Connecticut Secretary of State election, 2018

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2022
2014
Connecticut Secretary of State
Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge.png
Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: June 12, 2018
Primary: August 14, 2018 (canceled)
General: November 6, 2018

Pre-election incumbent(s):
Denise Merrill (Democrat)
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 2018
Impact of term limits in 2018
State government trifectas
State government triplexes
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2018
Connecticut
executive elections
Governor

Lieutenant governor
Attorney general
Secretary of state
Treasurer
Comptroller

Connecticut held an election for secretary of state on November 6, 2018. The candidate filing deadline was June 12, 2018.

Democratic Party For more information about the Democratic primary, click here.
Republican Party For more information about the Republican primary, click here.
For more information about secretary of state elections in 2018, click here.

SETTING THE STAGE
  • Heading into the election, the secretary of state of Connecticut was Denise Merrill (D), who was first elected in 2010 and was re-elected in 2014. Merrill announced on August 18, 2017, that she would seek election to a third term in 2018.
  • Connecticut was under Democratic trifecta control. It had held this status since Gov. Dannel Malloy (D) took office in 2011. Connecticut was also a Democratic triplex.
  • Connecticut was won by the Democratic candidate in each of the five presidential elections between 2000 and 2016. The widest margin of victory was Barack Obama's 22 percent margin in 2008, while the narrowest was John Kerry's ten percent margin in 2004.

  • Candidates and election results

    General election

    General election

    General election for Connecticut Secretary of State

    Candidate
    %
    Votes
    Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Denise_Merrill_2013.jpg
    Denise Merrill (D)
     
    55.9
     
    764,067
    Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Susan_Chapman_CT.JPG
    Susan Chapman (R)
     
    42.5
     
    580,779
    Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Screen_Shot_2018-08-29_at_11.30.21_AM.png
    Mike DeRosa (G)
     
    0.9
     
    12,469
    Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Unknown.png
    Heather Gwynn (L)
     
    0.8
     
    10,361

    Total votes: 1,367,676
    Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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    Political party key:
    Electiondot.png Democratic
    Ends.png Republican
    Begins.png Green Party
    Libertarian Party Libertarian Party
    Darkgreen.png Working Families Party
    Independent Independent Party

    Fusion voting candidates

    Democratic primary election

    Democratic primary election

    Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

    Republican primary election

    State overview

    Partisan control

    This section details the partisan control of federal and state positions in Connecticut heading into the 2018 elections.

    Congressional delegation

    State executives

    State legislature

    • Democrats controlled both chambers of the Connecticut General Assembly. They had a 80-71 majority in the state House and a 18-18 majority in the state Senate.

    Trifecta status

    • Connecticut was one of eight Democratic trifectas, meaning that Democrats controlled the office of the governor, the state House, and the state Senate.

    2018 elections

    See also: Connecticut elections, 2018

    Connecticut held elections for the following positions in 2018:

    Demographics

    Demographic data for Connecticut
     ConnecticutU.S.
    Total population:3,584,730316,515,021
    Land area (sq mi):4,8423,531,905
    Race and ethnicity**
    White:77.3%73.6%
    Black/African American:10.3%12.6%
    Asian:4.2%5.1%
    Native American:0.2%0.8%
    Pacific Islander:0%0.2%
    Two or more:2.8%3%
    Hispanic/Latino:14.7%17.1%
    Bildung
    High school graduation rate:89.9%86.7%
    College graduation rate:37.6%29.8%
    Income
    Median household income:$70,331$53,889
    Persons below poverty level:12.2%11.3%
    Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
    Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Connecticut.
    **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.

    As of July 2016, Connecticut's three largest cities were Bridgeport (pop. est. 146,579), New Haven (pop. est. 131,014), and Stamford (pop. est. 130,824).[1][2]

    State election history

    This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Connecticut from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from the Connecticut Secretary of State.

    Historical elections

    Presidential elections, 2000-2016

    This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Connecticut every year from 2000 to 2016.

