Connecticut Secretary of State election, 2022

Elections in Connecticut, 2022

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← 2018
Connecticut Secretary of State
Democratic primary Republican primary General election
Election details
Filing deadline: June 7, 2022
Primary: August 9, 2022 General: November 8, 2022 Pre-election incumbent(s): Denise Merrill (Democratic)
How to vote
Poll times: 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voting in Connecticut
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
Connecticut executive elections
Governor Lieutenant Governor Attorney General Secretary of State Treasurer Comptroller

Connecticut held an election for secretary of state on November 8, 2022. The primary was scheduled for August 9, 2022. The filing deadline was June 7, 2022. This was one of 27 elections for secretary of state taking place in 2022. Click here for an overview of these races. All but three states have a secretary of state. Although the specific duties and powers of the office vary from state to state, secretaries of state are often responsible for the maintenance of voter rolls and for administering elections. Other common responsibilities include registering businesses, maintaining state records, and certifying official documents. At the time of the 2022 elections, there were 27 Republican secretaries of state and 20 Democratic secretaries of state.

A state government triplex refers to a situation where the governor, attorney general, and secretary of state are all members of the same political party. Heading into the 2022 elections, there were 23 Republican triplexes, 18 Democratic triplexes, and nine divided governments where neither party held triplex control.

Stephanie Thomas won election in the general election for Connecticut Secretary of State.

For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

• Connecticut Secretary of State election, 2022 (August 9 Democratic primary)
• Connecticut Secretary of State election, 2022 (August 9 Republican primary)

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for Connecticut Secretary of State

Stephanie Thomas defeated Dominic Rapini and Cynthia Jennings in the general election for Connecticut Secretary of State on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Stephanie Thomas (D / Working Families Party)	55.2	687,714
		Dominic Rapini (R)	42.7	532,218
		Cynthia Jennings (Independent Party)	2.0	25,488

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,245,420
= 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 Connecticut Secretary of State

Stephanie Thomas defeated Maritza Bond in the Democratic primary for Connecticut Secretary of State on August 9, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Stephanie Thomas	75.8	84,514
		Maritza Bond	24.2	26,956

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 111,470
= 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

• Hilda Santiago (D)
• Matthew L. Lesser (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Connecticut Secretary of State

Dominic Rapini defeated Terrie Wood in the Republican primary for Connecticut Secretary of State on August 9, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dominic Rapini	58.2	51,219
		Terrie Wood	41.8	36,749

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 87,968
= 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

• Brock Weber (R) (Unofficially withdrew)

Voting information

See also: Voting in Connecticut

Election information in Connecticut: Nov. 8, 2022, election.

What was the voter registration deadline?

• In-person: Nov. 1, 2022
• By mail: Postmarked by Nov. 1, 2022
• Online: Nov. 1, 2022

Was absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

No

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

• In-person: Nov. 7, 2022
• By mail: Received by Nov. 7, 2022
• Online: N/A

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

• In-person: Nov. 7, 2022
• By mail: Received by Nov. 8, 2022

Was early voting available to all voters?

No

What were the early voting start and end dates?

N/A to N/A

Were all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, was a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When were polls open on Election Day?

N/A

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. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.

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.

Expand all | Collapse all

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Stephanie Thomas (Democratic, Working Families)

You cannot force people to vote, you must inspire them. Civic education and civic engagement for young people and adults are necessary to complement voter access. Community members and leaders must be engaged to educate the public on our voting methods and voting rights.

Implement early voting and no-excuse absentee voting to fuel civic engagement and increase ballot accessibility. Ensure all of our towns implement fair, safe, and accessible elections, and maintain a trusted and transparent relationship with our Town Clerks and Registrars.

Utilize the power of data to provide information to businesses across the state to help them tap into available programs, funding, and resources.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Stephanie Thomas (Democratic, Working Families)

Stephanie Thomas is a fierce advocate for protecting voting rights, expanding accessibility to the ballot, implementing early voting, and fostering civic engagement. Due to the language in the state constitution, Connecticut is not able to allow for in-person early voting by simply passing a law to do so. Consequently, Connecticut is one of only several states that allow no form of early voting.

This year in Connecticut, the state must implement a strong outreach campaign to reach voters to educate them about the question on the ballot to support early voting. Once this initiative is approved by the general voting public, a bill would need to be raised to support early voting in Connecticut and undergo the usual public hearing process and pass a vote in both chambers - the House and Senate - in order for early voting to be adopted.

