2022 Connecticut Secretary of the State election

The 2022 Connecticut Secretary of the State election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the next Secretary of the State of Connecticut. Incumbent Democrat Denise Merrill planned to retire at the end of her elected term,^[1] but resigned on June 30 to care for her ailing husband.^[2] Governor Lamont appointed former associate attorney general Mark Kohler to the position. Kohler was sworn in on July 11. He was not a candidate for the office in the November election.^[3]

2022 Connecticut Secretary of State election

← 2018 November 8, 2022 2026 →

Nominee Stephanie Thomas Dominic Rapini Party Democratic Republican Alliance Working Families Popular vote 687,714 532,218 Percentage 55.2% 42.7%

County results Congressional district results Municipality results Thomas:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Rapini:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

Secretary of State before election Mark Kohler Democratic Elected Secretary of State Stephanie Thomas Democratic

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Stephanie Thomas, state representative from the 143rd district (2021–2023)^[4]

Eliminated in primary

• Maritza Bond, New Haven health director^[5][6]

Withdrawn

• Darryl Brackeen Jr., New Haven alderman^[7][8] (running for state house)^[9]
• Josh Elliott, state repressntative from the 88th district (2017–present)^[10] (running for re-election)^[11]
• Matt Lesser, state senator from the 9th district (2019–present)^[12][13][14]
• Hilda Santiago, state repressntative from the 84th district (2013–present)^[15][16]

Declined

• Mark Kohler, incumbent secretary of the state

Endorsements

Maritza Bond

Local officials

• Justin Elicker, mayor of New Haven^[17]
• Matthew Hoey, Guilford first selectman^[17]

Labor unions

• Connecticut AFL–CIO^[18]

Matt Lesser (withdrawn)

Organizations

• Connecticut Working Families Party^[19]

Labor unions

• United Auto Workers^[13]

Stephanie Thomas

Statewide officials

• Denise Merrill, former Secretary of the State of Connecticut (2011–2022)^[20]

State legislators

• Jorge Cabrera, state senator^[21]
• Josh Elliott, state representative^[21]

Local officials

• Lauren Garrett, mayor of Hamden^[21]

Organizations

• Democratic Party of Connecticut^[22]

Declined to endorse

Statewide officials

• Ned Lamont, governor of Connecticut^[23]

Results

Democratic primary results^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Stephanie Thomas	84,392	75.81%
	Democratic	Maritza Bond	26,929	24.19%
Total votes			111,321	100.0%

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Dominic Rapini, senior account manager at Apple and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2018^[25]

Eliminated in primary

• Terrie Wood, state representative from the 141st district (2009–present)^[26]

Withdrawn

• Brock Weber, executive aide to New Britain mayor Erin Stewart^[27][28]

Endorsements

Dominic Rapini

Organizations

• Connecticut Republican Party^[29]

Results

Republican primary results^[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dominic Rapini	51,080	58.23%
	Republican	Terrie Wood	36,634	41.77%
Total votes			87,714	100.0

Independent Party of Connecticut primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Cynthia Jennings, environmental attorney^[31]

Libertarian primary

Nominee

• Stephen Dincher, chairman of the Libertarian Party of Connecticut^[32]

Green primary

Nominee

• Douglas Lary^[32]

General election

Debate

2022 Connecticut Secretary of the State debate

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Democratic	Republican	Libertarian	Green	Independent Party of Connecticut
Key:  P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
					Stephanie Thomas	Dominic Rapini	Stephen Dincher	Douglas Lary	Cynthia Jennings
1	Oct. 25, 2022	Connecticut Public Broadcasting	Walter Smith Randolph	YouTube	P	P	N	N	N

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball^[33]	Safe D	December 1, 2021
Elections Daily^[34]	Safe D	November 7, 2022

Results

2022 Connecticut Secretary of the State election^[35]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Stephanie Thomas	665,631	53.44%	-0.37%
	Working Families	Stephanie Thomas	22,083	1.77%	-0.30%
	Total	Stephanie Thomas	687,714	55.22%	-0.67%
	Republican	Dominic Rapini	532,218	42.73%	+0.27%
	Independent Party	Cynthia Jennings	25,488	2.05%	N/A
Total votes			1,245,420	100.0%
	Democratic hold

