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'A seismic shift' for secretary of state racesThe 2020 election represented a high-water mark for prominence of the secretary of state position. The sitting President was calling out secretaries by name, including some Republicans, and urging his supporters to put pressure on these offices to refuse to certify elections in states he had lost.Its absolutely getting worse: Secretaries of state targeted by Trump election lies live in fear for their safety and are desperate for protectionIn several states, the secretary of state is appointed by the governor, but the position is an elected office in a majority of states, albeit one that voters haven't usually prioritized. Both Republican and Democratic campaigns raised tiny sums compared with other statewide counterparts, and few aired ads on television.That has shifted since the 2020 election and the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol, reflected in fundraising by top secretary of state candidates and the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State.An insurrection makes a difference. The aftermath of the 2020 election forced more Americans to recognize that our country is at a crossroads and our democracy is in peril, i think across the board, all of those factors culminated in people recognizing that secretaries of state are one of our last lines of defense. And people are paying attention now.