States' Secretaries of State Are Tipping Balance of Power By Ed Barnes - FOXNews.com In every major election since 2000 Secretaries of State have emerged as key, often decisive, and partisan figures in the outcomes of those ballot battles. print email share recommend (6) Katherine Harris, Florida's secretary of state in 2000, helped seal George W. Bush's presidential election. In 2000 it was Katherine Harris, the secretary of state of Florida, who made critical decisions that helped swing the state Republican. In 2004 it was Kenneth Blackwell, Ohio's Secretary of State, who earned democratic wrath for ensuring a close Republican...