Iowa Secretary of State election, 2014

2018 → ← 2010

Iowa Secretary of State Election

Primary Date: June 3, 2014

General Election Date: November 4, 2014

November 4 Election Winner: Paul Pate

Incumbent prior to election: Matt Schultz

Iowa State Executive Elections Top Ballot Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General Down Ballot Treasurer, Auditor, Agriculture Commissioner

The Iowa Secretary of State election took place on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Matt Schultz (R) was first elected in 2010 and was eligible to seek re-election in 2014. He decided not to seek re-election to the office, opting to run for a U.S. House seat.

Former Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate (R), who previously served as secretary of state from 1995 to 1999, won election to a four-year term.

Pate faced Brad Anderson (D), Jake Porter (L) and New Independent Party candidate Spencer Highland. Learn more about where the candidates stood on the issues by jumping to the campaign themes section and debates section.

During the general election, this seat was the focus of SOS for Democracy and SOS for SOS, outside groups who were lobbying for liberal and conservative secretary of state candidates, respectively.

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. In Iowa, state law provides for a closed primary where every voter must be affiliated with a party in order to participate in its primary. However, a voter can change his or her political party affiliation on Election Day, creating what is effectively an open primary.

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Candidates

General election

Paul Pate - Former Secretary of State
Brad Anderson - Political consultant, former gubernatorial aide
Jake Porter - Member of the Libertarian National Committee and 2010 nominee
New Independent Party, Spencer Highland

Filed for other office

Matt Schultz - Incumbent

Results

General election

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

Campaign themes

The following sections detail the policy positions offered by candidates for Iowa Secretary of State in 2014. Each section is a verbatim quote of material from candidate websites.

Note: Spencer Highland did not have a campaign website.

Brad Anderson

“	As Secretary of State, I will focus our time and resources to find new ways to encourage Iowans to vote; to ensure our right to vote is kept safe and secure; and to make it easier to compile and file information we need to start or maintain a business. I believe we can do this by tapping the Internet and other digital tools, as well as fostering a sense of old-fashioned collaboration. Iowa has a history of clean and fair elections, which we must work hard to maintain. Using technology and innovation we can find stronger, less expensive and less burdensome ways to protect against potential fraud. Our taxpayer dollars should be used to maintain the integrity of Iowa’s electoral process, not wasted on partisan actions that intimidate voters and suppress turnout. We value civic participation, innovation and fairness, and Iowa’s reputation is on the line. Together, we can build on our strengths to ensure Iowa remains an innovative beacon with an electoral process that is a model for the nation. I look forward to meeting with Iowans across the state and finding solutions to do more that cost less.	”
—Brad Anderson's campaign website, (2014)

Paul Pate

“	With the secretary of state office becoming an open seat, Iowa needs a proven leader who will promote participation in the election process while ensuring safeguards to prevent voter fraud and serve the business community without political motives. Iowans do not want nor can they afford to have the office of chief elections commissioner for the state occupied by a partisan political operative from either party. I have served the people of Iowa as Secretary of State and hold the proven experience to be that nonpartisan leader we desire.	”
—Paul Pate's campaign website, (2014)

