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Connecticut Secretary of State election, 2026

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2022
Connecticut Secretary of State
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General election
Election details
Filing deadline: June 9, 2026
Primary: August 11, 2026
General: November 3, 2026
How to vote
Poll times:

6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Voting in Connecticut

Ballotpedia analysis
Federal and state primary competitiveness
State executive elections in 2026
Impact of term limits in 2026
State government trifectas
State government triplexes
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
Connecticut
executive elections
Governor

Lieutenant Governor
Attorney General
Secretary of State
Comptroller
Treasurer

Connecticut is holding an election for secretary of state on November 3, 2026.

To learn more about other elections on the ballot, click here.

Candidates and election results

Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:

  • Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
  • Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for Connecticut Secretary of State

Incumbent Stephanie Thomas and Peter Lumaj are running in the general election for Connecticut Secretary of State on November 3, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Stephanie Thomas
Stephanie Thomas (D)
Image of Peter Lumaj
Peter Lumaj (R)

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Candidate profiles

There are currently no candidate profiles created for this race. Candidate profiles will appear here as they are created. Encourage the candidates in this race to complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey so that their profile will appear here. You can ask candidates in this race to fill out the survey by clicking their names below:

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Voting information

See also: Voting in Connecticut

Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.


Past elections

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2014.

2022

See also: Connecticut Secretary of State election, 2022

General election

General election for Connecticut Secretary of State

Stephanie Thomas defeated Dominic Rapini and Cynthia Jennings in the general election for Connecticut Secretary of State on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Stephanie Thomas
Stephanie Thomas (D / Working Families Party) Candidate Connection
 
55.2
 
687,714
Image of Dominic Rapini
Dominic Rapini (R)
 
42.7
 
532,218
Image of Cynthia Jennings
Cynthia Jennings (Independent Party)
 
2.0
 
25,488

Total votes: 1,245,420
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Connecticut Secretary of State

Stephanie Thomas defeated Maritza Bond in the Democratic primary for Connecticut Secretary of State on August 9, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Stephanie Thomas
Stephanie Thomas Candidate Connection
 
75.8
 
84,514
Image of Maritza Bond
Maritza Bond Candidate Connection
 
24.2
 
26,956

Total votes: 111,470
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Connecticut Secretary of State

Dominic Rapini defeated Terrie Wood in the Republican primary for Connecticut Secretary of State on August 9, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Dominic Rapini
Dominic Rapini
 
58.2
 
51,219
Image of Terrie Wood
Terrie Wood
 
41.8
 
36,749

Total votes: 87,968
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

2018

See also: Connecticut Secretary of State election, 2018

General election

General election for Connecticut Secretary of State

Incumbent Denise Merrill defeated Susan Chapman, Mike DeRosa, and Heather Gwynn in the general election for Connecticut Secretary of State on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Denise Merrill
Denise Merrill (D)
 
55.9
 
764,067
Image of Susan Chapman
Susan Chapman (R)
 
42.5
 
580,779
Image of Mike DeRosa
Mike DeRosa (G)
 
0.9
 
12,469
Image of Heather Gwynn
Heather Gwynn (L)
 
0.8
 
10,361

Total votes: 1,367,676
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Denise Merrill advanced from the Democratic primary for Connecticut Secretary of State.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Susan Chapman advanced from the Republican primary for Connecticut Secretary of State.

2014

See also: Connecticut Secretary of State election, 2014
Secretary of State of Connecticut, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngDenise Merrill Incumbent 51% 533,543
     Republican Peter Lumaj 46.7% 489,515
     Green Mike DeRosa 2.3% 24,038
Total Votes 1,047,096
Election results via Connecticut 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.


