The conservative super PAC eyes nine races in 2014. PAC targets state secretary races

With voting laws increasingly front and center of state politics, a new conservative super PAC is launching to target elections for secretaries of states.

The group, SOS for SoS, plans to support secretary of state candidates who are in favor of what they call “smart voting” policies, like voter ID measures, proof of citizenship requirements and removing ineligible voters from voting rolls, according to an announcement first released to POLITICO.


The super PAC will eye races in nine states in 2014, with a goal of fundraising and spending in the seven-figure range. Spokesman Logan Churchwell said the aim is to raise and spend $10 million across the states, and that fundraising is already off to a “strong start.”

Races in focus for 2014 include Ohio, Colorado, Iowa and Michigan. SOS for SoS also plans to support the reelection of one of the more nationally known secretaries of state, Kansas’s Kris Kobach, who has been active in voter ID legislation and has sued the government for the ability to require proof of citizenship on voter registration forms.

Led by the former managing director of pro-Gingrich super PAC Winning our Future, Gregg Phillips, the super PAC is in part a response to the formation of a similar PAC by Democrats in December.

Controversy over voting laws has been picking up in recent years, with 2013 seeing nearly 300 bills dealing with elections enacted in the states, according to research from the National Conference of State Legislatures. Eight states passed voter ID requirements last year, including strict laws in Arkansas, North Carolina and Virginia.

In most states, the secretary of state deals directly with election administration and is increasingly being seen as an important elected office to target for groups on both sides of the voting laws fight.

National interest in secretary of state battles picked up in 2006, Churchwell said, with the formation of a similar group by liberal activists that sought to install Democratic secretaries of state in the wake of the 2000 election’s debacle in Florida. The group is now defunct.

“The game started changing in 2000 when people saw what happened in Florida and saw not only the opportunity for mischief, but also the opportunity for influence,” Churchwell said. “Given the fact that throughout 2013, election policy became a front-page issue in an off-year that’s hardly ever an issue in an on-year, we saw that not only political parties are eager to toy with this system but also regular voters are concerned as well.”

Phillips said the group is a response to what is being called for by Americans.

“The vast majority of Americans demand smart policies like voter identification and cooperative maintenance of election records – it’s time they be presented with candidates who can deliver,” Phillips said in a statement. “Election policy was recently elevated to the national discussion because people are unwilling to allow their voting process to become polluted with command and control political tactics.”

According to a map from the Republican State Leadership Committee, Republicans currently hold 29 of the 50 secretary of state offices nationwide. Nine Democratic-held seats and 18 Republican-held seats are up for election in 2014.