2022 Indiana Secretary of State election

The 2022 Indiana Secretary of State election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the next secretary of state of Indiana. 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 parties chose their nominees for Secretary of State at a party convention on June 18, 2022.^[1]

2022 Indiana Secretary of State election

← 2018 November 8, 2022 2026 →

Nominee Diego Morales Destiny Wells Jeff Maurer Party Republican Democratic Libertarian Popular vote 999,893 742,624 104,519 Percentage 54.13% 40.21% 5.66%

County results Morales:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Wells:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

Secretary of State before election Holli Sullivan Republican Elected Secretary of State Diego Morales Republican

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 and never deployed on Active Duty (the federal definition of a "veteran" only includes active duty or guardsmen who have deployed on active duty orders); claims that portions of his resume are exaggerated or misleading; and two accusations of sexual harassment against him.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} After winning the Republican nomination, he changed his stance on the 2020 presidential election, telling The Washington Post 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.^[7]

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.^[8]

Republican convention

Incumbent Secretary of State Connie Lawson resigned in 2021 due to health issues. Governor Eric Holcomb 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.^[9] Morales was endorsed by the America First Secretary of State Coalition, a conservative group that supports a slate of candidates in the 2022 United States secretary of state elections.^[10]

Candidates

Nominee

• Diego Morales, former aide to governor Mike Pence and candidate for Indiana's 4th congressional district in 2018^[11][12]

Eliminated at convention

• Paul Hager, perennial candidate^[11]
• David Shelton, Knox County clerk^[13]
• Holli Sullivan, incumbent secretary of state^[12]

Did not file

• Kyle Conrad, Newton County commissioner^[14]

Endorsements

Diego Morales

Organizations

• America First Secretary of State Coalition^[10]

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^[15][16]

Endorsements

Destiny Wells

Local officials

• Joe Hogsett, 49th Mayor of Indianapolis, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana and 57th Indiana Secretary of State^[17]

Labor unions

• Indiana AFL–CIO^[18]
• IUOE Local 150^[19]

Organizations

• Indiana Democratic Party^[17]
• VoteVets^[20]

Newspapers

• The Herald Bulletin^[21]

Libertarian convention

Nominee

• Jeff Maurer, entrepreneur^[22]

General election

Debate

On October 10, a debate for the Secretary of State election was held by WFYI and the League of Women Voters. Democrat Destiny Wells and Libertarian Jeff Maurer participated in the debate, while Morales skipped it to attend a meeting of the Warrick County Republican Party. Wells and Maurer heavily criticized Morales for not attending the debate. While both agreed that Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, Maurer called for an election audit of every Indiana county, while Wells did not. When asked about the problem of low voter turnout, Wells proposed independent redistricting, keeping polling places open longer, and extending the window for early voting as ways to increase turnout, while Maurer blamed the two-party system for creating a lack of competition.^[23]

2022 Indiana Secretary of State debate

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Republican	Democratic	Libertarian
Key:  P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
					Diego Morales	Destiny Wells	Jeff Maurer
1	Oct. 25, 2022	WFYI League of Women Voters of Indiana	Laura Wilson	PBS[24]	A	P	P

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball[25]	Tossup	November 3, 2022
Elections Daily[26]	Likely R	November 7, 2022

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Diego Morales (R)	Destiny Wells (D)	Jeff Maurer (L)	Undecided
Indy Politics/ARW Strategies (R)[27]	September 25–26, 2022	600 (LV)	± 4.0%	32%	36%	7%	25%
Indy Politics/ARW Strategies (R)[28]	July 19–21, 2022	800 (LV)	± 3.5%	28%	31%	7%	34%

Results

Swing by county

Legend

•   Democratic — +>15%
•   Democratic — +12.5-15%
•   Democratic — +10-12.5%
•   Democratic — +7.5-10%
•   Democratic — +5-7.5%
•   Democratic — +2.5-5%
•   Democratic — +0-2.5%
•   Republican — +0-2.5%
•   Republican — +2.5-5%
•   Republican — +5-7.5%
•   Republican — +7.5-10%
•   Republican — +10-12.5%
•   Republican — +12.5-15%
•   Republican — +>15%

