2018 Iowa Secretary of State election

The 2018 Iowa Secretary of State election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the Secretary of State of Iowa, concurrently with elections to the United States House of Representatives, governor, and other state and local elections. Primary elections were held on June 5, 2018.^[1]

2018 Iowa Secretary of State election

← 2014 November 6, 2018 (2018-11-06) 2022 →
Registered	2,167,914
Turnout	61.55%
Candidate Paul Pate Deidre DeJear Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 685,780 583,774 Percentage 52.72% 44.87%
County results Congressional district results Pate:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% DeJear:      50–60%      60–70%
Secretary of State before election Paul Pate Republican Elected Secretary of State Paul Pate Republican

Incumbent Republican secretary of state Paul Pate won re-election to a second consecutive term in office,^[a] defeating Democratic nominee Deidre DeJear.^[2]

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Paul Pate, incumbent secretary of state (2015-present, 1995-1999), mayor of Cedar Rapids (2002-2006), and state senator (1989-1995)^[3]

Results

Republican primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paul Pate (incumbent)	88,303	99.63%
	Write-in		327	0.37%
Total votes			88,630	100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Deidre DeJear, marketing firm owner^[5]

Eliminated in primary

• Jim Mowrer, army veteran, professor, and former Pentagon aide^[5][6]

Withdrew before primary

• Travis Weipert, auditor of Johnson County^[7][8]

Declined

• Nathan Blake, attorney^[9]
• Jamie Fitzgerald, auditor of Polk County^[9][10]
• Roxanna Moritz, auditor of Scott County^[9][10]
• Eric Van Lancker, auditor of Clinton County^[10]

Results

Democratic primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Deidre DeJear	82,221	51.09%
	Democratic	Jim Mowrer	78,409	48.72%
	Write-in		312	0.19%
Total votes			160,942	100.00%

General election

Post-primary endorsements

Paul Pate (R)

Organizations

• Iowa Association of Business and Industry^[11]

Deidre DeJear (D)

U.S. presidents

• Barack Obama, President of the United States (2009-2017) and U.S. Senator from Illinois (2005-2008)^[12]

U.S. senators

• Kamala Harris, U.S. Senator from California (2017-present) and Attorney General of California (2011-2017)^[13]

State officials

• Jason Kander, former Missouri Secretary of State (2013-2017) and state representative from the 44th district (2009-2013)^[14]

Labor unions

• IUOE Local 150^[15]

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Governing[16]	Tossup	October 11, 2018

Results

2018 Iowa Secretary of State election^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paul Pate (incumbent)	685,780	52.72%
	Democratic	Deidre DeJear	583,774	44.87%
	Libertarian	Jules Ofenbakh	30,881	2.37%
	Write-in		482	0.04%
Total votes			1,300,917	100.00%
	Republican hold

By congressional district

Pate won all four congressional districts, including three that elected Democrats.^[18]

District	Pate	DeJear	Representative
1st	51%	46%	Rod Blum (115th Congress)
			Abby Finkenauer (116th Congress)
2nd	49%	48%	Dave Loebsack
3rd	49%	48%	David Young (115th Congress)
			Cindy Axne (116th Congress)
4th	61%	37%	Steve King

Notes

1. Pate previously served as Secretary of State from 1995-1999, before being elected once again in 2014.