# 2020 United States secretary of state elections

The 2020 United States secretary of state elections were held on November 3, 2020, to elect the secretaries of state in seven states. These elections took place concurrently with several other federal, state, and local elections.
The previous elections for this group of states took place in 2016. The secretary of state of Vermont serves two-year terms and was last elected in 2018.
Going into the election, there were 26 Republican secretaries of state and 21 Democratic secretaries of state. 5 Republican secretaries of state were up for election, of whom Corey Stapleton of Montana and Bev Clarno of Oregon are retiring. 2 Democratic secretaries of state were up for election, both seeking re-election.

## Partisan composition

Going into these elections, this class of secretaries of state is made up of 5 Republicans and 2 Democrats. Republicans were defending two states won by Hillary Clinton in 2016 (Oregon and Washington), while Democrats are defending one state won by Donald Trump in 2016 (North Carolina).

## Election predictions

Several sites and individuals published predictions of competitive seats. These predictions looked at factors such as the strength of the incumbent (if the incumbent is running for re-election), the strength of the candidates, and the partisan leanings of the state (reflected in part by the state's Cook Partisan Voting Index rating). The predictions assigned ratings to each seat, with the rating indicating the predicted advantage that a party has in winning that seat.
Most election predictors use:
* "tossup": no advantage
* "tilt" (used by some predictors): advantage that is not quite as strong as "lean"
* "lean": slight advantage
* "likely": significant, but surmountable, advantage
* "safe" or "solid" : near-certain chance of victory
| State | PVI | Incumbent | Last race | Cook June 25, 2024 | Result |
| Missouri | R+9 | Jay Ashcroft | 57.6% R | Solid R | Ashcroft 60.6% R |
| Montana | R+11 | Corey Stapleton (retiring) | 55.5% R | Lean R | Jacobsen 59.6% R |
| North Carolina | R+3 | Elaine Marshall | 52.3% D | Likely D | Marshall 51.2% D |
| Oregon | D+5 | Bev Clarno (retiring) | Appointed (2019) | Likely D (flip) | Fagan 50.3% D (flip) |
| Vermont | D+15 | Jim Condos | 66.81% D | Solid D | Condos 57.9% D |
| Washington | D+7 | Kim Wyman | 54.6% R | Lean R | Wyman 50.9% R |
| West Virginia | R+19 | Mac Warner | 48.5% R | Likely R | Warner 58.3% R |

## Race summary
### States

| State | Secretary of state | Party | First elected | Result | Candidates |
| Missouri | Jay Ashcroft | Republican | 2016 | Incumbent re-elected. | ▌Y Jay Ashcroft (Republican) 60.6% ▌Yinka Faleti (Democratic) 36.3% Others ▌Carl Herman Freese (Libertarian) 1.9% ▌David Harding (Green) 0.8% ▌Nancy Wallace (Constitution) 0.4% |
| Montana | Corey Stapleton | Republican | 2016 | Incumbent retired to run for U.S. House. New secretary of state elected. Republican hold. | ▌Y Christi Jacobsen (Republican) 59.6% ▌Bryce Bennett (Democratic) 40.4% |
| North Carolina | Elaine Marshall | Democratic | 1996 | Incumbent re-elected. | ▌Y Elaine Marshall (Democratic) 51.2% ▌E.C. Sykes (Republican) 48.8% |
| Oregon | Bev Clarno | Republican | 2019 (appointed) | Interim appointee retiring. New secretary of state elected. Democratic gain. | ▌Y Shemia Fagan (Democratic) 50.3% ▌Kim Thatcher (Republican) 43.2% ▌ Nathalie Paravicini (Pacific Green) 3.6% ▌Kyle Markley (Libertarian) 2.8% |
| Vermont | Jim Condos | Democratic | 2010 | Incumbent re-elected. | ▌Y Jim Condos (Democratic) 57.9% ▌H. Brooke Paige (Republican) 26.8% ▌Pamala Smith (Independent) 5.7% ▌Cris Ericson (Progressive) 3.0% |
| Washington | Kim Wyman | Republican | 2012 | Incumbent re-elected. | ▌Y Kim Wyman (Republican) 50.9% ▌Gael Tarleton (Democratic) 43.3% ▌ Ed Minger (Independent) 3.6% ▌Gentry Lange (Progressive) 2.1% |
| West Virginia | Mac Warner | Republican | 2016 | Incumbent re-elected. | ▌Y Mac Warner (Republican) 58.3% ▌Natalie Tennant (Democratic) 41.7% |

## Closest races

States where the margin of victory was under 5%:
* North Carolina, 2.4%
States where the margin of victory was under 10%:
* Oregon, 7.1%
* Washington, 7.6%
Blue denotes races won by Democrats. Red denotes races won by Republicans.