Trend by county

Legend

•   Democratic — +>15%
•   Democratic — +12.5-15%
•   Democratic — +10-12.5%
•   Democratic — +7.5-10%
•   Democratic — +5-7.5%
•   Democratic — +2.5-5%
•   Democratic — +0-2.5%
•   Republican — +0-2.5%
•   Republican — +2.5-5%
•   Republican — +5-7.5%
•   Republican — +7.5-10%
•   Republican — +10-12.5%
•   Republican — +12.5-15%
•   Republican — +>15%

2022 Indiana Secretary of State election^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Diego Morales	999,893	54.13%	−2.09%
	Democratic	Destiny Wells	742,624	40.21%	−0.36%
	Libertarian	Jeff Maurer	104,519	5.66%	+2.49%
	Write-in		143	0.01%	-0.03%
Total votes			1,847,179	100.00%	N/A
	Republican hold

Notes

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear

References

1. "Here's why secretary of state, auditor and treasurer are not on the primary ballot". WTHR. May 3, 2022. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
2. "Ex-Pence aide seeks Indiana elections office that fired him". June 2, 2022.
3. "Secretary of State candidate Diego Morales used campaign funds for $43,000 car".
4. "Diego Morales responds to criticism of using "veteran" to describe himself".
5. "Ex-Pence Indiana aide running for Congress defends resume".
6. "Morales responds to sexual harassment accusations".
7. "HOWEY: Diego Morales and the press".
8. "Republicans win Indiana auditor, treasurer & secretary of state races".
9. Cloutier, Jimmy (February 17, 2022). "Indiana's secretary of state race on track to be the most expensive in two decades". OpenSecrets News. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
10. "Candidates - America First Secretary of State Coalition". americafirstsos.com. November 26, 2018. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
11. "Crowded GOP field for Indiana State Treasurer's Post". www.953mnc.com. August 2, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
12. Carden, Dan (April 26, 2021). "WATCH NOW: Indiana secretary of state launches campaign for full term in 2022". www.nwitimes.com. The Times of Northwest Indiana. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
13. "Knox County Clerk to Enter SOS Race".
14. "Newton County native announces run for Secretary of State". www.newsbug.info. December 2, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
15. Carden, Dan (January 9, 2022). "Military veteran launches bid for Indiana secretary of state". www.shelbynews.com. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
16. "GOP delegates buck establishment, nominate Morales over Sullivan for secretary of state".
17. "Could Wells be first Democratic secretary of state in almost 30 years?". The Indiana Citizen. September 25, 2022. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
18. "Labor 2022 | Indiana State AFL-CIO".
19. "Indiana Primary Election Candidate Endorsements Announced". April 26, 2022.
20. "VoteVets endorses Destiny Wells for Secretary of State". September 21, 2022. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
21. "Our view editorial: Destiny Wells has the character to be secretary of state". The Herald Bulletin. October 31, 2022. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
22. "Carmel resident Jeff Maurer running for Indiana Secretary of State". August 21, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
23. Lange, Kaitlin (October 10, 2022). "Secretary of State debate: Diego Morales is a no-show and other takeaways". The Indianapolis Star.
24. PBS
25. "Secretary of State and Attorney General: What to Watch for Next Week in Key Statewide Contests". Sabato's Crystal Ball. November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
26. Solomon, Zack (November 7, 2022). "Elections Daily Secretary of State Ratings". Elections Daily. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
27. Indy Politics/ARW Strategies (R)
28. Indy Politics/ARW Strategies (R)
29. "Indiana Election Results November 8, 2022". Indiana Election Division.

External links

Official campaign websites:

• Diego Morales (R) for Secretary of State
• Jeff Maurer (L) for Secretary of State
• Destiny Wells (D) for Secretary of State