Connecticut, Secretary of state

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

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.

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	Hillary Clinton	54.6%	Donald Trump	40.9%	13.7%
2012	Barack Obama	58.1%	Mitt Romney	40.8%	17.3%
2008	Barack Obama	60.6%	John McCain	38.2%	22.4%
2004	John Kerry	54.3%	George W. Bush	43.9%	10.4%
2000	Al Gore	55.9%	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	Richard Blumenthal	63.2%	Dan Carter	34.6%	28.6%
2012	Christopher Murphy	54.8%	Linda McMahon	43.1%	11.7%
2010	Richard Blumenthal	55.2%	Linda McMahon	43.2%	12%
2006	Joe Lieberman (I)	49.7%	Ned Lamont	39.7%	12.2%
2004	Chris Dodd	66.4%	Jack Orchulli	32.1%	34.3%
2002	Joe Lieberman	63.2%	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	Dan Malloy	50.7%	Tom Foley	48.2%	2.5%
2010	Dan Malloy	49.5%	Tom Foley	49%	.5%
2006	Jodi Rell	63.2%	John DeStefano, Jr.	35.5%	27.7%
2002	John G. Rowland	56.1%	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	0	0%	5	100%	D+5
2014	0	0%	5	100%	D+5
2012	0	0%	5	100%	D+5
2010	0	0%	5	100%	D+5
2008	0	36.8%	5	100%	D+5
2006	1	20%	4	80%	D+4
2004	3	60%	2	40%	R+1
2002	3	60%	2	40%	R+1
2000	2	40%	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: 1992-2020
Ten years of Democratic trifectas • No Republican trifectas

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
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
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
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

Demographics

Demographic data for Connecticut

	Connecticut	U.S.
Total population:	3,584,730	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	4,842	3,531,905
Gender
Female:	51.3%	50.8%
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%
Education
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) for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Connecticut.

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).