2022 Georgia Secretary of State election
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November 8, 2022
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| Turnout | 57.02%  | ||||||||||||||||
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   Raffensperger: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Nguyen: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% No data | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Georgia |
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The 2022 Georgia Secretary of State election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the Secretary of State of Georgia. Incumbent Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger won re-election to a second term. Raffensperger emerged as a major national figure in early January, 2021 when he faced significant pressure from then-President Donald Trump to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Trump had been taped in a phone call asking Raffensperger to "find 11,780 votes," the exact number needed for Trump to carry the state.[1] The party primary elections took place on May 24, with runoffs scheduled for June 21.
Raffensperger was elected in 2018 to a first term in a runoff against Democratic former U.S. representative John Barrow, the first time in Georgia history that any statewide executive election went to a second round.
Candidates
Nominee
- Brad Raffensperger, incumbent Secretary of State[2][3]
Eliminated in primary
- Jody Hice, U.S. representative for Georgia's 10th congressional district[4]
- TJ Hudson, former Treutlen County probate judge[5]
- David Belle Isle, former mayor of Alpharetta and candidate for Secretary of State in 2018[6]
Endorsements
Jody Hice
U.S. executive branch officials
- Donald Trump, 45th and later 47th president of the United States (2017–2021, 2025-present)[7]
U.S. representatives
- Matt Gaetz, U.S. representative from Florida's 1st congressional district (2017–2024)[8]
- Marjorie Taylor Greene, U.S. representative from Georgia's 14th congressional district (2021–2026)[9]
Organizations
David Belle Isle
County commissioners
- Dan Perdue, Houston County commissioner[13]
Mayors
- Tommy Allegood, mayor of Acworth[13]
- Keith Brady, mayor of Newnan[13]
- Allen Brown, mayor of Hinesville[13]
- Jimmy Burnette, mayor of Suwanee[13]
- Danny Dunagan, mayor of Gainesville[13]
- Steve Edwards, mayor of Sugar Hill[13]
- Steve Fry, mayor of Williamson[13]
- Jimmy Gilvin, mayor of Alpharetta[13]
- Kevin Gowen, mayor of Tunnel Hill[13]
- Alan Hallman, mayor of Hapeville[13]
- Douglas Hollberg, mayor of Griffin[13]
- Joe Lockwood, mayor of Milton[13]
- Steve Miller, mayor of Holly Springs[13]
- Robert Price, mayor of Locust Grove[13]
- Shirley Sessions, mayor of Tybee Island[13]
- Julie Smith, mayor of Tifton[13]
- Jim Still, mayor of Mountain Park[13]
- Jim Thorton, mayor of LaGrange[13]
- Randy Toms, mayor Mayor of Warner Robins[13]
- Mike Young, mayor of McRae-Helena[13]
City councilors
- Jay Flowers, Thomasville city councilor[13]
- Randal Franks, Ringgold city councilor[13]
- Wayne Swanson, LaFayette city councilor[13]
- Justin Wright, Centerville city councilor[13]
Debates
| 2022 Georgia Secretary of State Republican primary election debates | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Date | Organizer | P Participant A Absent (invited) I Invited N Not invited | Source | |||
| David Belle Isle | Jody Hice | T.J. Hudson | Brad Raffensperger | ||||
| 1 | May 2, 2022 | Atlanta Press Club, Georgia Public Broadcasting |
P | P | P | P | [14] |
Fundraising
| Campaign finance reports as of April 30, 2022 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Raised | Spent | Cash on hand |
| Brad Raffensperger (R) | $1,683,799 | $1,372,857 | $310,941 |
| Jody Hice (R) | $2,221,750 | $1,781,490 | $440,260 |
| David Belle Isle (R) | $479,175 | $476,319 | $2,855 |
| Source: Georgia Campaign Finance Commission[15] | |||
Polling
Graphical summary
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
David Belle Isle |
Jody Hice |
T.J. Hudson |
Brad Raffensperger |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Landmark Communications[16] | May 22, 2022 | 500 (LV) | ± 4.4% | 9% | 39% | 2% | 38% | 11% |
| SurveyUSA[17] | April 22–27, 2022 | 559 (LV) | ± 4.9% | 4% | 20% | 5% | 31% | 40% |
| University of Georgia[18] | April 10–22, 2022 | 886 (LV) | ± 3.3% | 5% | 26% | 4% | 28% | 37% |
