Wes Allen defeated Jim Zeigler in the Republican primary runoff for Alabama secretary of state on June 21, 2022. Incumbent John Merrill (R) was term-limited.

Each candidate said his experience prepared him for the position. Allen was a Pike County Probate Court judge and said he administered more than a dozen elections without error. Zeigler, the state auditor, said he had been a "watchman against government waste, mismanagement and corruption" and would be a watchman for election integrity.

Click here for more on the candidates' backgrounds and key messages.

As of 2022, Republicans had held the Secretary of State office in Alabama since 2007.

The secretary of state is Alabama's chief election official and certifies vote totals, ballots, and fundraising records. The secretary of state is also responsible for business registration and keeping the state government's official documents and public records.

This page focuses on Alabama's Republican Party Secretary of State primary runoff. For more in-depth information on the Republican primary, Democratic primary, and general election, see the following pages:

Candidates and election results

Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for Alabama Secretary of State

Wes Allen defeated Jim Zeigler in the Republican primary runoff for Alabama Secretary of State on June 21, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Wes Allen	65.4	248,132
	Jim Zeigler	34.6	131,413

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 379,545
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Republican primary

See also: Alabama Secretary of State election, 2022 (May 24 Republican primary)

Republican primary for Alabama Secretary of State

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Jim Zeigler	42.7	237,482
✔	Wes Allen	39.7	220,880
	Christian Horn	9.8	54,572
	Ed Packard	7.8	43,486

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 556,420
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Laura Clark (R)

Candidate comparison

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Wes Allen

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office:

Alabama House of Representatives District 89 (Assumed office: 2018)
Pike County Probate Court (2009-2018)

Biography: Allen received an undergraduate degree from the University of Alabama and a graduate degree from Troy University. Gov. Bob Riley (R) appointed Allen to the Pike County Probate Court in 2009. He served as president of the Alabama Probate Judges Association.

Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Allen's campaign said he administered more than a dozen elections as probate judge without error.

Allen said, "We can not allow mail-in voting, no excuse absentee ballots, early voting and other schemes that we have seen cause chaos and confusion in other states."

Allen's campaign said he sponsored and passed a bill banning curbside voting and that he successfully fought a bill to allow no-excuse absentee voting.

Show sources

Sources: YouTube, "Wes Allen's First Radio Ad for Secretary of State Campaign With Logo," January 10, 2022; Wes Allen's 2022 campaign website, "Issues," accessed March 10, 2022; Troy Messenger, "Allen named new probate judge," April 2, 2009; Alabama County Republican Party, "Wes Allen," accessed March 10, 2022

This information was current as of the candidate's run for Alabama Secretary of State in 2022.

Jim Zeigler

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office:

Alabama State Auditor (Assumed office: 2015)
Alabama Public Service Commission (1974-1978)

Biography: Zeigler received a degree in public administration from the University of Alabama and a J.D. from Faulkner University Thomas Goode Jones School of Law. Zeigler's career experience includes working as an elder-care planner and an attorney.

Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Zeigler said, "Alabama needs a proven fighter against government overreach to be our fighting Secretary of State."

Zeigler said, "In seven years as the state auditor, I have been a watchman against government waste, mismanagement and corruption. ... I intend to take that same approach and passion and be the watchman for election integrity."

Zeigler said he opposed same-day voter registration, allowing non-citizens to vote, efforts to extend the voting period, ballot drop boxes, what he called ballot harvesting, and efforts to end the photo ID requirement for voting.

Show sources

Sources: Yellowhammer News, "Jim Zeigler: I will be the ‘watchman for election integrity’ as Secretary of State," February 16, 2022; AL.com. "State Auditor Jim Zeigler running for Alabama secretary of state," January 26, 2022; Office of the Alabama State Auditor, "Biography," accessed March 10, 2022; Facebook, "Jim Zig Zeigler," accessed March 10, 2022

This information was current as of the candidate's run for Alabama Secretary of State in 2022.

Campaign advertisements

This section includes a selection of up to three campaign advertisements per candidate released in this race, as well as links to candidates' YouTube, Vimeo, and/or Facebook video pages. If you are aware of other links that should be included, please email us.

Wes Allen

June 10, 2022

May 5, 2022

January 10, 2022

View more ads here:

Jim Zeigler

Ballotpedia did not come across any campaign ads for Jim Zeigler while conducting research on this election. If you are aware of any ads that should be included, please email us.

Election spending

Campaign finance

Candidates in this election submitted campaign finance reports to the Alabama Secretary of State office. Click here to access those reports.

