Paul Pate
Paul Pate (Republican Party) is the Iowa Secretary of State. He assumed office on January 1, 2015. His current term ends on January 1, 2027.
Pate (Republican Party) is running for re-election for Iowa Secretary of State. He is on the ballot in the Republican primary on June 2, 2026.[source]
Biography
Paul Pate was born in Ottumwa, Iowa. Pate's career experience includes working as a small business owner. He earned an associate degree from Kirkwood Community College in 1978.[1]
Political career
Below is a list of offices within Ballotpedia’s scope. Offices outside of that scope will not be listed. If an update is needed and the office is within our scope, please contact us.
Pate's political career includes the following offices:
- 2015-present: Iowa Secretary of State
- 1995-1999: Iowa Secretary of State
Elections
2026
See also: Iowa Secretary of State election, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on June 2, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Democratic primary
Democratic primary for Iowa Secretary of State
Ryan Peterman (D) is running in the Democratic primary for Iowa Secretary of State on June 2, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Ryan Peterman | ||
| ||||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary
Republican primary for Iowa Secretary of State
Incumbent Paul Pate (R) is running in the Republican primary for Iowa Secretary of State on June 2, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Paul Pate | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
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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 | ||
| 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. | ||||
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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 | ||
| Total votes: 136,989 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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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 | ||
| 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. | ||||
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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 | ||
| 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. | ||||
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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 | |
| 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. | ||||
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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 |
| 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. | ||||
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2014
- See also: Iowa secretary of state election, 2014
Pate ran for Iowa secretary of state in 2014. He was unopposed for the Republican nomination in the June 3 primary and defeated Brad Anderson (D), Jake Porter (L), and Spencer Highland (New Independent Party) in the general election on November 4, 2014. Prior to filing for election to his former office of secretary of state, Pate was considered a potential candidate for the U.S. House seat representing Iowa's 1st District.[2][3]
Results
| 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 | ||||
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.[4]
Pate and Anderson also discussed different opinions regarding the use of third-party groups to deliver absentee ballots to polling locations. This practice 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.[4]
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
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2022
Paul Pate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Pate's responses.
| Collapse all
- Continuing to protect the sanctity and security of Iowa's elections are my top priorities. while increasing voter registration and participation. Iowa was recently named one of the top three states in the nation for election administration. I'd like us to be #1. We've made it easy to vote but hard to cheat. Under my watch, that will continue.
- Under my watch, Iowa has set record highs for voter registration and participation multiple times. Iowa is a national leader in both. We implemented Iowa's online voter registration system in 2016, making it faster and easier to register than ever. We also created the Safe at Home address confidentiality program, so survivors of domestic violence, sexual abuse, trafficking, stalking and assault can vote without fear of their address becoming public. More than 1,200 Iowans participate in the program. My office works with stakeholder groups and expends significant resources to educate Iowans about law changes and deadlines. We will continue to to make it easy to vote but hard to cheat.
- I wrote Iowa's Voter ID laws and defended successfully in court multiple times. We have Voter ID at the polls and on absentee ballot requests. These are important safeguards. My office works closely with multiple state and federal agencies to protect our election cybersecurity and ensure voters and poll workers are safe in all 99 counties. There is zero evidence of any unauthorized intrusions into Iowa’s election systems. Our voter registration system resides in a secure facility with the same standards of protection the FBI uses. It has multiple intrusion detection and protection systems in place. The State of Iowa is dedicated to protecting the integrity and security of your vote.
I'm also committed to providing address confidentiality for survivors of domestic violence, sexual abuse, assault, tracking, and stalking. We must also keep fighting against human trafficking. It is a form of modern day slavery.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Noteworthy events
June 2017 request for voter rolls
On June 29, 2017, the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, created by President Donald Trump (R) on May 11, requested information on registered voters from all 50 states dating back to 2006. The states were given until July 14 to respond. On July 1, Secretary Pate announced that the state would provide only publicly available information to the commission.
| “ | Providing personal voter information, such as Social Security numbers, is forbidden under Iowa Code.[5] | ” |
| —Secretary Paul Pate[6] | ||
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Des Moines Register, "Meet the Candidate, Secretary of State: Paul Pate," October 28, 2014
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedrun - ↑ Iowa Secretary of State Elections, "Candidate List," accessed March 15, 2014
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Des Moines Register, "Pate, Anderson differ on Voter ID in IPTV debate," October 3, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The Gazette, "Iowa says no to federal request for voter information," July 1, 2017
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Iowa Secretary of State 2015-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Iowa Secretary of State 1995-1999 |
Succeeded by - |