| Landmark Communications[19] | April 9–10, 2022 | 660 (LV) | ± 3.8% | 10% | 35% | 3% | 18% | 33% |
| University of Georgia[20] | March 20 – April 8, 2022 | ~329 (LV) | ± 5.4% | 4% | 30% | 4% | 23% | 39% |
| Emerson College[21] | April 1–3, 2022 | 509 (LV) | ± 4.3% | 6% | 26% | 3% | 29% | 37% |
Results
Raffensperger
- 30–40%40–50%50–60%60–70%
Hice
- 40–50%50–60%60–70%70–80%
Hudson
- 70–80%
Despite opinion polls suggesting a tight race between Brad Raffensperger and Jody Hice as well as Trump's endorsement of Hice, Raffensperger ultimately won the primary election with a 19-point margin over Hice and avoided a potential runoff by winning an outright majority of the vote. This has been attributed to Hice's insufficient name recognition across the state and crossover voting in Georgia's open primary system where some Democratic voters voted in the Republican primary to vote against "Trump-backed extremists" like Hice.[22][23]
Raffensperger performed best in the Atlanta metropolitan area, while Hice performed best in Georgia's 10th congressional district, where he served as a U.S. representative; only five counties outside the district were won by Hice. The only county to not be won by either Raffensperger or Hice was Treutlen County, Hudson's home county, which he won with 76.42% of the vote.[24]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Brad Raffensperger (incumbent) | 611,616 | 52.37% | |
| Republican | Jody Hice | 389,447 | 33.34% | |
| Republican | David Belle Isle | 103,272 | 8.84% | |
| Republican | TJ Hudson | 63,646 | 5.45% | |
| Total votes | 1,167,981 | 100.0% | ||
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
Eliminated in runoff
- Dee Dawkins-Haigler, former state representative and candidate for Secretary of State in 2018[27]
Eliminated in initial primary
- John Eaves, former chair of the Fulton County Commission and candidate for Georgia's 7th congressional district in 2020[28]
- Floyd Griffin, former state senator and former mayor of Milledgeville[29]
- Michael Owens, former chair of the Cobb County Democratic Party, U.S. Marine Corps veteran and cybersecurity executive[29]
Did not file
- Manswell Peterson, former college professor[30]
Endorsements
Michael Owens
Statewide officials
- Roy Barnes, former governor of Georgia (1999–2003)[31]
State senators
- Michael Rhett, state senator from the 33rd district (2015–present)[31]
Organizations
Bee Nguyen
State senators
- Michelle Au, state senator from the 48th district (2021–present)[33]
- Kim Jackson, state senator from the 41st district (2021–present)[33]
- Nikki Merritt, state senator from the 9th district (2021–present)[33]
- Sheikh Rahman, state senator from the 5th district (2019–present)[33]
State representatives
- Stacey Abrams, former state representative from the 89th district (2007–2017), nominee for Governor in 2018 and 2022 and founder of Fair Fight Action (endorsed in runoff)[34]
- Jasmine Clark, state representative from the 108th district (2019–present)[33]
- Shelly Hutchinson, state representative from the 107th district (2019–present)[33]
- Gregg Kennard, state representative from the 102nd district (2019–present)[33]
- Marvin Lim, state representative from the 99th district (2021–present)[33]
- Pedro Marin, state representative from the 96th district (2003–present)[33]
- Dewey McClain, state representative from the 100th district (2013–present)[33]
- Donna McLeod, state representative from the 105th district (2019–present)[33]
- Rebecca Mitchell, state representative from the 106th district (2021–present)[33]
- Beth Moore, state representative from the 95th district (2019–present)[33]
- Sam Park, state representative from the 101st district (2017–present)[33]
Local officials
- Kirkland Carden, Gwinnett County commissioner (2020–present)[33]
- Ben Ku, Gwinnett County commissioner (2018–present)[33]
Organizations
First round
Debates
| 2022 Georgia Secretary of State Democratic primary election debates | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Date | Organizer | P Participant A Absent (invited) I Invited N Not invited | Source | |||||
| Dee Dawkins-Haigler | John Eaves | Floyd Griffin | Bee Nguyen | Michael Owens | |||||
| 1 | May 2, 2022 | Atlanta Press Club, Georgia Public Broadcasting |
P | P | P | P | P | [39] | |
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Dee Dawkins-Haigler |
