Wagner seeks California secretary of state seat Nov. 3

Donald P. Wagner, a Republican and Orange County supervisor, is running for California secretary of state in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. He faces Shirley Weber, a Democrat, according to CalMatters.

Wagner, an attorney who resides in Irvine, said in his candidate statement that the office should be nonpartisan. He said it should represent "the will of the people, not answering to Sacramento political machines."

Candidate information

Party: Republican
Residence: Irvine, California
Born: Dec. 3, 1960, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Family: Married to Megan Wagner, an Orange County Superior Court judge; three children
Education: Bachelor's degree in English, University of California, Los Angeles; juris doctor, University of California, Hastings College of Law (1987)

Experience and public service

Wagner has held elected office at the local and state level for more than two decades, according to his Wikipedia biography.

He has served as supervisor for District 3 on the Orange County Board of Supervisors since March 2019. He chaired the board from January 2023 to January 2025. Before that, he served as mayor of Irvine from December 2016 to March 2019.

Wagner represented his district in the California State Assembly from December 2010 to November 2016. He earlier served as a trustee and board president of the South Orange County Community College District, starting in 1998.

Outside elected office, Wagner practiced law at several firms and served as a judge pro tempore in Orange County Superior Court. He was founding president of the Orange County chapter of the Federalist Society, president of the American Lung Association of Orange County and a committee and advisory board member of the Orange County Bar Association.

On the issues

The following positions are drawn from Wagner's candidate statement filed with the California secretary of state's office and from his campaign website responses collected by BallotReady. All statements reflect the candidate's own claims.

Voter ID: Wagner said thirty-six states and most democratic nations require photo identification at the polls and that California's lack of such a requirement leaves election security weak.

Voter rolls: Wagner said California's voter rolls are outdated and that the state wastes millions mailing ballots to people who have moved or died. He pledged to clean up the rolls.

Vote counting: Wagner said he would speed up vote counting so California announces results on election night, rather than taking more than a month.

Election access and security: Wagner said on his campaign website that he would make sure every eligible voter can participate while ensuring only eligible voters cast ballots.

Small business: Wagner said on his campaign website that he would ensure the secretary of state's business division is "small-business friendly."