Election results, 2025: Secretaries of State
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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 are no direct elections for secretary of state across the country. However, there are two elections for governor in New Jersey and Virginia in which the winner of the election could pick the next secretary of state. Heading into the election, New Jersey has a Democratic governor, and Virginia has a Republican governor.
Ballotpedia considers the 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.
- Offices up for election in 2025A table and map of which secretaries of state are affected by elections in 2025.
- Partisan balance of all secretaries of stateA table and map showing the partisan balance of secretaries of state nationwide, and how election results shift them.
- Changes in triplex statusA map of triplex changes as a result of the elections
- Partisan control historyThe history of how many secretaries of state were affiliated with a party from 1977 to the present
- Responsibilities of secretaries of stateA map of the responsibility of secretaries of state across the country.
- Analysis of state elections, 2025An analysis of different types of elections across the country
Offices up for election in 2025
While no secretary of states are up for election in 2025, the outcomes of two gubernatorial contests will affect which party gets 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 holding 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 October 28, 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
State legislative elections
- See also: State legislative elections, 2025
As of October 28th, 2025, Republicans controlled 55.4% of all state legislative seats nationally, while Democrats held 43.65%. 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.
| Partisan balance of all 7,386 state legislative seats | ||||||||
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| Legislative chamber | 
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 Other
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Vacant | ||||
| State senates | 831 | 1,120 | 5 | 17 | ||||
| State houses | 2,393 | 2,972 | 20 | 28 | ||||
| Total: | 3,224
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4,092
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25
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45 | ||||
Tap the box below to show more analysis articles related to the 2025 state legislative elections.
- Ballotpedia's Top 10 Elections to Watch, 2025
- Annual Competitiveness Report
- State legislative special elections
- Primary election competitiveness in state government, 2025
- Impact of term limits
- Trifecta vulnerability in the 2025 elections
- Data on incumbents defeated in 2025
- Characteristics of incumbents defeated in 2025
- Veto-proof state legislatures and opposing party governors in the 2025 elections
- Contested primaries
- Open seats
- Incumbents in contested primaries
- Major party competition
- Unconstested incumbents
State executive elections
- See also: State executive official elections, 2025
State executive offices up for election in 2025 include two gubernatorial seats, two lieutenant gubernatorial seats, and one attorney general seat. Including down-ballot races, there are eight state executive seats up for election across four states in 2025.[1]
Tap the box below to show more analysis articles related to the 2025 state executive elections.
- Ballotpedia's Top 10 Elections to Watch, 2025
- Annual Competitiveness Report
- State executive official elections overview
- Primary election competitiveness in state government, 2025
- Gubernatorial elections
- Secretary of State elections
- Attorney General elections
- Historical and potential changes in trifectas
- State government trifectas
- Endorsements of school board members by state executive officeholders and candidates, 2025
- Impact of term limits on state executive elections
- Veto-proof state legislatures and opposing party governors
State judicial elections
- See also: State judicial elections, 2025
Tap the box below to show more analysis articles related to the 2025 state judicial elections.
See also
- Secretary of State elections, 2025
- Election results, 2025
- Election results, 2025: Governors
- Election results, 2025: State government triplexes
- Election results, 2025: State legislatures
- State executive official elections, 2025
- State government triplexes
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State ballot measures
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State judges
Local judges
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Recalls
Footnotes
- ↑ Ballotpedia describes the offices of governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and secretary of state as top-ballot state executive offices. Down-ballot state executive offices that exist in all 50 states include superintendent of schools, insurance commissioner, agriculture commissioner, labor commissioner, and public service commissioner. Examples of other down-ballot state executive offices include treasurer, auditor, and comptroller.
