2018 Indiana Secretary of State election

2018 Indiana Secretary of State election

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Candidate Connie Lawson Jim Harper Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,263,074 911,546 Percentage 56.22% 40.57%

County results Lawson:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Harper:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%

Secretary of State before election Connie Lawson Republican Elected Secretary of State Connie Lawson Republican

The 2018 Indiana Secretary of State election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the Secretary of State of Indiana, concurrently with elections to the United States Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, and other state and local elections. Primary elections were held on May 8, 2018, though both the Republican and Democratic nominees were selected via a convention. ^[1]

First appointed as the Secretary of State of Indiana in March 2012 after Charles White was expelled from office, incumbent Republican secretary Connie Lawson comfortably won re-election to a second full term in office against Democratic nominee Jim Harper. ^{[2] [3]} Election security was a key issue throughout the campaign. ^{[4] [5]} There were reports of significant election irregularities and errors at several polling locations across Indiana on Election Day. ^{[6] [7] [8]}

The Green and Pirate parties did not qualify outright for the ballot, but ran write-in candidates instead. ^[9] Lawson would go on to resign as Secretary of State in March 2021, with Holli Sullivan being appointed as an interim secretary of state until the next election. ^[10]

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Connie Lawson, incumbent secretary of state (2012-present) and state senator from the 24th district (1996-2012) ^[11]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Jim Harper, attorney and former candidate for state senate ^{[9] [12] [13]}

General election

Endorsements

Connie Lawson (R)

Individuals

• Kyle Hupfer, chair of the Indiana Republican Party ^[14]

Jim Harper (D)

Labor unions

• Indiana AFL-CIO ^[15]
• International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers ^[16]
• IBEW Local 21 ^[15]
• IUOE Locals 150 & 399 ^{[17] [18]}
• Teamsters Local 89 ^[19]

Organizations

• Greater Lafayette Indivisible ^[20]

Results

2018 Indiana Secretary of State election ^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Connie Lawson (incumbent)	1,263,074	56.22%
	Democratic	Jim Harper	911,546	40.57%
	Libertarian	Mark Rutherford	71,234	3.17%
	Green	George William Wolfe (write-in)	848	0.04%
	Pirate Party	Jeremy Heath (write-in)	57	0.00%
Total votes			2,246,759	100.00%
	Republican hold

References

1. "Indiana Election Results". Indiana Election Division. June 21, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
2. Rudavsky, Shari (November 6, 2018). "Incumbent Connie Lawson easily holds on to secretary of state seat" . IndyStar. Retrieved October 20, 2025. Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson easily kept her seat Tuesday night with a victory over Democrat challenger Jim Harper, while the state treasurer and auditor. also Republican women, retained their jobs as well.
3. Horton, Samantha (November 6, 2018). "Connie Lawson Wins Re-Election Campaign As Secretary Of State". WFYI. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
4. Smith, Brandon (July 30, 2018). "Indiana Democrat Calls For Enhanced Election Security". WFYI. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
5. Smith, Brandon (October 30, 2018). "Democrat Harper Talks About Indiana Secretary Of State Issues". WYFI. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
6. Slack, Donovan; Barfield Berry, Deborah; Simon, Caroline; Jansen, Bart (November 6, 2018). "Problems at polls? Irregularities, malfunctions in Georgia, Texas, Indiana, other states". USA TODAY. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
7. "An Investigation of Issues Regarding Election Systems & Software, LLC Electronic Poll Books Used During the 2018 Primary and General Elections" (PDF). Indiana Secretary of State. April 10, 2019. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
8. "FBI asked to investigate Indiana county's delayed vote counting" . IndyStar. Associated Press. November 8, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2025. The commissioners in a northwestern Indiana county plagued by a mix of Election Day problems asked the FBI on Wednesday to investigate what they called "scores of alleged violations of Indiana Election Law" reported following Tuesday's election.
9. "Candidate List - Abbreviated" (PDF). Indiana Secretary of State. November 5, 2018. p. 1. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
10. Garbacz, Steve (March 16, 2021). "Holli Sullivan named Indiana's next Secretary of State". The Herald Republican. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
11. Smith, Brandon (October 30, 2018). "Lawson Discusses Key Issues In Secretary Of State Race". WFYI. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
12. "Jim Harper announces candidacy for Indiana State Senate". Pulaski Post. Retrieved October 20, 2025. No candidate filed to run in the Democratic primary on May 3 for the 5th District state senate seat.
13. Smith, Brandon (January 17, 2018). "Democrat Harper Announces Bid For Secretary Of State". WFYI. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
14. Smith, Brandon (October 30, 2019). "Lawson Announces 2018 Re-election Bid". WFIU. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
15. "2018 General Election Endorsements" (PDF). International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
16. "Election 2018 Boilermaker Endorsements". International Brotherhood of Boilermakers. November 5, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
17. "LOCAL 399 2018 NOVEMBER ELECTION ENDORSEMENTS" (PDF). IUOE Local 399. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
18. "IUOE Local 150 Endorsed Candidates" (PDF). IUOE Local 150. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
19. "2018 Political Endorsements". Teamsters Local 89. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
20. "Greater Lafayette Endorses Candidates for November 2018 Election". Greater Lafayette. July 3, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
21. "Secretary of State". Indiana Election Division. January 1, 2019. Retrieved October 20, 2025.