2022 Wisconsin Secretary of State election

The 2022 Wisconsin Secretary of State election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the Secretary of State of Wisconsin. Incumbent Democrat Doug La Follette won re-election to an unprecedented 12th term in the office, narrowly defeating Republican state legislator Amy Loudenbeck. With a margin of 0.29%, this was the closest secretary of state race of the 2022 election cycle.

2022 Wisconsin Secretary of State election

← 2018 November 8, 2022 2026 →

Nominee Doug La Follette Amy Loudenbeck Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,268,748 1,261,306 Percentage 48.30% 48.01%

County results Congressional district results Precinct results La Follette:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Loudenbeck:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Tie:      40–50%      50%      No data

Secretary of State before election Doug La Follette Democratic Elected Secretary of State Doug La Follette Democratic

Background

Main article: Secretary of State of Wisconsin § History_of_the_office

The secretary of state is one of Wisconsin's six constitutional officers. Once one of the most powerful offices in the state, its role has slowly been diminished as duties were reassigned or eliminated over time. In 1974 election oversight was stripped from the duties of the office and in 2013 the office lost the ability to delay the publicization of laws passed by the legislature, a move which helped unions prepare for Act 10's implementation.^[1][2][3]

As part of broader attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election, Republicans, having historically weakened the office, began a push to put election oversight back under the purview of the secretary of state, as opposed to the Wisconsin Elections Commission, which Republicans had created to replace the previous nonpartisan Government Accountability Board, which oversaw elections and ethics.^[3][4]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Doug La Follette, incumbent secretary of state^[4]

Eliminated in primary

• Alexia Sabor, chair of the Dane County Democratic Party^[5]

Endorsements

Alexia Sabor

Statewide officials

• Barbara Lawton, former lieutenant governor of Wisconsin (2003–2011)^[6]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Doug La Follette	Alexia Sabor	Undecided
Change Research (D)[7][A]	July 1–7, 2022	560 (LV)	± 4.6%	42%	9%	43%

Results

Primary results by county:

  La Follette

•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%

Democratic primary results^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Doug La Follette (incumbent)	300,773	63.63%
	Democratic	Alexia Sabor	171,954	36.37%
Total votes			472,727	100.0%

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Amy Loudenbeck, state assemblywoman^[9]

Eliminated in primary

• Daniel Schmidtka^[9]
• Jay Schroeder, nominee for secretary of state in 2018^[10]

Withdrew before primary

• Dmitry Becker^[9] (endorsed Loudenbeck)^[11]

Endorsements

Amy Loudenbeck

U.S. Representatives

• Bryan Steil, U.S. Representative from Wisconsin's 1st congressional district^[12]
• Tom Tiffany, U.S. Representative from Wisconsin's 7th congressional district^[13]

Statewide officials

• Ben Brancel, former Wisconsin Secretary of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (2011–2017)^[12]
• Scott McCallum, former Governor of Wisconsin (2001–2003)^[12]
• Tommy Thompson, former Governor of Wisconsin (1987–2001)^[13]
• Cathy "Cate" Zeuske, former State Treasurer of Wisconsin 1991–1995)^[13]

State legislators

• 61 state legislators^[14][13][12]

Individuals

• Dmitry Becker, former opponent in primary^[11]
• Diane Hendricks, co-founder and chair of ABC Supply^[13]

Organizations

• Wisconsin Fraternal Order of Police^[15]
• Wisconsin Grocers Association^[16]
• Wisconsin Young Republicans^[17]

Jay Schroeder

State legislators

• Jim Marchant, former Nevada assemblyman (2016–2018), Republican nominee for Nevada secretary of state in 2022^[18]

Declined to endorse

Organizations

• Republican Party of Wisconsin^[19]

Results

Primary results by county:

  Loudenbeck

•   40–50%
•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%

  Schroeder

•   40–50%

Republican primary results^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Amy Loudenbeck	264,940	46.32%
	Republican	Jay Schroeder	228,191	39.90%
	Republican	Justin Daniel Schmidtka	78,846	13.78%
Total votes			571,977	100.0%

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Neil Harmon^[9]

Results

Libertarian primary results^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Neil Harmon	769	100.0%
Total votes			769	100.0%

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball[20]	Tossup	November 3, 2022
Elections Daily[21]	Lean R (flip)	November 7, 2022

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Doug La Follette (D)	Amy Loudenbeck (R)	Other	Undecided
CNN/SSRS[22]	October 13–17, 2022	905 (RV)	± 4.2%	47%	46%	6%[b]	1%
		714 (LV)	± 4.5%	49%	48%	2%[c]	1%

Results

2022 Wisconsin Secretary of State election^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Doug La Follette (incumbent)	1,268,748	48.30%	−4.44%
	Republican	Amy Loudenbeck	1,261,306	48.01%	+0.83%
	Libertarian	Neil Harmon	54,413	2.07%	N/A
	Green	Sharyl R. McFarland	41,532	1.58%	N/A
	Write-in		944	0.04%	-0.04%
Plurality			7,442	0.28%	-5.16%
Total votes			2,626,943	100.0%	-1.87%
	Democratic hold

By congressional district

Despite losing the state, Loudenbeck won 6 of 8 congressional districts.^[23]

District	La Follette	Loudenbeck	Representative
1st	46%	50%	Bryan Steil
2nd	70%	26%	Mark Pocan
3rd	46%	50%	Ron Kind (117th Congress)
			Derrick Van Orden (118th Congress)
4th	75%	21%	Gwen Moore
5th	36%	61%	Scott L. Fitzgerald
6th	40%	56%	Glenn Grothman
7th	38%	58%	Tom Tiffany
8th	40%	56%	Mike Gallagher

Notes

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear
2. "Neither" with 4%; "Other" with 2%
3. "Neither" with 1%; "Other" with 1%

Partisan clients

1. This poll was sponsored by 314 Action Fund