Iowa Secretary of State election, 2026

• Congress elections
  • U.S. Congress
  • U.S. Senate
  • U.S. House
  • Congressional special elections
• State elections
  • Ballot measures
  • State executives
  • State legislatures
  • State legislature special elections
  • State supreme courts
  • Intermediate appellate courts
• Local elections
  • Ballot measures
  • Municipal government
  • School boards
  • Trial courts
  • Political recalls
  • Additional local elections
• Voter information
  • Sample ballot
  • Election calendar
  • Election results
  • Poll opening and closing times
  • Voting policies

← 2022
Iowa Secretary of State
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: March 13, 2026
Primary: June 2, 2026 General: November 3, 2026
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voting in Iowa
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
Iowa executive elections
Governor Lieutenant Governor Attorney General Secretary of State Auditor Agriculture Commissioner Treasurer

Iowa 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 Iowa Secretary of State

Ryan Peterman is running in the general election for Iowa Secretary of State on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Ryan Peterman (D)

---

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

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:

• Ryan Peterman

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

No candidate in this race has completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia is seeking 100 percent participation so voters can learn more about all the candidates on their ballots.

You can ask candidates in this race to fill out the survey by clicking their names below:

• Ryan Peterman

Voting information

See also: Voting in Iowa

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: Iowa Secretary of State election, 2022

General election

General election for Iowa Secretary of State

Incumbent Paul Pate defeated Joel Miller in the general election for Iowa Secretary of State on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Paul Pate (R)	60.0	723,250
		Joel Miller (D)	39.9	480,474
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	708

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,204,432
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Iowa Secretary of State

Joel Miller defeated Eric Van Lancker in the Democratic primary for Iowa Secretary of State on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Joel Miller	71.6	98,049
		Eric Van Lancker	28.2	38,646
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	294

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 136,989
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Iowa Secretary of State

Incumbent Paul Pate advanced from the Republican primary for Iowa Secretary of State on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Paul Pate	99.7	174,513
		Other/Write-in votes	0.3	567

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 175,080
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2018

See also: Iowa Secretary of State election, 2018

General election

General election for Iowa Secretary of State

Incumbent Paul Pate defeated Deidre DeJear and Jules Ofenbakh in the general election for Iowa Secretary of State on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Paul Pate (R)	52.7	685,780
		Deidre DeJear (D)	44.9	583,774
		Jules Ofenbakh (L)	2.4	30,881
		Other/Write-in votes	0.0	482

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,300,917 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Iowa Secretary of State

Deidre DeJear defeated Jim Mowrer in the Democratic primary for Iowa Secretary of State on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Deidre DeJear	51.2	82,221
		Jim Mowrer	48.8	78,409

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 160,630
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Iowa Secretary of State

Incumbent Paul Pate advanced from the Republican primary for Iowa Secretary of State on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Paul Pate	100.0	88,303

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 88,303
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2014

See also: Iowa secretary of state election, 2014

Secretary of State of Iowa, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Paul Pate	48.5%	529,275
	Democratic	Brad Anderson	46.6%	509,202
	Libertarian	Jake Porter	3%	32,889
	New Independent Party	Spencer Highland	1.8%	19,945
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0.1%	769
Total Votes				1,092,080
Election results via Iowa 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
• Statewide elections
• State partisanship
• Demographics

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

Cook PVI by congressional district

2024 presidential results by 2026 congressional district lines

2024 presidential results in congressional districts, Iowa

District	Kamala Harris	Donald Trump
Iowa's 1st	45.0%	54.0%
Iowa's 2nd	44.0%	54.0%
Iowa's 3rd	47.0%	52.0%
Iowa's 4th	34.0%	65.0%
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:

County-level voting pattern categories
Democratic
Status	2016	2020	2024
Solid Democratic	D	D	D
Trending Democratic	R	D	D
Battleground Democratic	D	R	D
New Democratic	R	R	D
Republican
Status	2016	2020	2024
Solid Republican	R	R	R
Trending Republican	D	R	R
Battleground Republican	R	D	R
New Republican	D	D	R

Following the 2024 presidential election, 59.6% of Iowans lived in one of the state's 93 Solid Republican counties, which voted for the Republican presidential candidate in every election from 2016 to 2024, and 34.9% lived in one of 5 Solid Democratic counties. Overall, Iowa was Solid Republican, having voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016, Donald Trump (R) in 2020, and Donald Trump (R) in 2024. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in Iowa following the 2024 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.

