1 Overview

What we are tracking:

Announced and/or filed candidates running for Secretary of State in 2022. We will be updating this tracker throughout the 2022 election cycle.

Methodology:

To qualify as an Election Denier, a candidate must meet one or more of the criteria below:

  • Falsely claimed former President Trump won the 2020 election instead of the legitimate winner, President Joe Biden.

  • Spread lies about the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election in public fora, including in social media, press statements, and/or comments to press.

  • Called for a “forensic audit” of the 2020 presidential election after the results were certified and/or officially audited and/or stood up to multiple legal challenges.

  • Promoted conspiracies about the 2020 presidential election in public fora, including in social media, press statements, and/or comments to press.

  • Took actions to undermine the integrity of the 2020 presidential election, including: filed or supported litigation seeking to overturn the results; and/or promoted/participated in a Stop the Steal sponsored/branded event or rally.

2 By the Numbers

There are 27 Secretary of State contests in 2022.

As of June 6, 2022, at least 23 Election Deniers are running for Secretary of States in 17 states. This means that nearly 2 out of 3 Secretary of State contests include an Election Denier.

3 Secretary of State Races in 2022

The table below includes the list of candidates that are actively running for Secretary of State in 2022 as of June 6, 2022. The table contains their name, party, and whether they’ve been coded as an Election Denier using the criteria outlined in the methodology section above.

*Candidates with open filings from a past election cycle that do not appear to be actively running are not included in the tracker. Actively running means that a candidate has announced they are running and/or has an active website and/or has recent filings or activity relating to the 2022 cycle as of October 2021.

Party Key

D = Democrat
R = Republican
C = Constitution
G = Green
L = Libertarian
O = Other party or no party

4 Election Deniers

This section includes press statements, news coverage including comments, or social media posts by Secretary of State Election Denier candidates.


4.1 Alabama - Wes Allen

4.7 Connecticut - Dominic Rapini

4.8 Indiana - Diego Morales

4.10 Massachusetts - Rayla Campbell

4.13 Minnesota - Steve Carlson

4.15 Nevada - John Cardiff Gerhardt

4.17 New Mexico - Audrey Trujillo

4.19 Vermont - H. Brooke Paige

4.22 Wisconsin - Justin Schmidtka