Colorado Secretary of State election, 2026

	← 2022
Colorado Secretary of State
	Democratic primary; Republican primary; General election;
Election details
	Filing deadline: March 18, 2026
	Primary: June 30, 2026; General: November 3, 2026
How to vote
	Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Voting in Colorado
Ballotpedia analysis
	Federal and state primary competitiveness; State executive elections in 2026; Impact of term limits in 2026; State government trifectas; State government triplexes; Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
Colorado; executive elections
	Governor; Lieutenant Governor; Attorney General; Secretary of State; Treasurer; State Board of Education (3 seats); State Board of Regents (3 seats);

Colorado is holding an election for secretary of state on November 3, 2026. The primary is June 30, 2026. The filing deadline is March 18, 2026.

For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

Candidates and election results

Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:

Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies

General election

The primary will occur on June 30, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. Additional general election candidates will be added here following the primary.

General election for Colorado Secretary of State

Melissa Richards is running in the general election for Colorado Secretary of State on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Melissa Richards (Unaffiliated)

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Colorado Secretary of State

Jessie Danielson and Amanda Gonzalez are running in the Democratic primary for Colorado Secretary of State on June 30, 2026.

		Candidate
		Jessie Danielson
		Amanda Gonzalez

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Colorado Secretary of State

Cory Parella and Ross Taraborelli are running in the Republican primary for Colorado Secretary of State on June 30, 2026.

		Candidate
		Cory Parella
	Submit photo	Ross Taraborelli

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Candidate profiles

There are currently no candidate profiles created for this race. Candidate profiles will appear here as they are created. Encourage the candidates in this race to complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey so that their profile will appear here.

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

No candidate in this race has completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia is seeking 100 percent participation so voters can learn more about all the candidates on their ballots.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Colorado

Election information in Colorado: Nov. 3, 2026, election.

What is the voter registration deadline?

In-person: Nov. 3, 2026
By mail: Postmarked by Oct. 26, 2026
Online: Oct. 26, 2026

Is absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

N/A

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

In-person: N/A
By mail: N/A by N/A
Online: N/A

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

In-person: Nov. 3, 2026
By mail: Received by Nov. 3, 2026

Is early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What are the early voting start and end dates?

Oct. 19, 2026 to Nov. 3, 2026

Are all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, is a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When are polls open on Election Day?

7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. (MT)

Past elections

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2014.

2022

See also: Colorado Secretary of State election, 2022

General election

General election for Colorado Secretary of State

The following candidates ran in the general election for Colorado Secretary of State on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jena Griswold (D)	55.1	1,369,040
		Pam Anderson (R)	42.1	1,045,482
		Bennett Rutledge (L)	1.5	36,485
	Submit photo	Amanda Campbell (American Constitution Party)	0.7	17,602
		Gary Swing (Unity Party)	0.5	11,458
		Jan Kok (Approval Voting Party)	0.2	4,591

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,484,658
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Jeff Orrok (Approval Voting Party)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Colorado Secretary of State

Incumbent Jena Griswold advanced from the Democratic primary for Colorado Secretary of State on June 28, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jena Griswold	100.0	510,462

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 510,462
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Colorado Secretary of State

Pam Anderson defeated Tina Peters and Mike O'Donnell in the Republican primary for Colorado Secretary of State on June 28, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Pam Anderson	43.1	268,638
	Tina Peters	28.9	180,059
	Mike O'Donnell	28.1	175,158

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 623,855
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

David Winney (R)

Approval Voting Party convention

Approval Voting Party convention for Colorado Secretary of State

Jeff Orrok advanced from the Approval Voting Party convention for Colorado Secretary of State on March 26, 2022.

