The 2022 Washington Secretary of State special election was held on November 8, 2022. Incumbent

Kim Wyman Kimberley Marie Wyman (born July 15, 1962) is an American politician who served as the 15th Secretary of State of Washington from 2013 to 2021. Wyman resigned as Secretary of State on November 19, 2021, to work on election security at the Cyberse ...

, a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, resigned from the office on November 19, 2021, to become the senior election security lead for the

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in the

Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the 46th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2021. Biden, a Democrat from Delaware who previously served as vice president under Barack Obama, took office following his victory ...

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...

. Washington governor

Jay Inslee Jay Robert Inslee (; born February 9, 1951) is an American politician, lawyer, and economist who has served as the 23rd governor of Washington since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a member of the U.S. House of Representat ...

, a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, announced he would appoint state senator Steve Hobbs as her replacement, the first Democrat to hold the office in more than fifty years. In the primary election, Hobbs easily took first place. The race for the second spot in the general election was a close three-way battle between state senator

Keith Wagoner Keith Leonard Wagoner (born 1961) is an American politician currently serving in the Washington State Senate representing Washington's 39th legislative district, He previously served as mayor of Sedro-Woolley, Washington. He is a member of the Re ...

and technician Bob Hagglund, both Republicans, and Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson, an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

. After a week of tabulation, Anderson was declared the winner, with the three candidates separated by just over 14,000 votes—less than 1% of the total.

Brad Klippert Bradley Allen Klippert (born June 27, 1957) is an American politician, minister, law enforcement officer, and military officer who formerly served as a member of the Washington House of Representatives from the 8th Legislative District. Career K ...

, a Republican state representative, ran a write-in campaign in the general election. Hobbs narrowly won the general election with 49.8% of the vote, over 7% less than the vote share won by

Patty Murray Patricia Lynn Murray (; born October 11, 1950) is an American politician and educator who is the senior United States senator from Washington since 1993. A member of the Democratic Party, Murray was in the Washington State Senate from 1988 to ...

in the concurrent Senate race. This marked the first time since 1960 that a Democrat was elected Washington Secretary of State.

Primary election

Democratic Party

Declared

* Steve Hobbs, incumbent

Washington Secretary of State The secretary of state of Washington is an independently elected constitutional officer in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Washington. Fifteen individuals have held the office of Secretary of State since statehood. The ...

*Marquez Tiggs

Republican Party

Declared

*Tamborine Borrelli, director of the Washington Election Integrity Coalition United and Independent candidate for in

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Mark Miloscia Mark Anthony Miloscia (born September 13, 1958) is an American politician and former public school teacher who served in the Washington State Senate from 2015 to 2019. A Democrat for more than twenty years, in 2014 he switched to the Republican P ...

, former

state senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

(2015–2019) *

, state senator (2018–present) *Bob Hagglund, technician

Independents and third parties

Declared

* Julie Anderson (Nonpartisan), Pierce County auditor *Kurtis Engle (Union)

Forum

Endorsements

Polling

Results

General election

Predictions

Candidates

*Julie Anderson (Nonpartisan), Pierce County Auditor * Steve Hobbs (Democratic), incumbent Secretary of State *

(Republican,

write-in A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...

), state representative, candidate for U.S. Senate in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

and

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, and candidate for

Washington's 4th congressional district Washington's 4th congressional district encompasses a large area of central Washington, covering the counties of Douglas, Okanogan, Grant, Yakima, Franklin, Benton, and Adams, and part of Walla Walla County. The district is dominated by the Ya ...

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Debates

A debate was scheduled for October 18 at the

University of Puget Sound The University of Puget Sound (UPS or Puget Sound) is a private university in Tacoma, Washington. The university draws approximately 2,600 students from 44 states and 16 countries. It offers 1,200 courses each year in more than 50 traditional an ...

, but it was canceled.

Endorsements

Endorsements in bold were made after the primary election.

Polling

Results

By congressional district

Hobbs won 4 of 10 congressional districts with the remaining 6 going to Anderson, including four that elected Democrats.

Notes

;Partisan clients

References

External links

;Official campaign websites
Julie Anderson (NP) for Secretary of StateSteve Hobbs (D) for Secretary of StateBrad Klippet (R) for Secretary of State (write-in)
{{DEFAULTSORT:2022 Washington Secretary of State Special Election Washington (state) Secretary of State elections

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

November 2022 events in the United States Secretary of State 2022 Secretary of State special