## Missouri

Incumbent secretary of state Jay Ashcroft ran and won re-election to a second term after he defeated Democratic nominee Yinka Faleti with 60.6% of the vote.
Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Jay Ashcroft (incumbent) | 620,822 | 100.0% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 620,822 | 100.0% |
Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Yinka Faleti | 470,955 | 100.0% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 470,955 | 100.0% |
Missouri Secretary of State election, 2020 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Jay Ashcroft (incumbent) | 1,790,873 | 60.59% | +2.97% |
| | Democratic | Yinka Faleti | 1,072,415 | 36.28% | −2.17% |
| | Libertarian | Carl Herman Freese | 55,320 | 1.87% | −2.06% |
| | Green | Paul Lehmann | 23,981 | 0.81% | N/A |
| | Constitution | Paul Venable | 13,066 | 0.44% | N/A |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 2,955,655 | 100.0% | |

## Montana

Incumbent Republican secretary of state Corey Stapleton was eligible to run for a second term but has decided to run for U.S. House instead. Former chief of staff to Stapleton, Christi Jacobsen won the Republican nomination defeating president of the Montana State Senate, Scott Sales and Montana Public Service Commissioner, Brad Johnson.
She went on to defeat Democratic state senator Bryce Bennett with 59.6% of the vote.
Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Christi Jacobsen | 57,941 | 29.4% |
| | Republican | Scott Sales | 49,759 | 25.3% |
| | Republican | Brad Johnson | 45,526 | 23.1% |
| | Republican | Forrest Mandeville | 20,318 | 10.3% |
| | Republican | Bowen Greenwood | 14,080 | 7.1% |
| | Republican | Kurt Johnson | 9,346 | 4.7% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 196,970 | 100.0% |
Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Bryce Bennett | 130,109 | 100.0% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 130,109 | 100.0% |
Montana Secretary of State election, 2020 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Christi Jacobsen | 352,939 | 59.56% |
| | Democratic | Bryce Bennett | 239,617 | 40.44% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 592,556 | 100.00% |

## North Carolina

Incumbent Democrat Elaine Marshall won re-election to a seventh term after she defeated Republican nominee businessman E.C. Sykes with 51.2% of the vote.
Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | E.C. Sykes | 296,457 | 42.9 |
| | Republican | Chad Brown | 262,595 | 38.0 |
| | Republican | Michael LaPaglia | 131,832 | 19.1 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 690,884 | 100.0 |
North Carolina Secretary of State election, 2020 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Elaine Marshall (incumbent) | 2,755,571 | 51.16% | −1.10% |
| | Republican | E.C. Sykes | 2,630,559 | 48.84% | +1.10% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 5,386,130 | 100.0% | |

## Oregon

Incumbent Republican Bev Clarno had agreed not to run for a full term. Clarno was appointed by Governor Kate Brown to replace Dennis Richardson, who died of cancer during his term.
Republicans nominated state senator Kim Thatcher while Democrats nominated state senator Shemia Fagan.
Fagan defeated Thatcher with 50.3% of the vote.
Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Kim Thatcher | 312,296 | 85.62% |
| | Republican | Dave Stauffer | 48,839 | 13.39% |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 3,625 | 0.99% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 364,760 | 100.0% |
Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Shemia Fagan | 209,682 | 36.23% |
| | Democratic | Mark Hass | 205,230 | 35.46% |
| | Democratic | Jamie McLeod-Skinner | 159,430 | 27.55% |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 4,395 | 0.76% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 578,737 | 100.0% |
2020 Oregon Secretary of State election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Shemia Fagan | 1,146,370 | 50.31% | +6.84% |
| | Republican | Kim Thatcher | 984,597 | 43.21% | −3.85% |
| | Pacific Green | Nathalie Paravicini | 82,211 | 3.61% | +1.06% |
| | Libertarian | Kyle Markley | 62,985 | 2.77% | +0.29% |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 2,340 | 0.10% | -0.09% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 2,278,503 | 100.0% | |

## Vermont

Incumbent Democratic secretary of state Jim Condos won re-election to a fifth term after he defeated Republican nominee H. Brooke Paige.
2020 Vermont Secretary of State election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Jim Condos (incumbent) | 214,666 | 57.87% | −8.94 |
| | Republican | H. Brooke Paige | 99,564 | 26.84% | −2.68 |
| | Independent | Pamala Smith | 21,210 | 5.72% | +5.72% |
| | Progressive | Cris Ericson | 11,171 | 3.01% | +3.01% |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 309 | 0.08% | +0.04% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 2,278,503 | 100.0% | |

## Washington

Incumbent Republican secretary of state Kim Wyman won re-election to a second term after she defeated Democratic nominee Gael Tarleton with 53.6% of the vote.
Top-two primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Kim Wyman (incumbent) | 1,238,455 | 50.89% |
| | Democratic | Gael Tarleton | 1,053,584 | 43.29% |
| | Independent | Ed Minger | 87,982 | 3.62% |
| | Progressive | Gentry Lange | 51,826 | 2.13% |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 1,919 | 0.08% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 2,433,766 | 100.00% |
2020 Washington Secretary of State election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Kim Wyman (incumbent) | 2,116,141 | 53.61% |
| | Democratic | Gael Tarleton | 1,826,710 | 46.27% |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 4,666 | 0.12% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 3,947,517 | 100.00% |

## West Virginia

Incumbent Republican secretary of state Mac Warner won re-election to a second term after he defeated former secretary of state Natalie Tennant with 53.3% of the vote.
Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Mac Warner (incumbent) | 176,915 | 100.0% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 176,915 | 100.0% |
Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Natalie Tennant | 175,600 | 100.0% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 175,600 | 100.0% |
General election results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Mac Warner (incumbent) | 447,537 | 58.26% |
| | Democratic | Natalie Tennant | 320,650 | 41.74% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 768,187 | 100.0% |