The Michigan Secretary of State election of 2018 took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the

Secretary of State of Michigan The Michigan Department of State is a principal executive department of the government of Michigan. It is responsible for administering Election, elections, regulating Notary public, notaries public, and maintaining records of statutes and the S ...

, alongside elections for Michigan's

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

, Class I United States senator, and

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

, as well as elections for Michigan's 14 seats in the United States House of Representatives, all 38 seats in the

Michigan Senate The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ado ...

, and all 110 seats in the

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2020 ...

. Incumbent Republican Secretary of State

Ruth Johnson Ruth Johnson (born January 8, 1955) is an American businesswoman and politician currently serving as a member of the Michigan Senate since 2019. She was the 42nd Secretary of State of Michigan from 2011 to 2019 and a member of the Michigan House ...

could not seek a third term due to term limits. The

Michigan Republican Party The Michigan Republican Party is the state affiliate of the national Republican Party in Michigan, United States, sometimes referred to as MIGOP. Ronna Romney McDaniel was the chairwoman of the party, having been elected in 2015 by delegates ...

was looking to win its 7th straight Secretary of State election. Along with the offices of

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

and attorney general, the nominees for secretary of state were chosen by party delegates at their respective party conventions. On November 6, 2018, Benson defeated Lang by an 8.9% margin.

Republican Party

Candidates

Nominee

* Mary Treder Lang, vice chair of the

Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, EMich, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern) is a public university, public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal ...

Board of Regents

Eliminated at convention

* Stan Grot, Shelby Township Clerk * Joseph Guzman

Withdrew

* Mike Kowall, state senator

Endorsements

Democratic Party

Candidates

Nominee

Jocelyn Benson Jocelyn Benson (born October 22, 1977) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the 43rd secretary of state of Michigan since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she is the former dean of Wayne State University Law School fr ...

, former dean of

Wayne State University Law School Wayne State University Law School (Wayne Law) is the law school of Wayne State University in Detroit. Wayne Law is located in Midtown, Detroit's Cultural Center. Founded in 1927, the law school offers juris doctor (J.D.), master of laws (LL.M.), ...

and nominee for Secretary of State in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Declined

* Barbara Byrum, Ingham County Clerk

Endorsements

Minor parties

Libertarian Party

* Gregory Stempfle

General election

Predictions

Polling

Fundraising

Results

Notes

References

External links

Official campaign websites
Jocelyn Benson (D) for Secretary of StateMary Treder Lang (R) for Secretary of State

Gregory Stempfle (L) for Secretary of State
{{2018 United States elections secretary of state Michigan Secretary of State elections November 2018 in the United States

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...