Several secretaries of state who gained prominence for defending the 2020 election results against false claims by Donald Trump are now seeking governorships in 2026. These candidates, from both parties, are shifting focus to economic issues like taxes and affordability, betting that voters have moved past the events of five years ago. While Trump continues to revisit those claims, the candidates emphasize current priorities over past battles.
State election officials emerged as key figures in safeguarding democracy after the 2020 presidential election, resisting pressure from then-President Donald Trump to overturn results. Now, some are leveraging that experience in bids for governor in the 2026 midterms, though they are deliberately downplaying those events to appeal to voters concerned with everyday issues.
Republican Secretaries of State Brad Raffensperger of Georgia and Scott Schwab of Kansas rejected Trump's unfounded assertions about the election. Raffensperger famously withstood a call from Trump to "find" more votes, facing threats and a primary challenge in 2022 that he overcame. In his gubernatorial campaign launch, he highlights job creation, tax reductions, and other policy goals, framing his record as proof of making "tough decisions." Schwab, in deeply conservative Kansas, stresses property taxes and streamlining business services, noting briefly that he "secured our elections." Both survived reelection in 2022 despite opposition from Trump allies.
"2020 is very far behind us as secretaries of state," Schwab said. "We remember it, but we’re moving on, and I think the American public is too."
On the Democratic side, Michigan's Jocelyn Benson and Maine's Shenna Bellows also defended their states' results amid threats. Benson endured protests at her home and swatting incidents, portraying her stance as leadership against bullies. Her campaign prioritizes lowering living costs, housing, and health care. "This election is about Michigan, and this election is about who is best positioned to lower costs for the people in our state," she told POLITICO.
Bellows, who later ruled Trump ineligible for Maine's ballot in 2023—a decision overturned by the Supreme Court—emphasizes integrity alongside economic worries like tariffs and job losses. "Leadership is about doing what is right, even when it is hard," she stated in her launch video.
Trump's recent repetition of election fraud claims at Davos and an FBI search of 2020 ballots in Georgia's Fulton County keep the issue alive. Yet, candidates like Raffensperger sidestep it, with one observer noting that while a vocal minority clings to 2020, most voters focus elsewhere. Democratic strategists argue that such stances still signal character and commitment to democracy, now linked to broader fights against authoritarianism.
