The Washington Secretary of State election, 2012, took place on November 6, 2012.

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 ...

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 ...

was narrowly elected Secretary of State to succeed incumbent Republican

Sam Reed Sam S. Reed (born January 10, 1941) is an American accountant and politician who served as the 14th Secretary of State of Washington from 2001 to 2013 and is a member of the Republican Party. Reed was Washington's fourteenth Secretary of State ...

, who did not seek re-election.

Primary election

The primary election took place in August. Under Washington's

top-two primary A nonpartisan blanket primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office run against each other at once, regardless of the political party. Partisan elections are, on the other hand, segregated by political party ...

system, introduced in the early 2000s, the primary was designed to narrow the field of candidates to two, rather than select specific party nominees, and candidates could designate themselves as affiliated with any

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

, whether it existed or not. Seven candidates contested the primary: * Thurston County Auditor

ran under the Republican Party designation. * Karen Murray ran under the Constitution Party designation. * Sam Wright ran under the Human Rights Party designation. * David J. Anderson ran as an independent candidate. * Former

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Greg Nickels Gregory J. Nickels (born August 7, 1955) is an American politician who served as the 51st mayor of Seattle, Washington. He took office on January 1, 2002 and was reelected to a second term in 2005. In August 2009, Nickels finished third in the p ...

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 ...

Jim Kastama James Matthew Kastama (born October 5, 1959) was a Senator in the Washington State Senate. A Democrat, Kastama represented the 25th legislative district. He chaired the Senate Economic Development, Trade and Innovation Committee, and participated ...

, and former state legislator Kathleen Drew, all ran under the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

designation. Wyman and Drew scored the most votes in the primary contest, thereby becoming the two candidates to advance to the general election. Wyman received 39.75-percent of the vote and Drew 21.73-percent.

General election

Republican Kim Wyman won the general election in a close-fought contest, and was the only Republican elected to statewide office in Washington. She was endorsed in the election by the ''

Walla Walla Union-Bulletin The ''Walla Walla Union-Bulletin'' (U-B) is a newspaper based in Walla Walla, Washington and owned by the Seattle Times Company. It publishes daily except Saturdays. History The modern ''Union-Bulletin'' can trace its origins to the ''Washingto ...

'', ''

The Wenatchee World ''The Wenatchee World'' is the leading daily newspaper in Wenatchee and East Wenatchee, Washington, United States. Serving Chelan, Douglas and other North Central Washington counties since 1905, ''The Wenatchee World'' prints on its front page th ...

'', the ''

Tri-City Herald The ''Tri-City Herald'' is a daily newspaper based in Kennewick, Washington, United States. Owned by The McClatchy Company, the newspaper serves southeastern Washington state, including the three cities of Kennewick, Pasco and Richland (which ...

'', and ''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington (s ...

''. She was also endorsed by the Washington Education Association, which typically endorsed Democrats. With Wyman's victory, Republicans extended their control of the office of

Secretary of State of Washington 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 ...

to 48 consecutive years, having won each of the preceding 12 elections.

Polling

;Graphical summary

By congressional district

Wyman won 6 of 10 congressional districts, including 3 that also went for

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Washington Secretary of State Election, 2012 secretary of state

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

2012 United States state secretary of state elections November 2012 events in the United States