    Election results (President of the United States), Connecticut 2000-2016
    Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
    2016 Democratic Party Hillary Clinton 54.6% Republican Party Donald Trump 40.9% 13.7%
    2012 Democratic Party Barack Obama 58.1% Republican Party Mitt Romney 40.8% 17.3%
    2008 Democratic Party Barack Obama 60.6% Republican Party John McCain 38.2% 22.4%
    2004 Democratic Party John Kerry 54.3% Republican Party George W. Bush 43.9% 10.4%
    2000 Democratic Party Al Gore 55.9% Republican Party George W. Bush 38.4% 17.5%

    U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016

    This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Connecticut from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.

    Election results (U.S. Senator), Connecticut 2000-2016
    Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
    2016 Democratic Party Richard Blumenthal 63.2% Republican Party Dan Carter 34.6% 28.6%
    2012 Democratic Party Christopher Murphy 54.8% Republican Party Linda McMahon 43.1% 11.7%
    2010 Democratic Party Richard Blumenthal 55.2% Republican Party Linda McMahon 43.2% 12%
    2006 Grey.png Joe Lieberman (I) 49.7% Democratic Party Ned Lamont 39.7% 12.2%
    2004 Democratic Party Chris Dodd 66.4% Republican Party Jack Orchulli 32.1% 34.3%
    2002 Democratic Party Joe Lieberman 63.2% Republican Party Philip Giordano 34.2% 29%

    Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2016

    This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Connecticut.

    Election results (Governor), Connecticut 2000-2016
    Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
    2014 Democratic Party Dan Malloy 50.7% Republican Party Tom Foley 48.2% 2.5%
    2010 Democratic Party Dan Malloy 49.5% Republican Party Tom Foley 49% .5%
    2006 Republican Party Jodi Rell 63.2% Democratic Party John DeStefano, Jr. 35.5% 27.7%
    2002 Republican Party John G. Rowland 56.1% Democratic Party Bill Curry 43.9% 12.2%

    Congressional delegation, 2000-2016

    This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Connecticut in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.

    Congressional delegation, Connecticut 2000-2016
    Year Republicans Republicans (%) Democrats Democrats (%) Balance of power
    2016 Republican Party 0 0% Democratic Party 5 100% D+5
    2014 Republican Party 0 0% Democratic Party 5 100% D+5
    2012 Republican Party 0 0% Democratic Party 5 100% D+5
    2010 Republican Party 0 0% Democratic Party 5 100% D+5
    2008 Republican Party 0 36.8% Democratic Party 5 100% D+5
    2006 Republican Party 1 20% Democratic Party 4 80% D+4
    2004 Republican Party 3 60% Democratic Party 2 40% R+1
    2002 Republican Party 3 60% Democratic Party 2 40% R+1
    2000 Republican Party 2 40% Democratic Party 3 60.0% D+1

    Trifectas, 1992-2017

    A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.

    Connecticut Party Control: 1992-2024
    Fourteen 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 23 24
    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 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 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 D D


    Pivot Counties

    See also: Pivot Counties by state

    One of eight Connecticut counties—12.5 percent—is a Pivot County. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

    Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
    County Trump margin of victory in 2016 Obama margin of victory in 2012 Obama margin of victory in 2008
    Windham County, Connecticut 7.78% 13.28% 14.68%

    In the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton (D) won Connecticut with 54.6 percent of the vote. Donald Trump (R) received 40.9 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Connecticut voted Republican 53.33 percent of the time and Democratic 46.67 percent of the time. In the five presidential elections between 2000 and 2016, Connecticut voted Democratic all five times.

    Presidential results by legislative district

    The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Connecticut. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[3][4]

    In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 120 out of 151 state House districts in Connecticut with an average margin of victory of 30.3 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 105 out of 151 state House districts in Connecticut with an average margin of victory of 30.9 points. Clinton won 32 districts controlled by Republicans heading into the 2018 elections.
    In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 31 out of 151 state House districts in Connecticut with an average margin of victory of 8.6 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 46 out of 151 state House districts in Connecticut with an average margin of victory of 11.6 points. Trump won seven districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections.


    Recent news

    The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Connecticut secretary of state election 2018. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

    See also

    Connecticut government:

    Elections:

    Ballotpedia exclusives:

    External links

    Footnotes