Kimberley Marie Wyman (born July 15, 1962) is an American politician who served as the 15th

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. Th ...

from 2013 to 2021. Wyman resigned as Secretary of State on November 19, 2021, to work on election security at the

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that is responsible for strengthening cybersecurity and infrastructure protection across all levels of government, ...

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 ...

Early life and education

Wyman attended college at

California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities ...

and lived abroad after graduation. Barriers to voting in US elections while living in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

inspired her to become an elections official. She earned her

Master of Public Administration The Master of Public Administration (M.P.Adm., M.P.A., or MPA) is a specialized higher professional post graduate degree in public administration, similar/ equivalent to the Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the issues of ...

degree from

Troy University Troy University is a public university in Troy, Alabama. It was founded in 1887 as Troy State Normal School within the Alabama State University System, and is now the flagship university of the Troy University System. Troy University is accredi ...

's European Division. Wyman was one of the first public officials to become a Certified Elections/Registration Administrator from

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest ...

Political career

In 2001, Wyman was appointed as Thurston County Auditor, succeeding

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. ...

. She was elected to the position in 2002 and reelected in 2006 and 2010. In the 2012 Washington state elections, Wyman was elected Secretary of State, succeeding Sam Reed, narrowly defeating her Democratic opponent, former

state Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United S ...

Kathleen Drew. Wyman was the only

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 ...

elected to statewide office in the state. 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 ...

'', 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 ...

''. The ''Times'' cited her bipartisan appeal and experience as an elections administrator in its endorsement. She was also endorsed by the Washington Education Association, which normally endorses Democrats. In the

2016 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2016. Africa Benin Republic * 2016 Beninese presidential election 6 March 2016 Cape Verde * 2016 Cape Verdean presidential election 2 October 2016 Chad * 2016 Chadian presidential election 10 ...

, Wyman was reelected, defeating former

Seattle City Council The Seattle City Council is the legislative body of the city of Seattle, Washington. The Council consists of nine members serving four-year terms, seven of which are elected by electoral districts and two of which are elected in citywide at-la ...

woman Tina Podlodowski with 55% of the vote. Wyman was re-elected to a third term in the 2020 election, defeating Democratic State Representative

Gael Tarleton Gael Frances Donelan Tarleton (January 1, 1959) is an American politician who served as a member of the Washington House of Representatives for the 36th Legislative District from 2013 to 2021. Tarleton was a candidate for Secretary of State of Wa ...

with 53% of the vote. On October 27, 2021, Wyman announced that she would resign as Secretary of State to join the

in the

to work on election security. Her resignation took effect on November 19.

Personal life

Wyman lives in

Lacey, Washington Lacey is a city in Thurston County, Washington, United States. It is a suburb of Olympia with a population of 53,526 at the 2020 census. Lacey is located along Interstate 5 between Olympia and the Nisqually River, which marks the border with ...

, with her husband John and their two children. She has run in several

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

s. In March 2017, Wyman was diagnosed with an early form of

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowe ...

Electoral history

References

External links

Campaign website
*
Kim Wyman
at

Project Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected officials in s ...

* *
Profile
from Thurston County {{DEFAULTSORT:Wyman, Kim 1962 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians American expatriates in Germany California State University, Long Beach alumni County officials in Washington (state) Living people People from Lacey, Washington Place of birth missing (living people) Secretaries of State of Washington (state) Troy University alumni United States Department of Homeland Security officials Washington (state) Republicans Women in Washington (state) politics