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Ohio Secretary of State election, 2022 (May 3 Republican primary)

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Ohio Secretary of State
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: February 2, 2022
Primary: May 3, 2022
General: November 8, 2022
Pre-election incumbent(s):
Frank LaRose (Republican)
How to vote
Poll times: 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Voting in Ohio
Ballotpedia analysis
Federal and state primary competitiveness
State executive elections in 2022
Impact of term limits in 2022
State government trifectas
State government triplexes
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2022
Ohio
executive elections
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Incumbent Frank LaRose defeated John Adams in the May 3, 2022, Republican Party primary for Ohio Secretary of State. The Toledo Blade's Liz Skalka wrote, "The challenge to Mr. LaRose's right is an example of the blowback more establishment‑friendly Republicans are seeing this election cycle, including in Ohio's gubernatorial and Senate contests."[1]

LaRose was elected Ohio Secretary of State in 2018, defeating Kathleen Clyde (D) 51% to 47%. He served in the U.S. Army and worked as a business manager and project lead for a consulting firm. LaRose represented Ohio State Senate District 27 from 2011 to 2018. LaRose emphasized his experience in the Ohio Senate and as secretary of state, saying he "sponsored legislation to modernize online voter registration, audit election results to verify their accuracy, cut burdensome regulation on small business, and protect our freedoms and values."[2] LaRose received endorsements from former President Donald Trump (R) and at least 10 members of Congress, including Rep. Bill Johnson (R) and Sen. Rob Portman (R).[3][4]

Adams served in the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy and founded Francis Furniture Store. He represented Ohio House of Representatives District 85 from 2007-2014. Adams also ran for Ohio State Senate District 12 in 2016 but was defeated by Matt Huffman (R) in the Republican primary 64% to 36%. Adams said "there were shenanigans that went on" in the 2020 election and "there are questions that have not been resolved yet."[5] Adams said he "has had the life experience – as a Navy SEAL, as a small businessman, as a civic leader, as a husband and father – to successfully protect and advance our common values."[6] Ohio Value Voters, a 501(c)(4) organization, whose "purpose has been to educate, inform, and influence voters and elected officials," endorsed Adams.[7][8]

Election security and allegations of voter fraud in the 2020 general election were key issues in the race. Adams said he ran because, referring to the 2020 presidential election, "we had an election two years ago, and I woke up the next morning and I said, 'You gotta be kidding me. There’s no way that Trump lost. No way.'"

LaRose said, “Elections are run better and more honestly than really I think they ever have been," but also said the "mainstream media is trying to minimize voter fraud to suit their narrative" and "President Donald Trump is right to say that voter fraud is a serious problem."[9]

The secretary is the state's chief election officer and keeper of the state seal. They license businesses and corporations and keep records of all official gubernatorial actions.[10] A Republican has held the Ohio secretary of state office since 2010, when incumbent Jennifer L. Brunner (D) vacated the office and Jon Husted (R) defeated Maryellen O'Shaughnessy (D) 54% to 42%.

This page focuses on Ohio's Republican Party Secretary of State primary. For more in-depth information on Ohio's Democratic Secretary of State primary and the general election, see the following pages:

Candidates and election results

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Ohio Secretary of State

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Frank LaRose
Frank LaRose
 
64.6
 
613,378
Image of John Adams
John Adams
 
35.4
 
335,457

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 948,835
Candidate Connection = 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

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Candidate comparison

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff compiled a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy.[11]

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Frank LaRose

Image of Frank LaRose

WebsiteFacebookTwitterYouTube

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: Yes

Political Office: 

  • Ohio Secretary of State (2019-present)
  • Ohio State Senate (2011-2018) 

Biography:  LaRose earned his B.S. in Consumer Affairs and Business from Ohio State University in 2007. His professional experience includes working as a business manager and project lead for a consulting firm. He served in the United States Army from 1998 to 2007 and reached the rank of Sergeant First Class.


Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

LaRose said he "oversaw a comprehensive upgrade of elections infrastructure to protect against malicious actors, and he worked across party lines to combat foreign disinformation campaigns" during his tenure as secretary of state.

LaRose said he "has streamlined new business filing processes while cutting office expenses. Over the first two years of his term Ohio set consecutive records for new business creation."

LaRose said he "has consistently fought against government meddling in the free market earning him recognition from the American Conservative Union."

Show sources

Sources: LaRose for Secretary of State, "Accomplishments," accessed February 23, 2022; Project Vote Smart, "Biography of Sen. Frank LaRose," accessed February 23, 2022

This information was current as of the candidate's run for Ohio Secretary of State in 2022.

John Adams

Image of John Adams

WebsiteFacebook

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: 

  • Ohio House of Representatives (2007-2014)

Biography:  Adams earned his diploma from Celina Senior High School. He later attended Mesa Community College and Edison State Community College. His professional experience includes working as the owner and operator of Francis Furniture Store. He served in the United States Navy as a Navy SEAL.


Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Adams said, "I’m running to ensure the integrity of Ohio’s elections by promoting common sense Voter ID laws, forensic audits, and preventing outside entities from influencing our election."

Adams said he "had the life experience – as a Navy SEAL, as a small businessman, as a civic leader, as a husband and father of seven – to successfully promote and protect our common values."

Adams said he "lives his life by Integrity, Honor, and Honesty and believes the rest of his state should adhere to the same standards, especially when it comes to elections."

Show sources

Sources: John Adams for Ohio Secretary of State, "Home," accessed February 23, 2022; Project Vote Smart, "John Adams' Biography," accessed February 23, 2022

This information was current as of the candidate's run for Ohio Secretary of State in 2022.

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 completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.


Campaign advertisements

This section includes a selection of up to three campaign advertisements per candidate released in this race, as well as links to candidates' YouTube, Vimeo, and/or Facebook video pages. If you are aware of other links that should be included, please email us.

Republican Party Frank LaRose

May 17, 2021

View more ads here:


Republican Party John Adams

Have a link to John Adam's campaign ads on YouTube? Email us.


Endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

Click the links below to see official endorsement lists published on candidate campaign websites for any candidates that make that information available. If you are aware of a website that should be included, please email us.

Election competitiveness

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics, when available. No polls were available for this election. To notify us of polls published in this election, please email us.


Election spending

Campaign finance

The tables below contain data from financial reports submitted to state agencies. The data is gathered and made available by Transparency USA. Transparency USA tracks loans separately from total contributions. View each candidates’ loan totals, if any, by clicking “View More” in the table below and learn more about this data here.

Satellite spending

See also: Satellite spending

Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.[12][13][14]

If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.

By candidate By election

Election context

Ohio Secretary of State election history

2018

See also: Ohio Secretary of State election, 2018

General election

General election for Ohio Secretary of State

Frank LaRose defeated Kathleen Clyde and Dustin Nanna in the general election for Ohio Secretary of State on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Frank LaRose
Frank LaRose (R)
 
50.7
 
2,210,356
Image of Kathleen Clyde
Kathleen Clyde (D)
 
47.0
 
2,049,944
Image of Dustin Nanna
Dustin Nanna (L)
 
2.4
 
103,392

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 4,363,692
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Candidate Connection = 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 Ohio Secretary of State

Kathleen Clyde advanced from the Democratic primary for Ohio Secretary of State on May 8, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Kathleen Clyde
Kathleen Clyde
 
100.0
 
514,959

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.

Total votes: 514,959
Candidate Connection = 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 Ohio Secretary of State

Frank LaRose advanced from the Republican primary for Ohio Secretary of State on May 8, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Frank LaRose
Frank LaRose
 
100.0
 
606,697

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.

