Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.
Ohio Secretary of State election, 2014
2018 →
← 2010
|
 |
May 6, 2014 |
November 4, 2014 |
Jon Husted  |
Jon Husted |
 |
Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General Down Ballot Treasurer, Auditor |
 |
The Ohio Secretary of State election took place on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Jon Husted (R) was first elected in 2010 and won re-election against Democratic state Sen. Nina Turner and Ohio Libertarian Party chair Kevin Knedler.[1]
The secretary of state's office was held by a Republican and a Democrat over the previous decade, as indicated in the past elections section. The race background and campaign themes sections provide details about the history of this race including endorsements and major issues. This seat was a focus of SOS for Democracy and SOS for SOS, outside groups who were lobbying for liberal and conservative secretary of state candidates, respectively.[2][3]
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. Ohio law provides for closed primaries, meaning a voter to be affiliated with a party to vote in that party's primary. However a voter of any affiliation can choose the ballot they would like to vote on the day of the primary and their choice may be regarded as registration with that party.[4][5]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Candidates
General election
Jon Husted 
- Incumbent
Nina Turner - Ohio State Senator[6]
Kevin Knedler - state Libertarian Party chairman[7][8]
Disqualified
Aaron Keith Harris - Writer and communications consultant[9]
Results
General election
| Secretary of State of Ohio, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Jon Husted Incumbent |
59.8% | 1,811,020 | |
| Democratic | Nina Turner | 35.5% | 1,074,475 | |
| Libertarian | Kevin Knedler | 4.7% | 141,292 | |
| Total Votes | 3,026,787 | |||
| Election results via Ohio Secretary of State | ||||
Race background
Endorsements
Nina Turner earned the endorsement of The Plain Dealer in Cleveland and Jon Husted received the endorsement of The Cincinnati Enquirer.[10][11]
Campaign finance
2013
Mid-year campaign financial reports detailing the first six months of the year were due on July 31, 2013. Incumbent Husted's report showed he began the year with $1.05 million in his campaign account. Through June he raised $593,600. Factoring in expenditures, he was left with $1.6 million on hand.
Challenger Nina Turner began the year with $8,300 and raised $204,000 through June. Her campaign spent $83,500, leaving her with $128,750 on hand.[12]
Campaign themes
All three candidates for attorney general met with the Northeast Ohio Media Group for an interview to determine The Plain Dealer's endorsement in this race. During the interview, Husted defended his attempts to eliminate "Golden Week," which refers to the week where voter registration and early voting periods overlap. He noted that predecessor Jennifer Brunner (D) supported a similar measure along with Democrats in the Ohio State Legislature. The United States Supreme Court upheld the state's plan to cut early voting by one week in a 5-4 decision in late September. Turner criticized Husted and Ohio Republicans for weakening access to the polls for minority and low-income voters throughout the state. Kevin Knedler pointed out that voters should not strictly think in terms of Democrats or Republicans for such an important office, noting that Libertarians were the mainstream alternative to the major parties.[13][14]
Past elections
2010
On November 2, 2010, Jon Husted won election to the office of Ohio Secretary of State. He defeated Maryellen O'Shaughnessy (D) and Charles Earl (L) in the general election.
| Ohio Secretary of State, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Jon Husted |
53.7% | 2,013,674 | |
| Democratic | Maryellen O'Shaughnessy | 41.5% | 1,555,705 | |
| Libertarian | Charles Earl | 4.9% | 182,977 | |
| Total Votes | 3,752,356 | |||
| Election results via Ohio Secretary of State. | ||||
2006
On November 7, 2006, Jennifer L. Brunner won election to the office of Ohio Secretary of State. She defeated Greg Hartmann (R), John A. Eastman (NP) and Timothy J. Kettler (NP) in the general election.
| Ohio Secretary of State, 2006 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Jennifer L. Brunner |
55% | 2,104,114 | |
| Republican | Greg Hartmann | 40.4% | 1,546,454 | |
| Nonpartisan | John A. Eastman | 2.5% | 94,706 | |
| Nonpartisan | Timothy J. Kettler | 2% | 78,080 | |
| Total Votes | 3,823,354 | |||
| Election results via Ohio Secretary of State. | ||||
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 $6,226,950 during the election. This information was last updated on April 3, 2015.[15]
| Campaign Contribution Totals | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Office | Result | Contributions | |
| Jon Husted |
Ohio Secretary of State |  |
$4,545,015 | |
| Nina Turner |
Ohio Secretary of State |  |
$1,679,496 | |
| Kevin Knedler |
Ohio Secretary of State | |
$2,439 | |
| Grand Total Raised | $6,226,950 | |||
Key deadlines
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| February 5, 2014 | Filing deadline |
| May 6, 2014 | Primary election |
| November 4, 2014 | General election |
| November 25, 2014 | Completion of state canvass of vote results |
| January 12, 2015 | Inauguration of all state-wide executive officeholders |
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Ohio + secretary + state + election + 2014"
See also
- Ohio Secretary of State
- Ohio state executive official elections, 2014
- State executive official elections, 2014
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ New York Times, "Election 2014 – Ohio," accessed November 4, 2014
- ↑ SOS for Democracy, "Races to Watch," accessed October 23, 2014
- ↑ SOS for SOS, "Home," accessed October 23, 2014
- ↑ Ohio Laws and Administrative Codes, "Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 3513.19," accessed September 5, 2025
- ↑ Ohio Laws and Administrative Codes, "Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 3513.05," accessed September 5, 2025
- ↑ Cleveland.com, "Ed FitzGerald and Nina Turner crack first draft of Ohio Democrats' statewide slate for 2014," March 27, 2013
- ↑ The Plain Dealer, "Libertarian, Green parties post write-in candidates for primary in hopes of reaching November ballot," February 26, 2014
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "Results," accessed May 9, 2014
- ↑ Libertarian Party of Ohio, "Aaron Keith Harris," accessed December 17, 2013
- ↑ Cleveland.com, "Nina Turner for Ohio secretary of state: endorsement editorial," October 14, 2014
- ↑ Cincinnati.com, "Endorsement: Jon Husted for secretary of state," October 21, 2014
- ↑ Cleveland Plain Dealer, "Secretary of State Jon Husted holds large advantage in fundraising over challenger, Sen. Nina Turner ," July 31, 2013
- ↑ Cleveland.com, "Jon Husted and Nina Turner spar over early voting: 5 observations from their endorsement interview," October 9, 2014
- ↑ The New York Times, "Court Decisions on Voting Rules Sow Confusion in State Races," October 7, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "Overview of Ohio 2014 elections," accessed April 7, 2015
 |
State of Ohio Columbus (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
