2022 Washington Secretary of State special election explained

Election Name:2022 Washington Secretary of State special election
Country:Washington
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2020 Washington Secretary of State election
Previous Year:2020
Next Election:2024 Washington Secretary of State election
Next Year:2024
Election Date:November 8, 2022
Image1:Steve Hobbs (cropped).jpg
Nominee1:Steve Hobbs
Party1:Democratic Party (United States)
Popular Vote1:1,468,521
Percentage1:49.8%
Nominee2:Julie Anderson
Party2:Nonpartisan politician
Popular Vote2:1,351,926
Percentage2:45.8%
Map Size:275px
Secretary of State
Before Election:Steve Hobbs
Before Party:Washington State Democratic Party
After Election:Steve Hobbs
After Party:Washington State Democratic Party

The 2022 Washington Secretary of State special election was held on November 8, 2022. Incumbent Kim Wyman, a Republican, resigned from the office on November 19, 2021, to become the senior election security lead for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in the Biden administration's Department of Homeland Security.[1] Washington governor Jay Inslee, a Democrat, announced he would appoint state senator Steve Hobbs as her replacement, the first Democrat to hold the office in more than fifty years.[2]

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. 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.[3] Brad Klippert, 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 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

Republican Party

Declared

Independents and third parties

Declared

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
of error
Julie
Anderson
(NP)
Tamborine
Borrelli
(R)
Kurtis
Engle
(I)
Bob
Hagglund
(R)
Steve
Hobbs
(D)
Mark
Miloscia
(R)
Marquez
Tiggs
(D)
Keith
Wagoner
(R)
Undecided
Public Policy Polling (D)June 1–2, 20221,039 (LV)± 3.0%5%5%1%5%17%2%3%6%56%
Public Policy Polling (D)February 17–18, 2022700 (LV)± 3.7%11%33%30%25%

Results

General election

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
align=left Sabato's Crystal Ball[15] November 3, 2022
Elections Daily[16] November 7, 2022

Candidates

Debates

A debate was scheduled for October 18 at the University of Puget Sound,[18] but it was canceled.[19]

2022 Washington Secretary of State special election debates
DateHostModeratorLinkDemocraticNonpartisan
Key:
Participant  Absent  Not invited  Invited Withdrawn
Steve HobbsJulie Anderson
1Aug. 17, 2022Association of
Washington Business
Melissa SantosAWB
2Oct. 23, 2022KSPS
League of Women Voters
of Washington
The Spokesman-Review
Washington Debate Coalition
Laurel DemkovitchYouTube

Endorsements

Endorsements in bold were made after the primary election.

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
of error
Steve
Hobbs (D)
Julie
Anderson (NP)
Undecided
SurveyUSAOctober 14–19, 2022589 (LV)± 5.0%40%29%30%
Strategies 360September 22–25, 2022500 (RV)± 4.4%35%36%29%
370 (LV)± 5.1%38%38%24%
The Trafalgar Group (R)September 21–24, 20221,091 (LV)± 2.9%40%37%23%
Elway ResearchSeptember 12–15, 2022403 (LV)± 3.0%31%29%40%

Results

By congressional district

Despite losing the state, Anderson won 6 of 10 congressional districts, including four that elected Democrats.[20]

DistrictAndersonHobbsRepresentative
41%55%Suzan DelBene
43%51%Rick Larsen
53%42%Jaime Herrera Beutler (117th Congress)
Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (118th Congress)
59%32%Dan Newhouse
55%38%Cathy McMorris Rodgers
49%47%Derek Kilmer
24%75%Pramila Jayapal
51%44%Kim Schrier
35%62%Adam Smith
50%46%Marilyn Strickland

Notes

Partisan clients

External links

Official campaign websites

Notes and References

  1. News: O'Sullivan . Joseph . October 26, 2021 . Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman resigns to join Biden administration . The Seattle Times . October 27, 2021.
  2. Web site: 2021-11-10. Inslee selects Democratic Sen. Steve Hobbs to temporarily replace Republican Wyman as secretary of state. 2021-11-10. The Seattle Times. en-US.
  3. Web site: 2022-08-09 . Washington will elect non-Republican as secretary of state for the first time since 1960 . 2022-11-11 . The Seattle Times . en-US.
  4. Web site: 2021-11-10. Gov. Inslee announces pick for Washington's new Secretary of State. 2021-11-10. Crosscut. en-US.
  5. Web site: Demkovich . Laurel . Eight candidates vying for Washington secretary of state . . 1 July 2022 . 26 May 2022.
  6. Web site: 2022-04-04 . Leader behind slew of voter fraud lawsuits in Washington files to run for secretary of state . 2022-04-21 . MyNorthwest.com . en.
  7. Web site: Know Your Candidates 2022: Tamborine Borrelli (R), running for WA secretary of state . . 18 July 2022 . 15 July 2022.
  8. Web site: Know Your Candidates 2022: Bob Hagglund (R), running for WA secretary of state . . 18 July 2022 . 15 July 2022.
  9. Web site: Filing Week surprise: Fundamentalist Mark Miloscia jumps into Secretary of State contest . 18 May 2022 .
  10. Web site: Know Your Candidates 2022: Mark Miloscia (R), running for WA secretary of state . . 18 July 2022 . 15 July 2022.
  11. Web site: 2021-11-30. Senator becomes first GOP candidate for secretary of state. 2021-11-30. Everett Herald. en-US.
  12. Web site: Know Your Candidates 2022: Keith Wagoner (R), running for WA secretary of state . . 18 July 2022 . 15 July 2022.
  13. News: Sailor. Craig. 16 December 2021. Pierce Auditor Julie Anderson announces bid for Secretary of State as nonpartisan. The News Tribune. 17 December 2021.
  14. Web site: Sowersby . Shauna . Secretary of State candidates want to change the office . . 18 July 2022 . 15 June 2022.
  15. Web site: Secretary of State and Attorney General: What to Watch for Next Week in Key Statewide Contests . Sabato's Crystal Ball . November 3, 2022 . November 3, 2022.
  16. Web site: Elections Daily Secretary of State Ratings . Solomon . Zack . Elections Daily . November 7, 2022 . November 29, 2022.
  17. Web site: WA Republicans are pushing this write-in for Secretary of State | Crosscut .
  18. Web site: Brunner . Jim . Debates in WA set for U.S. Senate, House, secretary of state races . . 28 September 2022 . https://archive.today/20230522002254/https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/debates-in-wa-set-for-u-s-senate-house-secretary-of-state-races/ . 22 May 2023 . 16 September 2022 . live . subscription.
  19. Web site: Gutman . David . Second WA Senate debate remains unconfirmed; secretary of state debate canceled . . 22 May 2023 . 6 May 2023.
  20. Results . sos.wa.gov . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20221229170038/https://www.sos.wa.gov/_assets/elections/research/2022Gen%20Results%20by%20Congressional%20District.pdf . 2022-12-29.