Total votes: 606,697
Candidate Connection = 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

2014

See also: Ohio secretary of state election, 2014

Republican Jon Husted won re-election on November 4, 2014.

Secretary of State of Ohio, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngJon 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


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

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

Cook PVI by congressional district

Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index for Ohio, 2022
District Incumbent Party PVI
Ohio's 1st Steve Chabot Ends.png Republican D+2
Ohio's 2nd Brad Wenstrup Ends.png Republican R+25
Ohio's 3rd Joyce Beatty Electiondot.png Democratic D+20
Ohio's 4th Jim Jordan Ends.png Republican R+20
Ohio's 5th Bob Latta Ends.png Republican R+15
Ohio's 6th Bill Johnson Ends.png Republican R+16
Ohio's 7th Open Ends.png Republican R+7
Ohio's 8th Warren Davidson Ends.png Republican R+14
Ohio's 9th Marcy Kaptur Electiondot.png Democratic R+3
Ohio's 10th Mike Turner Ends.png Republican R+4
Ohio's 11th Shontel Brown Electiondot.png Democratic D+28
Ohio's 12th Troy Balderson Ends.png Republican R+18
Ohio's 13th Open Electiondot.png Democratic R+1
Ohio's 14th David Joyce Ends.png Republican R+9
Ohio's 15th Mike Carey Ends.png Republican R+6


2020 presidential results by 2022 congressional district lines

2020 presidential results in congressional districts based on 2022 district lines, Ohio[15]
District Joe Biden Democratic Party Donald Trump Republican Party
Ohio's 1st 53.5% 45.0%
Ohio's 2nd 26.7% 72.0%
Ohio's 3rd 71.1% 27.4%
Ohio's 4th 31.4% 67.1%
Ohio's 5th 35.8% 62.6%
Ohio's 6th 35.0% 63.7%
Ohio's 7th 44.8% 54.0%
Ohio's 8th 38.3% 60.3%
Ohio's 9th 47.7% 50.6%
Ohio's 10th 47.4% 50.9%
Ohio's 11th 78.3% 20.7%
Ohio's 12th 33.8% 64.7%
Ohio's 13th 50.7% 47.9%
Ohio's 14th 41.9% 56.8%
Ohio's 15th 45.8% 52.6%


2012-2020

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 2012, 2016, and 2020 presidential elections: Solid, Trending, Battleground, and New. Click [show] on the table below for examples:


Following the 2020 presidential election, 43.4% of Ohioans lived in one of the state's 71 Solid Republican counties, which voted for the Republican presidential candidate in every election from 2012 to 2020, and 37.7% lived in one of six Solid Democratic counties. Overall, Ohio was Trending Republican, having voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2012, Donald Trump (R) in 2016, and Donald Trump (R) in 2020. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in Ohio following the 2020 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.

Historical voting trends

Ohio presidential election results (1900-2020)

  • 12 Democratic wins
  • 19 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
Winning Party R R R D D R R R D D D R D R R R D R R D R R R D D R R D D R R

Statewide elections

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 Ohio

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

U.S. Senate election results in Ohio
Race Winner Runner up
2018 53.5%Democratic Party 46.6%Republican Party
2016 58.0%Republican Party 37.1%Democratic Party
2012 50.7%Democratic Party 44.7%Republican Party
2010 57.3%Republican Party 39.0%Democratic Party
2006 56.2%Democratic Party 43.8%Republican Party
Average 55.1 42.2

Gubernatorial elections

See also: Governor of Ohio

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

Gubernatorial election results in Ohio
Race Winner Runner up
2018 50.4%Republican Party 46.7%Democratic Party
2014 63.6%Republican Party 33.0%Democratic Party
2010 49.0%Republican Party 47.0%Democratic Party
2006 60.5%Democratic Party 36.7%Republican Party
2002 57.8%Republican Party 38,3%Democratic Party
Average 56.3 40.9

State partisanship

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Ohio's congressional delegation as of November 2022.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Ohio, November 2022
Party U.S. Senate U.S. House Total
Democratic 1 4 5
Republican 1 12 13
Independent 0 0 0
Vacancies 0 0 0
Total 2 16 18

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Ohio's top four state executive offices as of November 2022.