Iowa county-level statistics, 2024
Solid Republican	93	59.6%
Solid Democratic	5	34.9%
New Republican	1	5.4%
Total voted Democratic	5	34.9%
Total voted Republican	94	65.1%

Historical voting trends

Iowa presidential election results (1900-2024)

• 11 Democratic wins
• 21 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	D	D	R	R	D	R	R	R	D	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	R	D	D	R	R	R

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 Iowa

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

U.S. Senate election results in Iowa

Race	Winner	Runner up
2022	56.0%	43.8%
2020	51.8%	45.2%
2016	60.1%	35.7%
2014	52.1%	43.8%
2010	64.5%	33.2%
Average	56.9	40.3

Gubernatorial elections

See also: Governor of Iowa

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

Gubernatorial election results in Iowa

Race	Winner	Runner up
2022	58.0%	39.5%
2018	50.3%	47.5%
2014	59.0%	37.3%
2010	52.8%	43.2%
2006	54.0%	44.4%
Average	54.8	42.4

See also: Party control of Iowa state government

Congressional delegation

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

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Iowa
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	0	0	0
Republican	2	4	6
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	0	0
Total	2	4	6

State executive

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

State executive officials in Iowa, October 2025

Office	Officeholder
Governor	Kim Reynolds
Lieutenant Governor	Chris Cournoyer
Secretary of State	Paul Pate
Attorney General	Brenna Bird

State legislature

Iowa State Senate

Party		As of October 2025
	Democratic Party	16
	Republican Party	33
	Other	0
	Vacancies	1
Total		50

Iowa House of Representatives

Party		As of October 2025
	Democratic Party	33
	Republican Party	66
	Other	0
	Vacancies	1
Total		100

Trifecta control

Iowa Party Control: 1992-2025
Four years of Democratic trifectas  •  Eleven 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	23	24	25
Governor	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
Senate	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	S	S	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

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

Demographic Data for Iowa
	Iowa	United States
Population	3,190,369	331,449,281
Land area (sq mi)	55,853	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White	85.6%	63.4%
Black/African American	3.9%	12.4%
Asian	2.4%	5.8%
Native American	0.3%	0.9%
Pacific Islander	0.2%	0.4%
Other (single race)	2%	6.6%
Multiple	5.6%	10.7%
Hispanic/Latino	7%	19%
Education
High school graduation rate	93.2%	89.4%
College graduation rate	30.9%	35%
Income
Median household income	$73,147	$78,538
Persons below poverty level	11%	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.

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Iowa secretary of state official website

Footnotes

2026 state executive official elections

Governor

Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Florida • Georgia • Guam • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Iowa • Kansas • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Mexico • New York • Northern Mariana Islands • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • U.S. Virgin Islands • Vermont • Wisconsin • Wyoming

Lieutenant Governor

Alabama • Alaska • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Florida • Georgia • Guam • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Iowa • Kansas • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Nebraska • Nevada • New Mexico • New York • Northern Mariana Islands • Ohio • Oklahoma • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Texas • U.S. Virgin Islands • Vermont • Wisconsin

Attorney General

Alabama • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Guam • Idaho • Illinois • Iowa • Kansas • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Nebraska • Nevada • New Mexico • New York • North Dakota • Northern Mariana Islands • Ohio • Oklahoma • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Texas • Vermont • Wisconsin

Secretary of State

Alabama • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Georgia • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Nebraska • Nevada • New Mexico • North Dakota • Ohio • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Vermont • Wisconsin • Wyoming

Treasurer

Alabama • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Massachusetts • Nebraska • Nevada • New Mexico • Ohio • Oklahoma • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Vermont • Wisconsin • Wyoming

Auditor

Alabama • Arkansas • Delaware • Iowa • Massachusetts • Minnesota • Missouri • Nebraska • New Mexico • Ohio • Oklahoma • South Dakota • Vermont • Wyoming

Comptroller

California • Connecticut • Idaho • Illinois • Maryland • Nevada • New York • South Carolina • Texas

