Secretary of state races in Arizona, Nevada, Michigan and Georgia have become pivotal battlegrounds ahead of the 2026 and 2028 presidential cycles. Democratic incumbents Adrian Fontes and Cisco Aguilar are defending seats against GOP challengers with records tied to post-2020 legal challenges, while Democrats seek to hold or flip Michigan and Georgia. Federal actions — including DOJ requests for voter rolls and an FBI search in Fulton County — underscore the national stakes if election administration shifts toward officials who promote false fraud claims.
These Secretary Of State Races Could Decide Whether Trump Can Undermine The 2028 Election
The Candidates Who Could Stop Trump From Stealing The Next Presidential Election
When President Donald Trump pressured Republican Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to alter vote totals after the 2020 election, Raffensperger refused. The episode — including Trump's Jan. 2, 2021 request to "find...11,780 votes" so he would lead Joe Biden — became a defining example of the threats some fear could be repeated in future contests.
"What I want to do is this. I just want to find, uh, 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have, because we won the state," Trump said to Raffensperger on a Jan. 2, 2021 phone call.
Raffensperger's refusal and subsequent events exposed how attacks on election administration can migrate from conspiracy to policy. Today, secretary of state races in swing states — Arizona, Nevada, Michigan and Georgia — are widely seen as critical battlegrounds ahead of the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential election.
Why These Races Matter
Secretaries of state oversee voter rolls, ballot access, certification of results and rules for recounts and audits. After 2020, many Republican candidates signaled allegiance to false claims of widespread fraud; voters and party activists have rewarded candidates who question the integrity of prior elections. That shift makes independent election officials harder to elect in GOP primaries and raises the stakes for Democrats defending these offices.
Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar speaks at the Clark County Election Department warehouse on Nov. 5, 2024, in North Las Vegas. Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal via Getty Images
Who’s Running And What They Stand For
Arizona: Democratic incumbent Adrian Fontes is seeking reelection against Republican state representative Alexander Kolodin, who has worked with figures tied to post-2020 legal challenges and was sanctioned by the State Bar of Arizona for filing meritless suits.
Nevada: Democratic incumbent Cisco Aguilar faces a rematch with Jim Marchant, an outspoken election denier who has proposed sweeping changes, including a plan to re-register voters using biometric data (Marchant has even referenced unconventional biometric ideas such as heartbeat recognition).
Michigan: Democratic Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist is running for the open secretary of state seat against Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini after incumbent Jocelyn Benson vacated the office to run for governor.
Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes is running for reelection in 2026 against Republican state Rep. Alexander Kolodin, an election denier. REBECCA NOBLE via Getty Images
Georgia: Judge Penny Brown Reynolds (D) is challenging Republican state lawmaker Tim Fleming for an office Democrats have not held in two decades. Reynolds and other Democrats warn that a Fleming victory, backed by a Trump endorsement, would lead to policies aligned with Trump’s post-2020 priorities.
Federal Pressure And Investigations
The Department of Justice has sought full voter rolls from states to allow the Department of Homeland Security to match records against a noncitizen database — a process that can produce false positives and risk wrongful removals from voter lists. The DOJ also sent letters to Michigan municipalities about voter-roll maintenance and warned it may deploy election monitors for primaries.
In Georgia and Arizona, Trump’s false allegations have spawned criminal and investigative actions: federal agents executed a search of Fulton County election offices and seized 2020 election materials, while Maricopa County material has been provided to the DOJ under a grand jury subpoena in Arizona.
What Democrats Warn And Why They’re Focusing On 2026
Democratic officials argue that flipping or defending secretary of state offices is the best defense against future interference. "We must win Arizona, we must win Nevada, we must win Michigan and we have to try to take Georgia, because '26 is about '28," Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar said, framing the 2026 contests as preparation for protecting the 2028 presidential election.
Conclusion
Control of state election offices will shape how ballots are managed, how voter rolls are maintained and how close results are certified. With some GOP nominees promoting election denial or radical administrative changes, Democrats say these races are among the most consequential contests of the midterm cycle — potentially determining whether future elections are free from coordinated interference.
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