Election context

Alabama Secretary of State election history

2018

See also: Alabama Secretary of State election, 2018

General election

General election for Alabama Secretary of State

Incumbent John Merrill defeated Heather Milam in the general election for Alabama Secretary of State on November 6, 2018.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	John Merrill (R)	61.0	1,032,425
	Heather Milam (D)	38.9	658,537
	Other/Write-in votes	0.1	1,064

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,692,026 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Alabama Secretary of State

Heather Milam defeated Lula Albert in the Democratic primary for Alabama Secretary of State on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Heather Milam	63.7	161,062
	Submit photo	Lula Albert	36.3	91,965

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 253,027
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Alabama Secretary of State

Incumbent John Merrill defeated Michael Johnson in the Republican primary for Alabama Secretary of State on June 5, 2018.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	John Merrill	71.6	335,852
	Michael Johnson	28.4	133,014

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 468,866
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2014

See also: Alabama secretary of state election, 2014

Secretary of State of Alabama, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	John Merrill	64.3%	733,298
	Democratic	Lula Albert-Kaigler	35.6%	406,373
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0.1%	1,271
Total Votes				1,140,942
Election results via Alabama Secretary of State

Click [show] to view election results dating to 2010 and earlier.

2010

On November 2, 2010, Robert J. Bentley won election to the office of Alabama Secretary of State. He defeated Ron Sparks (D) in the general election.

Alabama Secretary of State, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Robert J. Bentley	57.6%	860,472
	Democratic	Ron Sparks	41.9%	625,710
	Write-in	Write-in	0.5%	8,091
Total Votes				1,494,273
Election results via Alabama Secretary of State.

2006

On November 7, 2006, Bob Riley won re-election to the office of Alabama Secretary of State. He defeated Lucy Baxley (D) in the general election.

Alabama Secretary of State, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Bob Riley Incumbent	58%	717,287
	Democratic	Lucy Baxley	42%	518,750
Total Votes				1,236,037
Election results via Alabama Secretary of State.

2002

On November 5, 2002, Bob Riley won election to the office of Alabama Secretary of State. He defeated Don Siegelman (D) and John Sophocleus (L) in the general election.

Alabama Secretary of State, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Bob Riley	49.2%	672,225
	Democratic	Don Siegelman	48.9%	669,105
	Libertarian	John Sophocleus	1.7%	23,272
	Write-in	N/A	0.2%	2,451
Total Votes				1,367,053
Election results via Alabama Secretary of State.

Election analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about demographics, past elections, and partisan control of the state.

Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the state.
Statewide elections - Information about recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in the state.
State partisanship - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.

Presidential elections

	2026 → ← 2018
Alabama Secretary of State
	Democratic primary; Republican primary; Republican primary runoff; General election;
Election details
	Filing deadline: January 28, 2022
	Primary: May 24, 2022; Primary runoff: June 21, 2022; General: November 8, 2022; Pre-election incumbent(s):; John Merrill (Republican)
How to vote
	Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Voting in Alabama
Ballotpedia analysis
	Federal and state primary competitiveness; State executive elections in 2022; Impact of term limits in 2022; State government trifectas; State government triplexes; Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2022
Alabama; executive elections
	Governor; Lieutenant Governor; Attorney General; Secretary of State; Treasurer; Auditor; State Board of Education (4 seats); Agriculture Commissioner; Public Service Commissioner (2 seats)

See also: Presidential voting trends in Alabama and The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Cook PVI by congressional district

Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index for Alabama, 2022
District	Incumbent	Party	PVI
AL-01	Jerry Carl	Republican	R+16
AL-02	Barry Moore	Republican	R+17
AL-03	Mike Rogers	Republican	R+19
AL-04	Robert Aderholt	Republican	R+33
AL-05	Open (Mo Brooks)	Republican	R+17
AL-06	Gary Palmer	Republican	R+18
AL-07	Terri Sewell	Democratic	D+14

2020 presidential results by 2022 congressional district lines

2020 presidential results in congressional districts based on 2022 district lines, Alabama^[1]
District	Joe Biden	Donald Trump
Alabama's 1st	35.3%	63.6%
Alabama's 2nd	34.8%	64.2%
Alabama's 3rd	32.5%	66.6%
Alabama's 4th	18.6%	80.4%
Alabama's 5th	35.6%	62.7%
Alabama's 6th	34.4%	64.4%
Alabama's 7th	65.6%	33.6%

2012-2020

How a state's counties vote in a presidential election and the size of those counties can provide additional insights into election outcomes at other levels of government including statewide and congressional races. Below, four categories are used to describe each county's voting pattern over the 2012, 2016, and 2020 presidential elections: Solid, Trending, Battleground, and New. Click [show] on the table below for examples:

County-level voting pattern categories
Democratic
Status	2012	2016	2020
Solid Democratic	D	D	D
Trending Democratic	R	D	D
Battleground Democratic	D	R	D
New Democratic	R	R	D
Republican
Status	2012	2016	2020
Solid Republican	R	R	R
Trending Republican	D	R	R
Battleground Republican	R	D	R
New Republican	D	D	R

Following the 2020 presidential election, 77.1% of Alabamians lived in one of the state's 52 Solid Republican counties, which voted for the Republican presidential candidate in every election from 2012 to 2020, and 22.2% lived in one of 13 Solid Democratic counties. Overall, Alabama was Solid Republican, having voted for Mitt Romney (R) in 2012, Donald Trump (R) in 2016, and Donald Trump (R) in 2020. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in Alabama following the 2020 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.

