2020 Washington Secretary of State election

Last updated

2020 Washington Secretary of State election
Flag of Washington.svg
  2016 November 3, 2020 2022 (special)  
  Kim Wyman (cropped).jpg 3x4.svg
Nominee Kim Wyman Gael Tarleton
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote2,116,1411,826,710
Percentage53.61%46.27%

2020 Washington Secretary of State election results map by county.svg
WA-20-sos-districts.svg
WA SOS 2020.svg
Wyman:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90%
Tarleton:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90%
Tie:     40–50%     50%     No data

Secretary of State before election

Kim Wyman
Republican

Elected Secretary of State

Kim Wyman
Republican

The Washington Secretary of State election, 2020, was held on November 3, 2020. Incumbent Republican Kim Wyman won reelection over Democratic nominee Gael Tarleton, the two having received the most votes in an August 2020 primary election. [1] Wyman became the only Republican to hold statewide office in Washington and the entire West Coast. [2] As of 2025, this was the last time a Republican won a statewide election in Washington.

Contents

Wyman was endorsed by former Washington governor Daniel J. Evans, former United States senator Slade Gorton, Democratic Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, three former Republican Washington Secretaries of State, former Democratic Oregon Secretary of State Phil Keisling, and two former Washington State Auditors; various county auditors, state legislators, local elected officials, tribal officials, and political organizations, and community leaders; and the newspapers The Seattle Times , The Everett Herald , The Columbian , The Walla Walla Union-Bulletin , The Olympian , The Tacoma News Tribune , The Tri-City Herald , The Yakima Herald , The Spokesman-Review , and Northwest Asian Weekly . [3]

Tarleton was endorsed by Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, incumbent Washington governor Jay Inslee, former governor Gary Locke, United States senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson; various United States Representatives, state legislators, local elected officials, political organizations, and community leaders; and The Stranger . [4]

Primary election

2020 Washington Secretary of State primary debate
No.DateHostModeratorLink Republican Democratic Progressive Independent
Key:
 P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited  W  Withdrawn
Kim Wyman Gael Tarleton Gentry LangeEd Minger
1Jul. 20, 2020 KSPS
League of Women Voters
of Washington
The Spokesman-Review
Kristi Gorenson YouTube PPPP
Blanket primary results by county
Wyman
50-60%
60-70%
70-80%
80-90%
Tarleton
40-50%
50-60%
60-70% 2020 Washington secretary of state primary election by county.svg
Blanket primary results by county
  Wyman
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  •   80–90%
  Tarleton
  •   40–50%
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
Top-two primary results [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Kim Wyman (incumbent) 1,238,455 50.89%
Democratic Gael Tarleton 1,053,584 43.29%
Independent Ed Minger87,9823.62%
Progressive Gentry Lange51,8262.13%
Write-in 1,9190.08%
Total votes2,433,766 100.00%

General election

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report [6] Lean RJune 25, 2020

Debate

2020 Washington Secretary of State debate
No.DateHostModeratorLink Republican Democratic
Key:
 P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited  W  Withdrawn
Kim Wyman Gael Tarleton
1Sep. 19, 2020 League of Women Voters
of Washington
The Spokesman-Review
Jim Camden YouTube PP

Polling

Graphical summary

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
Sample
size [a]
Margin
of error
Kim
Wyman (R)
Gael
Tarleton (D)
Undecided
Public Policy Polling [7] October 14–15, 2020610 (LV)± 4%49%43%8%
SurveyUSA [8] October 8–10, 2020591 (LV)± 5.2%45%40%14%

Results

2020 Washington Secretary of State election [9]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Kim Wyman (incumbent) 2,116,141 53.61%
Democratic Gael Tarleton 1,826,71046.27%
Write-in 4,6660.12%
Total votes3,947,517 100.00%