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

Cook PVI by congressional district

Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index for Connecticut, 2026
District Incumbent PVI
Connecticut's 1st John B. Larson D+12
Connecticut's 2nd Joe Courtney D+4
Connecticut's 3rd Rosa DeLauro D+8
Connecticut's 4th Jim Himes D+13
Connecticut's 5th Jahana Hayes D+3

2024 presidential results by 2026 congressional district lines

2024 presidential results in congressional districts, Connecticut
District Kamala Harris Democratic Party Donald Trump Republican Party
Connecticut's 1st 61.0% 38.0%
Connecticut's 2nd 53.0% 45.0%
Connecticut's 3rd 56.0% 42.0%
Connecticut's 4th 61.0% 38.0%
Connecticut's 5th 52.0% 46.0%
Source: The Downballot

2016-2024

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 2016, 2020, and 2024 presidential elections: Solid, Trending, Battleground, and New. Click [show] on the table below for examples:


Following the 2024 presidential election, 91.6% of Connecticuters lived in one of the state's 6 Solid Democratic counties, which voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in every election from 2016 to 2024, and 8.4% lived in one of 2 Solid Republican counties. Overall, Connecticut was Solid Democratic, having voted for Hillary Clinton (D) in 2016, Joe Biden (D) in 2020, and Kamala Harris (D) in 2024. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in Connecticut following the 2024 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.

Historical voting trends

Connecticut presidential election results (1900-2024)

  • 16 Democratic wins
  • 16 Republican wins
Year 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Winning Party R R R D R R R R R D D D R R R D D D R R R R R D D D D D D D D D

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 Connecticut

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

U.S. Senate election results in Connecticut
Race Winner Runner up
2024 58.6%Democratic Party 39.7%Republican Party
2022 57.5%Democratic Party 42.5%Republican Party
2018 59.5%Democratic Party 39.4%Republican Party
2016 63.2%Democratic Party 34.6%Republican Party
2012 54.8%Democratic Party 43.1%Republican Party
Average 58.7 39.9

Gubernatorial elections

See also: Governor of Connecticut

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

Gubernatorial election results in Connecticut
Race Winner Runner up
2022 56.0%Democratic Party 43.0%Republican Party
2018 49.4%Democratic Party 46.2%Republican Party
2014 50.7%Democratic Party 48.2%Republican Party
2010 49.5%Democratic Party 49.0%Republican Party
2006 63.2%Republican Party 35.5%Democratic Party
Average 53.8 44.4
See also: Party control of Connecticut state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Connecticut's congressional delegation as of October 2025.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Connecticut
Party U.S. Senate U.S. House Total
Democratic 2 5 7
Republican 0 0 0
Independent 0 0 0
Vacancies 0 0 0
Total 2 5 7

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Connecticut's top four state executive offices as of October 2025.

State executive officials in Connecticut, October 2025
Office Officeholder
Governor Democratic Party Ned Lamont
Lieutenant Governor Democratic Party Susan Bysiewicz
Secretary of State Democratic Party Stephanie Thomas
Attorney General Democratic Party William Tong

State legislature

Connecticut State Senate

Party As of October 2025
     Democratic Party 25
     Republican Party 11
     Other 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 36

Connecticut House of Representatives

Party As of October 2025
     Democratic Party 102
     Republican Party 49
     Other 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 151

Trifecta control

Connecticut Party Control: 1992-2025
Fifteen years of Democratic trifectas  •  No 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 23 24 25
Governor I I I R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
Senate D D D R R D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
House D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D

The table below details demographic data in Connecticut and compares it to the broader United States as of 2023.

Demographic Data for Connecticut
Connecticut United States
Population 3,605,944 331,449,281
Land area (sq mi) 4,842 3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White 67.6% 63.4%
Black/African American 10.7% 12.4%
Asian 4.8% 5.8%
Native American 0.3% 0.9%
Pacific Islander 0.3% 0.4%
Other (single race) 7.1% 6.6%
Multiple 9.5% 10.7%
Hispanic/Latino 17.8% 19%
Education
High school graduation rate 91.3% 89.4%
College graduation rate 41.9% 35%
Income
Median household income $93,760 $78,538
Persons below poverty level 10% 12.4%
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 2018-2023).
**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.

Secretary of State elections in 2026

There are 26 secretary of state seats on the ballot in 2026.

See also

Connecticut State Executive Elections News and Analysis
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Connecticut State Executive Offices
Connecticut State Legislature
Connecticut Courts
2025202420232022202120202019201820172016
Connecticut elections: 2025202420232022202120202019201820172016
Party control of state government
State government trifectas
State of the state addresses
Partisan composition of governors

External links

Footnotes