John,

Our elections and how they’re run have taken center stage in the national conversation in a way that they never have — in large part because election deniers are spreading lies about the process.

In roughly half of the 27 secretary of state (SOS) races on the ballot this November, election-denying candidates — who have promoted lies about the 2020 election — have emerged as the Republican Party’s nominees. Additionally, these races for states’ top election officials, which once garnered little attention, are seeing a record amount of cash flowing into them.

Issue One took a deep dive into campaign finance filings to get a better idea of where all this money is coming from. Our analysis shows a staggering fact. SOS candidates across the board have raised tens of millions of dollars, and election-denying SOS candidates have collectively raised more than $12 million for their campaigns this election cycle — including more than $5.8 million raised by election deniers who prevailed in their primaries and will be on the ballot this November. And in two states — Arizona and Indiana — with competitive SOS races, election deniers are significantly outraising their general opponents.

The amount of money pouring into these once-sleepy races is eye-popping. So who’s bankrolling these election denier candidates? Our new report pulls back the curtain.

Read our new report, “Who’s Bankrolling Election Deniers?”

We appreciate your support,

Michael Beckel
Research Director, Issue One