Michele Reagan became Arizona Secretary of State in 2015. Republican state Sen. Michele Reagan has been elected secretary of state.
Reagan took the seat from Democrat Terry Goddard with 52 percent of votes. Goddard, former Arizona attorney general, got nearly 48 percent of votes.
During her campaign, Reagan said voter fraud must be addressed from the secretary of state’s office. She also said ballot harvesting, or the gathering of absentee ballots by groups who intend to selectively turn in those ballots based on the vote, was another major problem facing state elections.
To Goddard it was about "dark money," which is campaign funding from groups not required to disclose names of their donors, was the largest issue confronting Arizona elections. He pushed for campaigning that is fully transparent and stops the use of unaccounted outside money.
Reagan has been the chair of the state Senate's Election and vice chair of the Senate Commerce, Energy and Military Committee.
During the campaign, Reagan and Goddard agreed on one issue: the job's oversight of elections requires a nonpartisan approach.
Both candidates also saw their experience as something that could make them a good governor, if the possibility arose. Four of the state’s last nine governors came from the secretary of state's position, making the issue of qualifications to be governor a campaign issue.
Reagan said her time spent in the state Capitol would be most important if she ascended to the governorship.
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