The 2022 Indiana Secretary of State election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the next secretary of state of

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. Holli Sullivan, a Republican who was appointed to replace Connie Lawson as Secretary of State in 2021, ran for a full term in office but was defeated in the Republican primary by Diego Morales. The Democratic, Republican, and

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

parties chose their nominees for Secretary of State at a party convention on June 18, 2022. Despite Indiana's strong Republican lean, polls showed a competitive race. Republican nominee Diego Morales faced numerous controversies, including: the fact that he was previously fired from a position in the Secretary of State office; his echoing of Donald Trump's false accusations of fraud in the 2020 elections; his use of campaign funds to purchase a $43,000 Toyota RAV4; his description of himself as a "veteran" even though he only served in the military for three months and he was in the Indiana Army National Guard, not the

U.S. Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

(the federal definition of a "veteran" only includes the Armed Forces); claims that portions of his resume are exaggerated or misleading; and two accusations of sexual harassment against him. After winning the Republican nomination, he changed his stance on the 2020 presidential election, telling ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' that he believed Biden won legitimately. WTHR commented that Morales received the most negative press of any statewide candidate in Indiana since Richard Mourdock in the 2012 Senate race. Despite Morales's controversies, he secured a decisive victory over Wells and Maurer. However, he underperformed all other statewide Republican nominees in Indiana by 5-7 percentage points.

Republican convention

Incumbent Secretary of State Connie Lawson resigned in 2021 due to health issues. Governor

Eric Holcomb Eric Joseph Holcomb (born May 2, 1968) is an American politician who is the 51st and current governor of Indiana, serving since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 51st lieutenant governor of Indiana from 2016 to 2017 unde ...

chose state representative Holli Sullivan to replace her, and Sullivan announced she would run for a full term. The Republican primary for Secretary of State was the most expensive in two decades, with challenger Diego Morales leading Sullivan in fundraising. Morales was endorsed by the

America First Secretary of State Coalition The America First Secretary of State Coalition ("America First SOS Coalition") was an American right-wing coalition formed to support a slate of candidates in the 2022 United States secretary of state elections who supported former president Don ...

, a conservative group that supports a slate of candidates in the

2022 United States secretary of state elections The 2022 United States secretary of state elections were held on November 8, 2022, to elect the secretaries of state in twenty-seven states. These elections took place concurrently with several other federal, state, and local elections. The ele ...

Candidates

Nominee

* Diego Morales, former aide to

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...

and candidate for

Indiana's 4th congressional district Indiana's 4th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Indiana. From 2003 to 2013 the district was based primarily in the central part of the state, and consisted of all of Boone, Clinton, Hendricks, Morgan, ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Eliminated at convention

*Paul Hager, perennial candidate * Holli Sullivan, incumbent secretary of state *David Shelton, Knox County clerk

Did not file

*Kyle Conrad,

Newton County Newton County is the name of six counties in the United States. All except for Arkansas (and perhaps Mississippi) are named for Sgt. John Newton, a soldier of the American Revolutionary War who became a fictionalized hero. Many counties share a bo ...

commissioner

Endorsements

Democratic convention

Candidates

Nominee

*Destiny Wells, attorney, lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, deputy chair of the Indiana Democratic Party, and former deputy attorney general

Endorsements

Libertarian convention

Nominee

*Jeff Maurer, entrepreneur

General election

Debate

On October 10, a debate for the Secretary of State election was held by WFYI and the

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV or the League) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan political organization in the United States. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include registering voters, providing voter information, and advocating for vot ...

. Democrat Destiny Wells and Libertarian Jeff Maurer participated in the debate, while Morales skipped it to attend a meeting of the

Warrick County Warrick County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 63,898. The county seat is Boonville. It was organized in 1813 and was named for Captain Jacob Warrick, an Indiana militia company commander killed ...

Republican Party. Wells and Maurer heavily criticized Morales for not attending the debate. While both agreed that Joe Biden won the

2020 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: **C ...

, Maurer called for an

election audit An election audit is any review conducted after polls close for the purpose of determining whether the votes were counted accurately (a ''results audit'') or whether proper procedures were followed (a ''process audit''), or both. Both results and p ...

of every Indiana county, while Wells did not. When asked about the problem of low

voter turnout In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This can be the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford Unive ...

, Wells proposed independent redistricting, keeping

polling places A polling place is where voters cast their ballots in elections. The phrase polling station is also used in American English and British English, although polling place is the building

open longer, and extending the window for early voting as ways to increase turnout, while Maurer blamed the

two-party system A two-party system is a political party system in which two major political parties consistently dominate the political landscape. At any point in time, one of the two parties typically holds a majority in the legislature and is usually referre ...

for creating a lack of competition.

Predictions

Polling

Results

Notes

References

External links

;Official campaign websites:
Diego Morales (R) for Secretary of StateJeff Maurer (L) for Secretary of StateDestiny Wells (D) for Secretary of State
{{2022 United States elections Secretary of State

Indiana Secretary of State elections