin
Four-year term
Term limit: None
Michigan (Voter Elected): (Can't run due to term limits) (Term ends January 1, 2027)
Jocelyn Benson
Four-year term
Term limit: Two Terms
Minnesota (Voter Elected): (Term ends January 4, 2027)
Steve Simon
Four-year term
Term limit: None
Nevada: (Voter Elected): (Term ends January 4, 2027)
Cisco Aguilar
Four-year term
Term limit: Two Terms
New Mexico: (Voter Elected): (Term ends January 1, 2027)
Maggie Toulouse Oliver
Four-year term
Term limit: Two Consecutive Terms
Rhode Island (Voter Elected): (Term ends January 7, 2027)
Gregg Amore
Four-year term
Term limit: Two Consecutive Terms
Vermont (Voter Elected): (Term ends January 1, 2027)
Sarah Copeland Hanzas
Two-year term
Term limit: None
Wisconsin (Voter Elected): (Term ends January 1, 2027)
Douglas La Follette
Four-year term
Term limit: None
REPUBLICANS UP FOR REELECTION IN NOVEMBER 2026
Alabama (Voter Elected): (Term ends January 18, 2027)
Wes Allen
Four-year term
Term limit: Two Consecutive Terms
Arkansas (Voter Elected): (Can't run due to term limits) (Term ends January 12, 2027)
John Thurston
Four-year term
Term limit: Two Terms
Georgia (Voter Elected): (Term ends January 11, 2027)
Brad Raffensperger
Four-year term
Term limit: None
Idaho (Voter Elected): (Term ends January 4, 2027)
Phil McGrane
Four-year term
Term limit: None
Indiana (Voter Elected): (Term ends January 1, 2027)
Diego Morales
Four-year term
Term limit: Eight out of twelve years
Iowa (Voter Elected): (Term ends January 1, 2027)
Paul Pate
Four-year term
Term limit: None
Kansas (Voter Elected): (Term ends January 11, 2027)
Scott Schwab
Four-year term
Term limit: None
Nebraska (Voter Elected): (Term ends January 7, 2027)
Bob Evnen
Four-year term
Term limit: None
North Dakota (Voter Elected): (Term ends January 1, 2027)
Michael Howe
Four-year term
Term limit: None
Ohio (Voter Elected): (Can't run due to term limits) (Term ends January 1, 2027)
Frank LaRose
Four-year term
Term limit: Two Consecutive Terms
South Carolina (Voter Elected): (Term ends January 13, 2027)
Mark Hammond
Four-year term
Term limit: None
South Dakota (Voter Elected): (Term ends January 4, 2027)
Monae Johnson
Four-year term
Term limit: Two Consecutive Terms
Wyoming (Voter Elected): (Term ends January 4, 2027)
Chuck Gray
Four-year term
Term limit: None
NO DEMOCRATS ARE UP FOR REELECTION IN NOVEMBER 2027
REPUBLICANS UP FOR REELECTION IN NOVEMBER 2027
Kentucky (Voter Elected): (Can't run due to term limits) (Term ends January 3, 2028)
Michael Adams
Four-year term
Term limit: Two Consecutive Terms
Louisiana (Voter Elected): (Term ends January 10, 2028)
Nancy Landry
Four-year term
Term limit: None
Mississippi (Voter Elected): (Term ends January 6, 2028)
Michael D. Watson, Jr
Four-year term
Term limit: None
DEMOCRATS UP FOR REELECTION IN NOVEMBER 2028
North Carolina (Voter Elected): (Term ends January 1, 2029)
Elaine Marshall
Four-year term
Term limit: None
Oregon (Voter Elected): (Term ends January 1, 2029)
Tobias Read
Four-year term
Term limit: Eight years in a 12-year period
Washington (Voter Elected): (Term ends December 13, 2028)
Steve Hobbs
Four-year term
Term limit: None
REPUBLICANS UP FOR REELECTION IN NOVEMBER 2028
Missouri (Voter Elected): (Term ends January 1, 2029)
Denny Hoskins
Four-year term
Term limit: None
Montana (Voter Elected): (Can't run due to term limits) (Term ends January 1, 2029)
Christi Jacobsen
Four-year term
Term limit: Two terms in a 16-year period
West Virginia (Voter Elected): (Term ends January 1, 2029)
Kris Warner
Four-year term
Term limit: None
DEMOCRAT SECRETARIES OF STATE APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNOR OR STATE LEGISLATURE
Delaware (Governor Appointed) (Current Governor: Matt Meyer)
Charuni Patibanda-Sanchez: Assumed Office on 1/28/25
Length of Term: Serves at the pleasure of the Governor
Term limit: None
Maine (Legislator Appointed)
Shenna Bellows: Assumed Office on 1/4/21
Length of Term: Two Years
Term limit: Four Consecutive Terms (Bellows, who is currently serving her third term, is running for Governor in 2026)
Maryland (Governor Appointed) (Current Governor: Wes Moore)
Susan Lee: Assumed Office on 1/18/23
Length of Term: Serves at the pleasure of the Governor
Term limit: None
New Jersey (Governor Appointed) (Current Governor: Mikie Sherrill)
Dale Caldwell: Assumed Office on 1/20/26
Length of Term: Serves a term coterminous with the Governor
Term limit: None
New York (Governor Appointed) (Current Governor: Kathy Hochul)
Walter T. Mosley: Assumed Office on 5/22/24
Length of Term: Until the end of the term of the governor by whom s/he was appointed and until his or her successor is appointed and has qualified
Term limit: None
Virginia (Governor Appointed) (Current Governor: Abigail Spanberger)
Candi Mundon King: Assumed Office on 1/10/25
Length of Term: Four years
Term limit: None
REPUBLICAN SECRETARIES OF STATE APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNOR OR STATE LEGISLATURE
Florida (Governor Appointed) (Current Governor: Ron DeSantis)
Cord Byrd: Assumed Office on 5/17/22
Length of Term: Serves at the pleasure of the Governor
Term limit: None
New Hampshire (Legislator Appointed)
David Scanlan: Assumed Office on 1/10/22
Length of Term: Two Years
Term limit: None
Oklahoma (Governor Appointed) (Current Governor: Kevin Stitt)
Benjamin Lepak: Assumed Office on 10/14/24
Length of Term: Four Years
Term limit: None
Pennsylvania (Governor Appointed) (Current Governor: Josh Shapiro)
Al Schmidt: Assumed Office on 1/29/23
Length of Term: Serves at the pleasure of the Governor
Term limit: None (Schmidt, a Republican, was appointed by Governor Shapiro, a Democrat, to build a bipartisan administration in a politically divided Pennsylvania.)
Tennessee (Legislator Appointed)
Tre Hargett: Assumed Office on 1/15/09
Length of Term: Four Years
Term limit: None
Texas (Governor Appointed) (Current Governor Greg Abbott)
Jane Nelson: Assumed Office on 1/5/23
Length of Term: Serves concurrent with the appointing Governor
Term limit: None