Jake Porter

“	Jake Porter is the only candidate who has agreed to cut his salary in half if elected, is serious about restoring voting rights of those who have served their time, and is the only candidate who is independent of the two major political parties. Fiscal Responsibility and A Transparent Office: Maintain An Independent Office Use technology to make the office more efficient and effective Cut his own salary in half by over $50,000 a year which is in line with the median Iowa household income. (Don’t feel bad for Jake. Despite taking a pay cut, Jake’s part-time private investments and business ventures will more than make up for any pay cut he takes and Jake does not plan to serve decades in government) Improve The Voting Process: Allow online voter registration in the state of Iowa like many other states have done Work to develop a secure system that allows Iowans to vote anywhere in the state for their local elections. This can be accomplished by having a system in place that prints your local paper ballot and is tied into a real-time system (retail stores use a similar system for inventory) to make sure someone doesn’t attempt to vote twice. (Note: The technology exists, but upgrading all County Auditor offices and the Secretary of State’s office, securing it, and testing it could take several years before it could be implemented) Fight fraud without disenfranchising voters Maintain Iowa’s simple paper ballot and protect our elections by fighting online voting machines that can easily be compromised Ask the Governor to restore voting rights to felons who have served their time and paid for their crime Make It Easier To Do Business Make it easier to start a business by improved online filings, providing how-to-guides, and easy forms to fill out Stop dangerous ideas to promote one business over another by adding economic development into the Secretary of State’s office Fight legislation that would include placing bureaucratic government into the Secretary of State’s office which would greatly slow down the hiring process and drive up costs of doing business in Iowa Customer Service Each customer (candidate, business owner) that uses the Secretary of State’s office will be asked to provide a customer satisfaction survey so Jake can implement better ideas and reward good customer service. The layout of the Secretary of State’s office will re-designed to make it easier to file paperwork and eliminate inefficiencies in the Secretary of State’s office.	”
—Jake Porter's campaign website, (2014)

Debates

October 3 debate

Paul Pate and Brad Anderson discussed their views on voter ID and absentee ballots during a debate for the public affairs program Iowa Press. Pate argued on behalf of a voter ID requirement, citing high bipartisan support in polls and the need to protect the integrity of elections. Anderson argued that a new voter ID law was unnecessary as state law already allowed election inspectors to ask for identification if they suspect fraud.

Pate and Anderson also discussed different opinions regarding the use of third-party groups to deliver absentee ballots to polling locations. This practice, used to increase voter turnout by both parties, was criticized by Pate because of the potential for ballot manipulation by political operatives. He also argued that it was easy to return an absentee ballot by mail. Anderson countered that third-party groups ensure timely delivery of absentee ballots as elections near and protect the rights of voters with disabilities.

Past elections

2010

Secretary of State of Iowa, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Matt Schultz	49.8%	537,758
	Democratic	Michael Mauro Incumbent	47%	508,121
	Libertarian	Jake Porter	3.1%	33,854
	Independent	Write-in votes	0.1%	548
Total Votes				1,080,281
Election results via Iowa Secretary of State

2006

Secretary of State of Iowa, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Michael Mauro	53.6%	541,234
	Republican	Mary Ann Hanusa	46.3%	467,561
	Independent	Scattering	0.1%	1,157
Total Votes				1,009,952

2002

Secretary of State of Iowa, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Chet Culver	53.5%	526,600
	Republican	Mike Hartwig	42.7%	420,290
	Libertarian	Sylvia Sanders Olson	2.2%	21,434
	Green	Don Arenz	1.7%	16,366
	Independent	Write-in votes	0%	351
Total Votes				985,041

Campaign finance

Comprehensive donor information for this election has been collected by Follow the Money. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of $750,865 during the election. This information was last updated on May 13, 2015.

Campaign Contribution Totals
Candidate	Office	Result	Contributions
Brad Anderson	Iowa Secretary of State		$484,999
Paul Pate	Iowa Secretary of State		$255,981
Jake Porter	Iowa Secretary of State		$9,885
Spencer Highland	Iowa Secretary of State		$0
Grand Total Raised			$750,865

Key deadlines

Deadline	Event
March 14, 2014	Filing deadline (Major party candidates)
June 3, 2014	Primary election
August 15, 2014	Filing deadline (other candidates)
November 4, 2014	General election
December 1, 2014	State Canvass of general election votes deadline
January 1, 2015	Inauguration day for attorney general, secretary of state, auditor and treasurer
January 13, 2015	Inauguration day for governor and lieutenant governor

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term "Iowa + Secretary + State + Election"

Iowa Secretary of State election, 2014 News Feed

See also

• Iowa Secretary of State
• Iowa state executive official elections, 2014
• State executive official elections, 2014

External links

Suggest a link

• Office of the Secretary of State of Iowa