John Eaves |
Floyd Griffin |
Bee Nguyen |
Michael Owens |
Manswell Peterson |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA[17] | April 22–27, 2022 | 549 (LV) | ± 5.1% | 7% | 7% | 6% | 12% | 9% | – | 60% |
| Emerson College[21] | April 1–3, 2022 | 509 (LV) | ± 4.3% | 13% | 14% | 4% | 7% | 5% | 0% | 57% |
Results
Nguyen
- 20–30%
- 30–40%
- 40–50%
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
Dawkins-Haigler
- 20–30%
- 30–40%
- 40–50%
Owens
- 20–30%
- 30–40%
- 40–50%
Griffin
- 20–30%
- 30–40%
- 40–50%
- 70–80%
Nguyen/Owens tie
- 20–30%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Bee Nguyen | 309,437 | 44.33% | |
| Democratic | Dee Dawkins-Haigler | 130,278 | 18.67% | |
| Democratic | Michael Owens | 114,621 | 16.42% | |
| Democratic | Floyd Griffin | 75,423 | 10.81% | |
| Democratic | John Eaves | 68,233 | 9.78% | |
| Total votes | 697,992 | 100.0% | ||
Runoff
Debate
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Democratic | Democratic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn |
||||||
| Dee Dawkins-Haigler | Bee Nguyen | |||||
| 1 | Jun. 6, 2022 | Atlanta Press Club | Lisa Rayam | YouTube | P | P |
Results
Nguyen
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
- 70–80%
- 80–90%
- >90%
Dawkins-Haigler
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
Nguyen/Dawkins-Haigler tie
- 50–60%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Bee Nguyen | 198,511 | 77.00% | |
| Democratic | Dee Dawkins-Haigler | 59,310 | 23.00% | |
| Total votes | 257,821 | 100.0% | ||
Libertarian primary
Candidates
Declared
- Ted Metz, former chair of the Libertarian Party of Georgia and nominee for governor in 2018[42]
General election
Debate
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Republican | Democratic | Libertarian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn |
|||||||
| Brad Raffensperger | Bee Nguyen | Ted Metz | |||||
| 1 | Oct. 28, 2022 | Atlanta Press Club Georgia Public Broadcasting |
Lisa Rayam | YouTube | P | P | P |
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[43] | Lean R | November 3, 2022 |
| Elections Daily[44] | Lean R | November 7, 2022 |
Post-primary endorsements
Brad Raffensperger (R)
U.S. representatives
- Adam Kinzinger, U.S. representative for Illinois's 16th congressional district (2011–2023)[45]
Bee Nguyen (D)
U.S. executive branch officials
- Barack Obama, former president of the United States (2009–2017)[46]
Organizations
Polling
Graphical summary
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Brad Raffensperger (R) |
Bee Nguyen (D) |
Ted Metz (L) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Landmark Communications[48] | November 4–7, 2022 | 1,214 (LV) | ± 2.8% | 48% | 40% | 6% | – | 6% |
| SurveyUSA[49] | September 30 – October 4, 2022 | 1,076 (LV) | ± 3.7% | 39% | 36% | – | 7% | 18% |
| University of Georgia[50] | September 5–16, 2022 | 861 (LV) | ± 3.3% | 50% | 31% | 6% | – | 13% |
| Phillips Academy[51] | August 3–7, 2022 | 971 (RV) | ± 3.1% | 50% | 34% | – | – | 16% |
| SurveyUSA[52] | July 21–24, 2022 | 604 (LV) | ± 5.3% | 40% | 33% | – | 7% | 20% |
| University of Georgia[53] | July 14–22, 2022 | 902 (LV) | ± 3.3% | 46% | 32% | 7% | – | 15% |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Brad Raffensperger (incumbent) | 2,081,241 | 53.23% | +4.14% | |
| Democratic | Bee Nguyen | 1,719,922 | 43.99% | −5.32% | |
| Libertarian | Ted Metz | 108,884 | 2.78% | +0.55% | |
| Total votes | 3,910,047 | 100.0% | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
By congressional district
Raffensperger won nine of 14 congressional districts.[55]
| District | Raffensperger | Nguyen | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 60% | 37% | Buddy Carter |
| 2nd | 48% | 49% | Sanford Bishop |
| 3rd | 67% | 30% | Drew Ferguson |
| 4th | 24% | 74% | Hank Johnson |
| 5th | 21% | 77% | Nikema Williams |
| 6th | 63% | 33% | Lucy McBath (117th Congress) |
| Rich McCormick (118th Congress) | |||
| 7th | 41% | 56% | Carolyn Bourdeaux (117th Congress) |
| Lucy McBath (118th Congress) | |||
| 8th | 67% | 30% | Austin Scott |
| 9th | 72% | 25% | Andrew Clyde |
| 10th | 64% | 33% | Jody Hice (117th Congress) |
| Mike Collins (118th Congress) | |||
| 11th | 61% | 35% | Barry Loudermilk |
| 12th | 59% | 38% | Rick Allen |
| 13th | 21% | 78% | David Scott |
| 14th | 70% | 27% | Marjorie Taylor Greene |