		Candidate
✔	Submit photo	Jeff Orrok (Approval Voting Party)

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2018

See also: Colorado Secretary of State election, 2018

General election

General election for Colorado Secretary of State

Jena Griswold defeated incumbent Wayne W. Williams, Amanda Campbell, and Blake Huber in the general election for Colorado Secretary of State on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jena Griswold (D)	52.7	1,313,716
		Wayne W. Williams (R)	44.7	1,113,927
	Submit photo	Amanda Campbell (American Constitution Party)	2.1	51,734
		Blake Huber (Approval Voting Party)	0.5	13,258

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,492,635
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Bennett Rutledge (L)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Colorado Secretary of State

Jena Griswold advanced from the Democratic primary for Colorado Secretary of State on June 26, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jena Griswold	100.0	510,903

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 510,903
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Colorado Secretary of State

Incumbent Wayne W. Williams advanced from the Republican primary for Colorado Secretary of State on June 26, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Wayne W. Williams	100.0	414,926

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 414,926
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2014

See also: Colorado secretary of state election, 2014

Secretary of State of Colorado, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Wayne Williams	47.3%	932,588
	Democratic	Joe Neguse	45%	886,043
	American Constitution	Amanda Campbell	3.9%	77,790
	Libertarian	David Schambach	3.7%	73,413
Total Votes				1,969,834
Election results via Colorado Secretary of State

Election analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about demographics, past elections, and partisan control of the state.

Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the state.
Statewide elections - Information about recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in the state.
State partisanship - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.

Presidential elections

Demographics

See also: Presidential voting trends in Colorado and The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Cook PVI by congressional district

*Cook Political Report'*s Partisan Voter Index for Colorado, 2026
District	Incumbent	PVI
Colorado's 1st	Diana DeGette	D+29
Colorado's 2nd	Joe Neguse	D+20
Colorado's 3rd	Jeff Hurd	R+5
Colorado's 4th	Lauren Boebert	R+9
Colorado's 5th	Jeff Crank	R+5
Colorado's 6th	Jason Crow	D+11
Colorado's 7th	Brittany Pettersen	D+8
Colorado's 8th	Gabe Evans	EVEN

2024 presidential results by 2026 congressional district lines

2024 presidential results in congressional districts, Colorado
District	Kamala Harris	Donald Trump
Colorado's 1st	77.0%	21.0%
Colorado's 2nd	69.0%	29.0%
Colorado's 3rd	44.0%	54.0%
Colorado's 4th	40.0%	58.0%
Colorado's 5th	44.0%	53.0%
Colorado's 6th	58.0%	39.0%
Colorado's 7th	56.0%	41.0%
Colorado's 8th	48.0%	50.0%
Source: The Downballot

2016-2024

How a state's counties vote in a presidential election and the size of those counties can provide additional insights into election outcomes at other levels of government including statewide and congressional races. Below, four categories are used to describe each county's voting pattern over the 2016, 2020, and 2024 presidential elections: Solid, Trending, Battleground, and New. Click [show] on the table below for examples:

County-level voting pattern categories
Democratic
Status	2016	2020	2024
Solid Democratic	D	D	D
Trending Democratic	R	D	D
Battleground Democratic	D	R	D
New Democratic	R	R	D
Republican
Status	2016	2020	2024
Solid Republican	R	R	R
Trending Republican	D	R	R
Battleground Republican	R	D	R
New Republican	D	D	R

Following the 2024 presidential election, 59.6% of Coloradans lived in one of the state's 21 Solid Democratic counties, which voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in every election from 2016 to 2024, and 35.8% lived in one of 39 Solid Republican counties. Overall, Colorado was Solid Democratic, having voted for Hillary Clinton (D) in 2016, Joe Biden (D) in 2020, and Kamala Harris (D) in 2024. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in Colorado following the 2024 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.

Colorado county-level statistics, 2024
Solid Democratic	21	59.6%
Solid Republican	39	35.8%
Battleground Republican	1	2.9%
Trending Democratic	2	1.4%
Trending Republican	1	0.3%
Total voted Democratic	23	61.0%
Total voted Republican	41	39.0%

Historical voting trends

Colorado presidential election results (1900-2024)

14 Democratic wins
18 Republican wins

Year	1900	1904	1908	1912	1916	1920	1924	1928	1932	1936	1940	1944	1948	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020	2024
Winning Party	D	R	D	D	D	R	R	R	D	D	R	R	D	R	R	R	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D

This section details the results of the five most recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections held in the state.