Alabama county-level statistics, 2020
Solid Republican	52	77.1%
Solid Democratic	13	22.2%
Trending Republican	2	0.7%
Total voted Democratic	13	22.2%
Total voted Republican	54	77.8%

Historical voting trends

Alabama presidential election results (1900-2020)

16 Democratic wins
13 Republican wins
2 other wins

Year	1900	1904	1908	1912	1916	1920	1924	1928	1932	1936	1940	1944	1948	1952	1956	1960^[2]	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020
Winning Party	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	SR^[3]	D	D	D	R	AI^[4]	R	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

Statewide elections

This section details the results of the five most recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections held in the state.

U.S. Senate elections

See also: List of United States Senators from Alabama

The table below details the vote in the five most recent U.S. Senate races in Alabama.

U.S. Senate election results in Alabama
Race	Winner	Runner up
2020	60.1%	39.7%
2017	50.0%	48.3%
2016	64.0%	35.8%
2014	97.3%	2.8% (write-in)
2010	65.3%	34.7%
Average	67.3	32.3

Gubernatorial elections

See also: Governor of Alabama

The table below details the vote in the five most recent gubernatorial elections in Alabama.

Gubernatorial election results in Alabama
Race	Winner	Runner up
2018	59.5%	40.4%
2014	63.6%	36.2%
2010	57.9%	42.1%
2006	57.5%	41.6%
2002	49.2%	49.0%
Average	57.5	41.9

State partisanship

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Alabama's congressional delegation as of November 2022.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Alabama, November 2022
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	0	1	1
Republican	2	6	8
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	0	0
Total	2	7	9

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Alabama's top four state executive offices as of November 2022.

State executive officials in Alabama, November 2022
Office	Officeholder
Governor	Kay Ivey
Lieutenant Governor	Will Ainsworth
Secretary of State	John Merrill
Attorney General	Steve Marshall

State legislature

The tables below highlight the partisan composition of the Alabama State Legislature as of November 2022.

Alabama State Senate

Party		As of November 2022
	Democratic Party	8
	Republican Party	27
	Vacancies	0
Total		35

Alabama House of Representatives

Party		As of November 2022
	Democratic Party	28
	Republican Party	73
	Vacancies	4
Total		105

Trifecta control

As of November 2022, Alabama was a Republican trifecta, with majorities in both chambers of the state legislature and control of the governorship. The table below displays the historical trifecta status of the state.

Alabama Party Control: 1992-2022
Six years of Democratic trifectas • Twelve years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22
Governor	R	D	D	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
Senate	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

Demographics

The table below details demographic data in Alabama and compares it to the broader United States as of 2019.

Demographic Data for Alabama
	Alabama	United States
Population	5,024,279	331,449,281
Land area (sq mi)	50,646	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White	67.5%	70.4%
Black/African American	26.6%	12.6%
Asian	1.4%	5.6%
Native American	0.5%	0.8%
Pacific Islander	0%	0.2%
Other (single race)	1.5%	5.1%
Multiple	2.4%	5.2%
Hispanic/Latino	4.4%	18.2%
Education
High school graduation rate	86.9%	88.5%
College graduation rate	26.2%	32.9%
Income
Median household income	$52,035	$64,994
Persons below poverty level	16%	12.8%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2015-2020).
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

2022 battleground elections

See also: Battlegrounds

This election was a battleground race. Other 2022 battleground elections included:

External links

Suggest a link

Footnotes

↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for 2020, 2016, and 2012," accessed September 9, 2022
↑ Although he was not on the ballot, Harry F. Byrd (D) won six unpledged electoral votes in Alabama's 1960 election against Richard Nixon (R) and Democratic Party nominee John F. Kennedy. Kennedy won Alabama's popular vote and received five electoral votes.
↑ States' Rights Democratic Party
↑ American Independent Party

[1] Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for 2020, 2016, and 2012," accessed September 9, 2022

[2] Although he was not on the ballot, Harry F. Byrd (D) won six unpledged electoral votes in Alabama's 1960 election against Richard Nixon (R) and Democratic Party nominee John F. Kennedy. Kennedy won Alabama's popular vote and received five electoral votes.

[3] States' Rights Democratic Party

[4] American Independent Party

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

Alabama	State Executive Elections	News and Analysis

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Alabama Secretary of State election, 2022 (June 21 Republican primary runoff)

Candidates and election results

Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for Alabama Secretary of State

Republican primary

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Alabama Secretary of State

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Candidate comparison

Candidate profiles

Campaign advertisements

Wes Allen

Jim Zeigler

Election spending

Campaign finance

Election context

Alabama Secretary of State election history

2018

General election

General election for Alabama Secretary of State

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Alabama Secretary of State

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Alabama Secretary of State

2014

2010

2006

2002

Election analysis

Presidential elections

Cook PVI by congressional district

2020 presidential results by 2022 congressional district lines

2012-2020

Historical voting trends

Statewide elections

U.S. Senate elections

Gubernatorial elections

State partisanship

Congressional delegation

State executive

State legislature

Alabama State Senate

Alabama House of Representatives

Trifecta control

Demographics

2022 battleground elections

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

2025 Elections

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