Election results, 2025: Secretaries of State

	« 2024
	View all 2025 election results
Results by office type
	State; State executive officials; Governors; State government trifectas; State government triplexes; State legislatures; Attorneys General; Secretaries of State; State financial officers; State supreme courts
Election analysis
	Incumbents defeated in state legislative elections; State legislative veto-proof majorities; State legislative races decided by fewer than 100 votes; State legislative margin of victory analysis; State legislative seats that changed party control; Minor-party candidates who won more than the margin of victory; Results of elected officials seeking other offices; Partisan balance of mayors of the 100 largest cities by population; Candidates with the same last names;
Elections by state
	AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingSubmit

Heading into the 2025 elections, there were 26 Republican secretaries of state and 21 Democratic secretaries of state. The office does not exist in Alaska, Hawaii, and Utah.

In 2025, there were no direct elections for secretary of state across the country. However, there were two elections for governor in New Jersey and Virginia in which the winner of the election could pick the next secretary of state.

In those elections, Democrats won both contests, meaning a Democratic governor will pick the next secretary of state in these states. Because Democrats gained one governorship, they also gained one secretary of state. After these elections, Republicans hold 25 secretaries of state to Democrats 22.

Ballotpedia considered the gubernatorial elections in both states to be battlegrounds. To read more about Ballotpedia's gubernatorial coverage, click here. To read more about Ballotpedia's coverage of other state executive offices such as lieutenant governor or attorney general, click here.

Explore Ballotpedia's coverage of these elections:

Offices up for election in 2025
A table and map of which secretaries of state are affected by elections in 2025.
Read more
Partisan balance of all secretaries of state
A table and map showing the partisan balance of secretaries of state nationwide, and how election results shift them.
Read more
Changes in triplex status
A map of triplex changes as a result of the elections
Read more
Partisan control history
The history of how many secretaries of state were affiliated with a party from 1977 to the present
Read more
Responsibilities of secretaries of state
A map of the responsibility of secretaries of state across the country.
Read more
Analysis of state elections, 2025
An analysis of different types of elections across the country
Read more

Recent news

All times Eastern Standard Time

Nov. 4, 2025

9:27 p.m.: Mikie Sherrill (D) won the New Jersey gubernatorial election, defeating Jack Ciattarelli (R). As the governor appoints the secretary of state, this meant a Democratic hold.
8:00 p.m.: Abigail Spanberger (D) won the Virginia gubernatorial election, defeating Winsome Earle-Sears (R). As the governor appoints the secretary of state, this meant a Democratic gain.

Offices up for election in 2025

While no secretary of states were up for election in 2025, the outcomes of two gubernatorial contests affected which party got to appoint the secretary of state.

The table below highlights the partisan balance of secretaries of state, before and after the election.

The map below highlights states that held secretary of state elections in 2025 by the party of the winning candidate.

Partisan balance of all secretaries of state

Heading into the 2025 elections, there were 26 Republican secretaries of state and 21 Democratic secretaries of state. The table below highlights the partisan balance of all 47 secretaries of state before and after the 2025 elections.

The map below highlights each state by the party of its secretary of state once the candidates elected in the 2025 elections are sworn in.

Changes in triplex status

Triplexes

See also: State government triplexes

A state government triplex is a term used to describe when a state's governor, attorney general, and secretary of state are all members of the same party.

As of December 29, 2025, there are 25 Republican triplexes, 20 Democratic triplexes, and 5 divided governments where neither party holds triplex control.

The following map highlights the change in the triplex status of state governments after the 2025 elections.

Partisan control history

Below is a chart depicting the partisan control history of secretaries of state from 1992 to 2025.

Responsibilities of secretaries of state

In 36 states, the secretary of state is the chief election officer of the state. In 11 states, the secretary of state is responsible for certifying final election results. In 2025, the results of the governor's election in one state, New Jersey, will affect who is picked as the state's chief election officer heading into the 2026 elections.

The following map shows the role of the secretary of state across the country.

Analysis of state elections, 2025

See also: Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2025

State legislative elections

See also: State legislative elections, 2025

As of December 29th, 2025, Republicans controlled 55.38% of all state legislative seats nationally, while Democrats held 43.46%. Republicans held a majority in 57 chambers, and Democrats held the majority in 39 chambers. Two chambers (Alaska House and Alaska Senate) were organized under multipartisan, power-sharing coalitions. One chamber (Minnesota House of Representatives) was split evenly between both parties.