State executive officials in Ohio, November 2022
Office Officeholder
Governor Republican Party Richard Michael DeWine
Lieutenant Governor Republican Party Jon Husted
Secretary of State Republican Party Frank LaRose
Attorney General Republican Party Dave Yost

State legislature

The tables below highlight the partisan composition of the Ohio General Assembly as of November 2022.

Ohio State Senate

Party As of November 2022
     Democratic Party 8
     Republican Party 25
     Vacancies 0
Total 33

Ohio House of Representatives

Party As of November 2022
     Democratic Party 35
     Republican Party 64
     Vacancies 0
Total 99

Trifecta control

As of November 2022, Ohio was a Republican trifecta, with majorities in both chambers of the state legislature and control of the governorship. The table below displays the historical trifecta status of the state.

Ohio Party Control: 1992-2022
No Democratic trifectas  •  Twenty-four 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
Governor R 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
Senate R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
House D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R D D R R R R R R R R R R R R

Demographics

The table below details demographic data in Ohio and compares it to the broader United States as of 2019.

Demographic Data for Ohio
Ohio United States
Population 11,799,448 331,449,281
Land area (sq mi) 40,858 3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White 80.5% 70.4%
Black/African American 12.4% 12.6%
Asian 2.3% 5.6%
Native American 0.2% 0.8%
Pacific Islander 0% 0.2%
Other (single race) 1.1% 5.1%
Multiple 3.6% 5.2%
Hispanic/Latino 3.9% 18.2%
Education
High school graduation rate 90.8% 88.5%
College graduation rate 28.9% 32.9%
Income
Median household income $58,116 $64,994
Persons below poverty level 13.6% 12.8%
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 2015-2020).
**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.


2022 battleground elections

See also: Battlegrounds

This election was a battleground race. Other 2022 battleground elections included:

See also

Ohio State Executive Elections News and Analysis
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Ohio State Executive Offices
Ohio State Legislature
Ohio Courts
2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016
Ohio elections: 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016
Party control of state government
State government trifectas
State of the state addresses
Partisan composition of governors

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Toledo Blade, "Ohio secretary of state challenger questions election 'shenanigans'," August 26, 2021
  2. ↑ LaRose for Secretary of State, "Meet Frank," accessed February 23, 2022
  3. ↑ LaRose for Secretary of State, "Endorsements," accessed April 26, 2022
  4. ↑ WKSU, "Why Donald Trump's endorsement of Frank LaRose is attracting attention," April 26, 2022
  5. ↑ The Columbus Dispatch, "Former Ohio lawmaker with doubts about Joe Biden's win wants to run Ohio elections," August 23, 2021
  6. ↑ John Adams or Secretary of State, "About," accessed February 23, 2022
  7. ↑ Ohio Value Voters, "Home," accessed April 26, 2022
  8. ↑ Ohio Value Voters, "2022 Voter Guide," accessed April 26, 2022
  9. ↑ ABC 6, "Ohio's Secretary of State Frank LaRose beats conservative foe in primary election," May 3, 2022
  10. ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "Duties & Responsibilities," accessed January 27, 2021
  11. ↑ In battleground primaries, Ballotpedia based its selection of noteworthy candidates on polling, fundraising, and noteworthy endorsements. In battleground general elections, all major party candidates and any other candidates with the potential to impact the outcome of the race were included.
  12. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Outside Spending," accessed December 12, 2021
  13. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, All Groups," accessed December 12, 2021
  14. ↑ National Review.com, "Why the Media Hate Super PACs," December 12, 2021
  15. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for 2020, 2016, and 2012," accessed September 9, 2022
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