References

1. Pazniokas, Mark (June 23, 2021). "Denise Merrill not running for another term as CT Secretary of the State". www.ctmirror.org. The Connecticut Mirror. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
2. Pazniokas, Mark (June 28, 2022). "Denise Merrill resigns as CT Secretary of the State to care for her husband". Retrieved July 1, 2022.
3. McQuaid, Hugh (June 30, 2022). "Lamont Appoints Mark Kohler, a Recently Retired Associate AG, as Secretary of State". Retrieved July 1, 2022.
4. Pazniokas, Mark (December 1, 2021). "Rep. Stephanie Thomas opens campaign for Secretary of the State". www.ctmirror.org. The Connecticut Mirror. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
5. Zaretsky, Mark (September 20, 2021). "Notable New Haven names exploring secretary of the state run". www.nhregister.com. New Haven Register. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
6. "New Haven Health Director Maritza Bond to Run for Secretary of the State". www.nbcconnecticut.com. WVIT. March 27, 2022. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
7. Elizabeth, Anna (September 20, 2021). "New Haven Alder Darryl Brackeen Makes His Case for Secretary of the State". Retrieved January 8, 2022.
8. Brass, Paul (April 19, 2022). "Brackeen Drops Secretary Of The State Bid". www.newhavenindependent.org. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
9. "Brackeen Challenges State Rep. Dillon". Patch. May 25, 2022. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
10. Elizabeth, Anna (September 16, 2021). "Democrat Josh Elliot Makes a Case for Secretary of the State". Retrieved January 8, 2022.
11. Grace-Flood, Nora (May 25, 2022). "Dems Back Elliott; Watkins Readies Challenge". www.newhavenindependent.org. New Haven Independent. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
12. Elizabeth, Anna (October 12, 2021). "Matt Lesser Makes His Case for Secretary of the State". Retrieved January 8, 2022.
13. Pazniokas, Matt (April 28, 2022). "Democratic Sen. Matt Lesser enters crowded race for secretary of the state". ctmirror.org. The Connecticut Mirror. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
14. Putterman, Alex (May 10, 2022). "Matt Lesser drops out of CT secretary of the state race after missing Democratic endorsement". CT Insider. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
15. Bass, Paul (December 16, 2021). "Santiago Makes Sec'y State Run Official". www.newhavenindependent.org. New Haven Independent. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
16. McQuaid, Hugh (May 20, 2022). "Democratic Field For Secretary of The State Shrinks". CT News Junkie. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
17. Zaretsky, Mark (May 5, 2022). "Elicker endorses New Haven Health Director Maritza Bond for Secretary of the State". New Haven Register. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
18. "Connecticut AFL-CIO Endorses Maritza Bond for Secretary of the State". Patch. June 27, 2022. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
19. "Connecticut Working Families Party announces candidate endorsements for Treasurer, Comptroller, and Secretary of the State". May 5, 2022. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
20. Kirby, Rick (June 24, 2022). "Thomas Wins Merrill Endorsement, Surpasses Campaign Finance Goal". Patch. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
21. Roy, Yash (July 14, 2022). "Top Hamden Pols Endorse Stephanie Thomas For Secretary Of The State". New Haven Independent. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
22. Brown, Andrew (May 7, 2022). "CT Democrats weigh race, gender diversity in treasurer, SOTS picks". The Connecticut Mirror. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
23. "Lamont remains neutral in contests for treasurer, secretary of the state". May 10, 2022. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
24. "2022 Aug 9 - Democratic Primary: Secretary of State". Connecticut Secretary of State.
25. Elizabeth, Anna (September 13, 2021). "Dominic Rapini Takes up Voter Trust as an Issue in his Bid for Secretary of the State". Retrieved January 8, 2022.
26. Dixon, Ken (February 16, 2022). "Longtime Connecticut lawmaker Terrie Wood seeks GOP bid for secretary of state". www.ctinsider.com. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
27. Jensen, Steve (February 24, 2022). "Weber Promises to Actively Investigate Voter Fraud if Elected Secretary of the State". Retrieved February 24, 2022.
28. Pazniokas, Mark (August 5, 2022). "In CT secretary of the state primaries, Democrats and GOP split paths". The Connecticut Mirror. from the original on August 6, 2022. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
29. Hewitt, Cate; Muce, Sophia (May 7, 2022). "Rapini Wins Republican Contest for Secretary of the State; Mary Fay Runs for Comptroller". Retrieved July 1, 2022.
30. "2022 Aug 9 - Republican Primary: Secretary of State". Connecticut Secretary of State.
31. Bass, Paul (February 1, 2022). "Independent Seeks Top Elections Post". www.newhavenindependent.org. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
32. "Candidate Registration List for Election Year 2022". Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
33. "Secretary of State Races: More Important Than Ever in 2022, and More Complicated, Too". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
34. Solomon, Zack (November 7, 2022). "Elections Daily Secretary of State Ratings". Elections Daily. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
35. "2022 General Election - Secretary of State". Connecticut Secretary of State.

External links

Official campaign websites

• Dominic Rapini (R) for Secretary of State
• Stephanie Thomas (D) for Secretary of State