U.S. Senate elections

See also: List of United States Senators from Colorado

The table below details the vote in the five most recent U.S. Senate races in Colorado.

U.S. Senate election results in Colorado
Race	Winner	Runner up
2022	55.9%	41.3%
2020	53.5%	44.2%
2016	49.9%	44.3%
2014	48.2%	46.3%
2010	48.1%	46.4%
Average	51.1	44.5

Gubernatorial elections

See also: Governor of Colorado

The table below details the vote in the five most recent gubernatorial elections in Colorado.

Gubernatorial election results in Colorado
Race	Winner	Runner up
2022	58.5%	39.2%
2018	53.4%	42.8%
2014	49.3%	46.0%
2010	51.1%	36.4% (Constitution Party)
2006	57.0%	40.2%
Average	53.9	40.9

See also: Party control of Colorado state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Colorado's congressional delegation as of October 2025.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Colorado
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	2	4	6
Republican	0	4	4
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	0	0
Total	2	8	10

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Colorado's top four state executive offices as of October 2025.

State executive officials in Colorado, October 2025
Office	Officeholder
Governor	Jared Polis
Lieutenant Governor	Dianne Primavera
Secretary of State	Jena Griswold
Attorney General	Phil Weiser

State legislature

Colorado State Senate

Party		As of October 2025
	Democratic Party	23
	Republican Party	12
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		35

Colorado House of Representatives

Party		As of October 2025
	Democratic Party	43
	Republican Party	22
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		65

Trifecta control

Colorado Party Control: 1992-2025
Thirteen years of Democratic trifectas • Four years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

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	21	22	23	24	25
Governor	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
Senate	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
House	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D

The table below details demographic data in Colorado and compares it to the broader United States as of 2023.

Demographic Data for Colorado
	Colorado	United States
Population	5,773,714	331,449,281
Land area (sq mi)	103,636	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White	73.5%	63.4%
Black/African American	4%	12.4%
Asian	3.2%	5.8%
Native American	1%	0.9%
Pacific Islander	0.4%	0.4%
Other (single race)	5.4%	6.6%
Multiple	12.7%	10.7%
Hispanic/Latino	22.2%	19%
Education
High school graduation rate	92.8%	89.4%
College graduation rate	44.7%	35%
Income
Median household income	$92,470	$78,538
Persons below poverty level	9.4%	12.4%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2018-2023).
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Secretary of State elections in 2026

There are 26 secretary of state seats on the ballot in 2026.

External links

Footnotes

Colorado	State Executive Elections	News and Analysis

Colorado State Executive Offices Colorado State Legislature Colorado Courts	2026 • 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 Colorado elections: 2026 • 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016	Party control of state government State government trifectas State of the state addresses Partisan composition of governors

	v • e State of Colorado Denver (capital)
Elections	What's on my ballot? \| Elections in 2025 \| How to vote \| How to run for office \| Ballot measures
Government	Who represents me? \| U.S. President \| U.S. Congress \| Federal courts \| State executives \| State legislature \| State and local courts \| Counties \| Cities \| School districts \| Public policy

Colorado Secretary of State election, 2026

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for Colorado Secretary of State

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Colorado Secretary of State

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Colorado Secretary of State

Candidate profiles

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Voting information

Past elections

2022

General election

General election for Colorado Secretary of State

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Colorado Secretary of State

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Colorado Secretary of State

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Approval Voting Party convention

Approval Voting Party convention for Colorado Secretary of State

2018

General election

General election for Colorado Secretary of State

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Colorado Secretary of State

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Colorado Secretary of State

2014

Election analysis

Cook PVI by congressional district

2024 presidential results by 2026 congressional district lines

2016-2024

Historical voting trends

U.S. Senate elections

Gubernatorial elections

Congressional delegation

State executive

State legislature

Colorado State Senate

Colorado House of Representatives

Trifecta control

Secretary of State elections in 2026

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

2025 Elections

2026 Elections

Election analysis

Trending

Public Policy

Information for candidates

Get Engaged

Services

Additional analysis

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