Education officials

Alabama (board of education) • Arizona (superintendent) • California (superintendent) • Colorado (board of education) • Colorado (board of regent) • District of Columbia (board of education) • Georgia (superintendent) • Guam (education board) • Idaho (superintendent) • Kansas (board of education) • Michigan (board of education) • Michigan (board of regent) • Michigan (board of trustees) • Michigan (board of governors) • Nebraska (board of education) • Nebraska (board of regents) • Nevada (board of regents) • New Mexico (board of education) • Northern Mariana Islands (board of education) • Ohio (board of education) • Oklahoma (superintendent) • South Carolina (superintendent) • Texas (board of education) • U.S. Virgin Islands (board of education) • Utah (board of education) • Wyoming (superintendent)

Commissioners

Alabama (agriculture) • Alabama (public service) • Arizona (corporation) • Arizona (mine inspector) • Arkansas (public lands) • California (board of equalization) • California (insurance) • Florida (agriculture) • Georgia (agriculture) • Georgia (labor) • Georgia (insurance) • Georgia (public service) • Guam (utilities) • Hawaii (Hawaiian affairs) • Iowa (agriculture) • Kansas (insurance) • Louisiana (public service) • Massachusetts (governor's council) • Montana (public service) • Nebraska (public service) • New Hampshire (executive council) • New Mexico (public lands) • North Dakota (agriculture) • North Dakota (public service) • North Dakota (tax) • Oklahoma (corporation) • Oklahoma (insurance) • Oklahoma (labor) • Oregon (labor) • South Carolina (agriculture) • South Dakota (public lands) • South Dakota (public utilities) • Texas (agriculture) • Texas (public lands) • Texas (railroad) • U.S. Virgin Islands (board of elections)

State executive offices

Offices

Governor • Lt. Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Superintendent of Schools • Insurance Commissioner • Controller • Agriculture Commissioner • Natural Resources Commissioner • Labor Commissioner • Public Service Commissioner

States

Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming

Elections

2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010

Features

Chart of state executive officers • Compensation • How gubernatorial vacancies are filled • How vacancies are filled in state executive offices • State executive officials serving in home states • State government trifectas • State of the state addresses • Term limits

Ballotpedia

About

Overview • What people are saying • Support Ballotpedia • Contact • Contribute • Job opportunities

---

Executive: Leslie Graves, Founder and CEO • Gwen Beattie, Chief Operating Officer

Communications: Alison Graves, Director of Communications • Carley Allensworth • Abigail Campbell • Frank Festa • Sarah Groat • Nathaniel Harwood • Dillon Redmond
External Relations: Geoff Pallay, Director of External Relations • Ken Carbullido, Vice President of Election Product and Technology Strategy • Ashley Fleming • Thomas Mardik • Hannah Nelson
Operations: Meghann Olshefski, Director of Operations • Amanda Herbert • Mandy Morris • Caroline Presnell • Kelly Rindfleisch
Tech: Matt Latourelle, Director of Technology Operations • Ryan Burch • Kirsten Corrao • Beth Dellea • Travis Eden • Tate Kamish • Margaret Kearney • Eric Lotto • Joseph Sanchez • Mary Susmitha

Contributors: Scott Rasmussen

---

Editorial Content

Josh Altic, Director of Content • Daniel Anderson, Associate Director of Elections & Data • Cory Eucalitto, Associate Director of Features • Ryan Byrne, Managing Editor of Ballot Measures • Mandy McConnell, Managing Editor of News • Doug Kronaizl, Managing Editor of Local Expansion • Abbey Smith, Managing Editor of Elections • Janie Valentine, Managing Editor of Law • Joel Williams. Managing Editor of Events • Andrew Bahl • Jaclyn Beran • Marielle Bricker • Joseph Brusgard • Emma Burlingame • Kelly Coyle • Jon Dunn • Victoria Edwards • Thomas Ellis • Nicole Fisher • Joseph Greaney • Thomas Grobben • Brianna Hosea • Molly Kehoe • Tyler King • Glorie Martinez • Norm Leahy, Senior Editor • Nathan Maxwell • Jimmy McAllister • Brandon McCauley • Ellie Mikus • Ellen Morrissey • Mackenzie Murphy • Kaley Platek • Samantha Post • Adam Powell • Annelise Reinwald • Ethan Rice • Spencer Richardson • Victoria Rose • Briana Ryan • Myj Saintyl • Maddy Salucka • Emma Soukup • Alexis Thacker • Mina Vogel • Samuel Wonacott • Trenton Woodcox