Past elections

2018

See also: Connecticut Secretary of State election, 2018

General election

General election for Connecticut Secretary of State

Incumbent Denise Merrill defeated Susan Chapman, Mike DeRosa, and Heather Gwynn in the general election for Connecticut Secretary of State on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Denise Merrill (D)	55.9	764,067
		Susan Chapman (R)	42.5	580,779
		Mike DeRosa (G)	0.9	12,469
		Heather Gwynn (L)	0.8	10,361

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,367,676
= 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

• Karen Talamelli Cusick (D)

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 Connecticut and The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Cook PVI by congressional district

Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index for Connecticut, 2022
District	Incumbent	Party	PVI
Connecticut's 1st	John Larson	Democratic	D+12
Connecticut's 2nd	Joe Courtney	Democratic	D+3
Connecticut's 3rd	Rosa DeLauro	Democratic	D+7
Connecticut's 4th	Jim Himes	Democratic	D+13
Connecticut's 5th	Jahana Hayes	Democratic	D+3

2020 presidential results by 2022 congressional district lines

2020 presidential results in congressional districts based on 2022 district lines, Connecticut
District	Joe Biden	Donald Trump
Connecticut's 1st	63.3%	35.2%
Connecticut's 2nd	54.7%	43.3%
Connecticut's 3rd	59.2%	39.5%
Connecticut's 4th	64.8%	33.8%
Connecticut's 5th	54.6%	43.9%

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:

County-level voting pattern categories
Democratic
Status	2012	2016	2020
Solid Democratic	D	D	D
Trending Democratic	R	D	D
Battleground Democratic	D	R	D
New Democratic	R	R	D
Republican
Status	2012	2016	2020
Solid Republican	R	R	R
Trending Republican	D	R	R
Battleground Republican	R	D	R
New Republican	D	D	R

Following the 2020 presidential election, 91.6% of Connecticuters lived in one of the state's six Solid Democratic counties, which voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in every election from 2012 to 2020, and 5.1% lived in Litchfield County, the state's one Solid Republican county. Overall, Connecticut was Solid Democratic, having voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2012, Hillary Clinton (D) in 2016, and Joe Biden (D) in 2020. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in Connecticut following the 2020 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.

Connecticut county-level statistics, 2020
Solid Democratic	6	91.6%
Solid Republican	1	5.1%
Trending Republican	1	3.2%
Total voted Democratic	6	91.6%
Total voted Republican	2	8.4%

Historical voting trends

Connecticut presidential election results (1900-2020)

• 15 Democratic wins
• 16 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	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	R	R	R	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D

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 Connecticut

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

U.S. Senate election results in Connecticut
Race	Winner	Runner up
2018	59.5%	39.4%
2016	63.2%	34.6%
2012	54.8%	43.1%
2010	55.1%	43.3%
2006	49.7% (Independent)	39.7%
Average	56.5	40.0

Gubernatorial elections

See also: Governor of Connecticut

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

Gubernatorial election results in Connecticut
Race	Winner	Runner up
2018	49.4%	46.2%
2014	50.7%	48.2%
2010	49.5%	49.0%
2006	63.2%	35.5%
2002	56.1%	43.9%
Average	53.8	44.6

State partisanship

Congressional delegation

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

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Connecticut, November 2022
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	2	5	7
Republican	0	0	0
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	0	0
Total	2	5	7

State executive

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

State executive officials in Connecticut, November 2022
Office	Officeholder
Governor	Ned Lamont
Lieutenant Governor	Susan Bysiewicz
Secretary of State	Mark Kohler
Attorney General	William Tong

State legislature

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

Connecticut State Senate

Party		As of November 2022
	Democratic Party	23
	Republican Party	13
	Vacancies	0
Total		36

Connecticut House of Representatives

Party		As of November 2022
	Democratic Party	97
	Republican Party	54
	Vacancies	0
Total		151

Trifecta control

As of November 2022, Connecticut was a Democratic 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.

Connecticut Party Control: 1992-2022
Twelve years of Democratic trifectas  •  No 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	I	I	I	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
Senate	D	D	D	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
House	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D

Demographics

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

Demographic Data for Connecticut
	Connecticut	United States
Population	3,605,944	331,449,281
Land area (sq mi)	4,842	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White	74.2%	70.4%
Black/African American	10.7%	12.6%
Asian	4.6%	5.6%
Native American	0.3%	0.8%
Pacific Islander	0%	0.2%
Two or more	4.8%	5.2%
Hispanic/Latino	16.4%	18.2%
Education
High school graduation rate	90.9%	88.5%
College graduation rate	40%	32.9%
Income
Median household income	$79,855	$64,994
Persons below poverty level	9.8%	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.

External links

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