Indiana Secretary of State announces reelection campaign

INDIANAPOLIS — One Indiana official is looking ahead to the 2026 election.

Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales announced his reelection campaign for Secretary of State on Thursday. Morales, a Republican, was elected to the position in November 2022, receiving 54% of the vote.

According to previous reports, Destiny Wells, Morales’ Democratic challenger, received 40% of the vote in that particular election and Jeff Maurer, a Libertarian, received almost 6% of the vote.

“This journey started when I first announced my candidacy for Indiana Secretary of State in 2020. Because of the trust that Hoosier voters placed in me, we have been able to accomplish so much in such a short time,” Morales said in the announcement on Thursday. “But this work is not done. There is still so much more to do. That is why I am running for reelection as Indiana Secretary of State.”

During Morales’ tenure as Indiana’s Secretary of State, the announcement read that Morales’ priority was “election integrity,” stating that his office helped expand “the state’s voter ID law to include mail-in voting, increased data available for voter list maintenance (and) enhanced proof of residency requirements…”

Morales also helped challenge “federal overreach in Indiana.” In July 2024, Morales asked federal agencies and departments to not engage in voter registration efforts without the permission of the state of Indiana.

According to previous reports, Morales and Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita recently filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on claims that the department failed to verify the citizenship status of more than 550,000 voters.

In the announcement, Morales also spoke about his work with the office’s business services division, including a cease and desist order his office gave against BlackRock, Inc.

According to his election website, Morales outlined some of his priorities that he aims to cover if he is reelected to the position in 2026, including:

• Continue to promote and support legislation that puts more emphasis on Election Day
• Support action at the federal level to allow documentary proof of citizenship for all voter registration applications
• Modernize Indiana’s statewide voter registration and election management system
• Expand Indiana’s campaign finance portal to include local candidate committees and PACs to enhance transparency
• Support action at the federal level to remove outdated restrictions that limit states ability to perform comprehensive voter list maintenance
• Continue investigations and enforcement to ensure firms like Blackrock are not deceiving Hoosier investors
• Increased financial literacy programs to focus on preventing potential financial crimes

As part of his reelection campaign, the announcement reads that he has around $1 million in cash on hand.