35 States Pick Election Chiefs in Midterms Shaped by Trump Data Fight
A new Bolts guide maps November secretary-of-state races where Trump's demand for voter data and election-denier candidates are central issues.
What to know
- 16 Republican-led states, including Ohio and Iowa, shared voter data with the Trump administration; Minnesota and Nevada's Democratic secretaries refused and were sued by the federal government, with courts largely upholding the refusals.
- 35 states plus D.C. are voting in November on who will run elections, either directly (23 states) or by electing officials who appoint elections chiefs (12 states plus D.C.).
- Election deniers Alexander Kolodin (Arizona) and Jim Marchant (Nevada) are running for secretary of state in swing states; Arizona's winner will certify the 2028 presidential race.
- Democratic candidates like Iowa's Ryan Peterman and Ohio's Allison Russo are campaigning on refusing federal data-sharing, while Republicans such as Robert Sprague and Tim Fleming echo Trump's mail-voting restrictions.
“Protecting this data is essential”
Allison Russo, Democratic candidate, Ohio Secretary of State · Bolts ↗ · Oct 12
Donald Trump U.S. President
Frank LaRose Ohio Secretary of StatePaul Pate Iowa Secretary of State
Steve Simon Minnesota Secretary of State
Cisco Aguilar Nevada Secretary of State
Alexander Kolodin Republican candidate, Arizona Secretary of State
Jim Marchant Republican candidate, Nevada Secretary of State
How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlesposts
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Bolts publishes guide to 35 states' election-chief races
Bolts magazine's Camille Squires detailed November contests for secretary of state and equivalent offices across 35 states and D.C., framing them around Trump's data demands, mail-voting fights, and election denialism.
“absolutely wants more collaboration…”
— Frank LaRose, Ohio Secretary of State · source -
first by Bolts, 14h ago
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NEW in Bolts: The midterms will usher in a new cast of characters to oversee the next presidential race. They’ll decide how to answer Trump’s orders and how to shape mail voting and registration. Explore our state breakdown: https:// boltsmag.org/guide-to-contests -for-chief-elections-official-secretary-of-state/
1 more of the top 2 · 2 posts in this stretch
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35 States Are Deciding Who’ll Run Their Elections https:// politicalwire.com/2026/10/13/3 5-states-are-deciding-wholl-run-their-elections/?ap=m
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background
Election deniers run for top election posts in Arizona, Nevada — Arizona Republican Alexander Kolodin, temporarily disbarred for trying to overturn 2020 results, and Nevada Republican Jim Marchant, who wants to unregister every voter in the state, are both running for secretary of state; Arizona's winner will certify the 2028 presidential election.
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Candidates split sharply on data-sharing and mail voting — Democrats including Iowa's Ryan Peterman and Ohio's Allison Russo vow to reject federal data requests, while Republicans like Kansas's Pat Proctor, Georgia's Tim Fleming, and Ohio's Robert Sprague back restrictions on mail ballots and drop boxes.
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Democratic secretaries refuse, federal government sues — Minnesota's Steve Simon and Nevada's Cisco Aguilar rebuffed the data demand; the federal government sued the holdout states, but courts largely upheld their refusal to comply.
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16 Republican-led states comply with the data request — Ohio's Frank LaRose and Iowa's Paul Pate, both Republicans, turned over voter data, joined by 14 other GOP-led states; LaRose said he "absolutely wants more collaboration" with the feds.
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Trump demands states share voter data with federal agencies — After retaking the White House, Trump pushed states to hand over sensitive voter data to federal agencies as part of a broader effort to control election administration.