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

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in the

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. Washington governor

Jay Inslee Jay Robert Inslee ( ; born February 9, 1951) is an American politician and lawyer who served from 2013 to 2025 as the 23rd governor of Washington. A member of the Democratic Party, he served from 1993 to 1995 and again from 1999 to 2012 as a ...

, 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 (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, 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 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 Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

. 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 Kl ...

, 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 (, October 11, 1950) is an American politician serving in her sixth term as a United States senator from Washington (state), Washington, beginning her tenure in 1993, and is the state's Seniority in the United States Senate, ...

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. Th ...

*Marquez Tiggs

Republican Party

Declared

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

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

*Bob Hagglund, technician * Mark Miloscia, former

state senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

(2015–2019) * Keith Wagoner, state senator (2018–present)

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 60 ...

and

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, 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 County, Washington, Douglas, Okanogan County, Washington, Okanogan, Grant County, Washington, Grant, Yakima County, Washingto ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Debates

A debate was scheduled for October 18 at the

University of Puget Sound The University of Puget Sound is a private liberal arts college in Tacoma, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1888. The institution offers a variety of undergraduate degrees as well as five graduate programs in counseling, education, oc ...

, but it was canceled.

Endorsements

Endorsements in bold were made after the primary election.

Polling

Results

By congressional district

Despite losing the state, Anderson won six of ten congressional districts, including four that elected Democrats and two that elected Republicans.

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 most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

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