Indiana, Secretary of State

Indiana held an election for secretary of state on November 6, 2018.

In Indiana, political parties nominate state executive candidates at their conventions instead of holding a primary. The Republican Party convention took place on June 9, and the Democratic Party convention took place on June 16. Following the convention, the political parties submit their nominations to the state elections board to be certified for the ballot. These nominations had to be submitted by July 16, 2018.

All minor party and independent candidates must file signed petitions of nomination with the Secretary of State's Office in order to be certified for the general election ballot. These petitions had to be submitted by July 16, 2018. Because a Libertarian Party candidate won at least 2 percent but less than 10 percent of the vote cast for Indiana Secretary of State in the last election held for the office in 2014, the party nominated general election candidates during its convention's business meeting on May 5, 2018. Libertarian Party nominations also had to be submitted by July 16, 2018.

SETTING THE STAGE
Heading into the election, the sitting secretary of state was Connie Lawson (R), who was first appointed to the position in April 2012 following the resignation of Charlie White (R). Lawson was elected to a full term in 2014 and announced on May 4, 2017, that she would seek election to a second full term in 2018.
At the time of the 2018 election, Indiana was a Republican trifecta. It first gained this status in 2011, when the Republican Party gained a majority in the Indiana House of Representatives. Indiana was a Republican triplex in 2018.
In the five presidential elections leading up to the 2018 election, Indiana was won by the Republican nominee in 2000, 2004, 2012, and 2016 and by the Democratic nominee in 2008. The widest margin of victory was George W. Bush's 20.7 percent margin in 2004 while the narrowest was Barack Obama's one percent margin in 2008.

State election history

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

Historical elections

Presidential elections

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

Election results (President of the United States), Indiana 2000-2016

Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	Donald Trump	56.8%	Hillary Clinton	37.9%	18.9%
2012	Mitt Romney	54.1%	Barack Obama	43.9%	10.2%
2008	Barack Obama	50.0%	John McCain	48.9%	1.1%
2004	George W. Bush	59.9%	John Kerry	39.3%	20.6%
2000	George W. Bush	56.7%	Al Gore	41.0%	15.7%

U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Indiana 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), Indiana 2000-2016

Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	Todd Young	52.1%	Evan Bayh	42.4%	9.7%
2012	Joe Donnelly	50.0%	Richard Mourdock	44.3%	5.7%
2010	Dan Coats	54.6%	Brad Ellsworth	40.0%	14.6%
2006	Richard Lugar	87.3%	Steve Osborn	12.6%	74.7%
2004	Evan Bayh	61.7%	Marvin Scott	37.2%	24.5%
2000	Richard Lugar	66.5%	David Johnson	31.9%	34.6%

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 Indiana.

Election results (Governor), Indiana 2000-2016

Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	Eric Holcomb	51.4%	John R. Gregg	45.4%	6.0%
2012	Mike Pence	50.0%	John R. Gregg	46.6%	3.4%
2008	Mitch Daniels	57.8%	Jill Long Thompson	40.1%	17.7%
2004	Mitch Daniels	53.2%	Joe Kernan	45.5%	7.7%
2000	Frank O'Bannon	56.6%	David M. McIntosh	41.7%	14.9%

Congressional delegation, 2000-2016

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

Congressional delegation, Indiana 2000-2016

Year	Republicans	Republicans (%)	Democrats	Democrats (%)	Balance of power
2016	7	77.8%	2	22.2%	R+5
2014	7	77.8%	2	22.2%	R+5
2012	6	66.7%	3	33.3%	R+3
2010	4	44.4%	5	55.6%	D+1
2008	4	44.4%	5	55.6%	D+1
2006	7	77.8%	2	22.2%	R+5
2004	6	66.7%	3	33.3%	R+3
2002	6	66.7%	3	33.3%	R+3
2000	6	66.7%	3	33.3%	R+3

Trifectas, 1992-2017

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

Indiana Party Control: 1992-2020
No Democratic trifectas • Twelve years of 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	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
Senate	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	D	D	D	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

Demographics

Demographic data for Indiana

	Indiana	U.S.
Total population:	6,612,768	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	35,826	3,531,905
Gender
Female:	50.7%	50.8%
Race and ethnicity**
White:	84.2%	73.6%
Black/African American:	9.2%	12.6%
Asian:	1.9%	5.1%
Native American:	0.2%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0%	0.2%
Two or more:	2.2%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	6.4%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	87.8%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	24.1%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$49,255	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	18.4%	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 Indiana.

As of July 2016, Indiana had a population of approximately 6,600,000 people, with its three largest cities being Indianapolis (pop. est. 856,000), Fort Wayne (pop. est. 265,000), and Evansville (pop. est. 119,000). The chart on the right shows demographic information for Indiana from 2010 to 2015.