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 County results Morales: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Wells: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Indiana |
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The 2022 Indiana Secretary of State election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the next secretary of state of Indiana. Holli Sullivan, a Republican who was appointed to replace Connie Lawson as Secretary of State in 2021, ran for a full term in office but was defeated in the Republican primary by Diego Morales. The Democratic, Republican, and Libertarian parties chose their nominees for Secretary of State at a party convention on June 18, 2022.[1]
Despite Indiana's strong Republican lean, polls showed a competitive race. Republican nominee Diego Morales faced numerous controversies, including the fact that he was previously fired from a position in the Secretary of State office; his echoing of Donald Trump's false accusations of fraud in the 2020 elections; his use of campaign funds to purchase a $43,000 Toyota RAV4; his description of himself as a "veteran" even though he only served in the military for three months and he was in the Indiana Army National Guard and never deployed on Active Duty (the federal definition of a "veteran" only includes active duty or guardsmen who have deployed on active duty orders); claims that portions of his resume are exaggerated or misleading; and two accusations of sexual harassment against him.[2][3][4][5][6] After winning the Republican nomination, he changed his stance on the 2020 presidential election, telling The Washington Post that he believed Biden won legitimately. WTHR commented that Morales received the most negative press of any statewide candidate in Indiana since Richard Mourdock in the 2012 Senate race.[7]
Despite Morales's controversies, he secured a decisive victory over Wells and Maurer. However, he underperformed all other statewide Republican nominees in Indiana by 5-7 percentage points.[8]
- ^ "Here's why secretary of state, auditor and treasurer are not on the primary ballot". WTHR. May 3, 2022. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
- ^ "Ex-Pence aide seeks Indiana elections office that fired him". June 2, 2022.
- ^ "Secretary of State candidate Diego Morales used campaign funds for $43,000 car".
- ^ "Diego Morales responds to criticism of using "veteran" to describe himself".
- ^ "Ex-Pence Indiana aide running for Congress defends resume".
- ^ "Morales responds to sexual harassment accusations".
- ^ "HOWEY: Diego Morales and the press".
- ^ "Republicans win Indiana auditor, treasurer & secretary of state races".