By county

County results
County [10] Kim Wyman

Republican

Gael Tarleton

Democratic

Write-in

Various

MarginTotal votes
#%#%#%#%
Adams 4,18873.73%1,47325.93%190.33%2,71547.80%5,680
Asotin 7,93568.70%3,58731.06%280.24%4,34837.65%11,550
Benton 69,49469.99%29,69829.91%1060.11%39,79640.08%99,298
Chelan 27,33865.19%14,56534.73%330.08%12,77330.46%41,936
Clallam 27,67557.77%20,18142.13%500.10%7,49415.64%47,906
Clark 148,50256.58%113,62643.29%3290.13%34,87613.29%262,457
Columbia 1,88078.11%52521.81%20.08%1,35556.29%2,407
Cowlitz 37,66965.02%20,19934.87%640.11%17,47030.16%57,932
Douglas 14,63070.83%5,99929.05%250.12%8,63141.79%20,654
Ferry 2,94970.16%1,24629.65%80.19%1,70340.52%4,203
Franklin 20,47864.74%11,11535.14%360.11%9,36329.60%31,629
Garfield 1,11378.55%30121.24%30.21%81257.30%1,417
Grant 26,79473.15%9,76426.66%700.19%17,03046.49%36,628
Grays Harbor 23,50962.82%13,85437.02%570.15%9,65525.80%37,420
Island 29,29556.06%22,89543.82%630.12%6,40012.25%52,253
Jefferson 10,06341.42%14,21758.52%140.06%-4,154-17.10%24,294
King 482,38741.36%682,76158.54%1,1890.10%-200,374-17.18%1,166,337
Kitsap 83,88654.57%69,63845.30%2050.13%14,2489.27%153,729
Kittitas 17,00766.67%8,48733.27%170.07%8,52033.40%25,511
Klickitat 8,02261.36%5,02538.44%260.20%2,99722.93%13,073
Lewis 32,66174.07%11,35325.75%790.18%21,30848.33%44,093
Lincoln 5,48579.84%1,37820.06%70.10%4,10759.78%6,870
Mason 22,89163.28%13,21636.53%690.19%9,67526.74%36,176
Okanogan 12,94962.80%7,65137.11%180.09%5,29825.70%20,618
Pacific 7,93558.13%5,68541.65%310.23%2,25016.48%13,651
Pend Oreille 5,99272.48%2,26127.35%140.17%3,73145.13%8,267
Pierce 257,69857.28%191,68442.61%4980.11%66,01414.67%449,880
San Juan 4,67036.58%8,08963.35%90.07%-3,419-26.78%12,768
Skagit 40,86158.09%29,39841.79%810.12%11,46316.30%70,340
Skamania 4,25160.23%2,79339.57%140.20%1,45820.66%7,058
Snohomish 230,22254.14%194,56345.75%4640.11%35,6598.39%425,249
Spokane 171,17160.34%112,05639.50%4620.16%59,11520.84%283,689
Stevens 20,96375.83%6,65624.08%270.10%14,30751.75%27,646
Thurston 97,31159.64%65,62740.22%2240.14%31,68419.42%163,162
Wahkiakum 1,87265.39%98434.37%70.24%88831.02%2,863
Walla Walla 19,72865.35%10,43034.55%320.11%9,29830.80%30,190
Whatcom 65,59248.41%69,72851.46%1710.13%-4,136-3.05%135,491
Whitman 11,29055.58%8,99444.28%290.14%2,29611.30%20,313
Yakima 57,78562.22%35,00837.69%860.09%22,77724.52%92,879
Totals2,116,14153.61%1,826,71046.27%4,6660.12%289,4317.33%3,947,517

By congressional district

Wyman won seven of ten congressional districts, including four that elected Democrats. [11]

DistrictWymanTarletonRepresentative
1st 55%45% Suzan DelBene
2nd 49%51% Rick Larsen
3rd 60%40% Jaime Herrera Beutler
4th 67%33% Dan Newhouse
5th 63%37% Cathy McMorris Rodgers
6th 54%46% Derek Kilmer
7th 32%68% Pramila Jayapal
8th 61%39% Kim Schrier
9th 41%59% Adam Smith
10th 58%42% Denny Heck
Marilyn Strickland

Notes

  1. Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear

References

  1. Primary results
  2. Santos, Melissa (November 11, 2020). "How Republican Kim Wyman keeps winning in blue Washington state". Cascade PBS. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  3. "Endorsements". Kim Wyman for Secretary of State. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  4. "Endorsements". Vote for Gael. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  5. Wyman, Kim (August 21, 2020). "Canvass of the Returns of the Primary Held on August 4, 2020" (PDF). Secretary of State of Washington . Archived (PDF) from the original on March 15, 2025. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  6. "An Updated Look at Handicapping the 2020 Secretary of State Elections". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  7. Public Policy Polling
  8. SurveyUSA
  9. Wyman, Kim (December 1, 2020). "Canvass of the Returns of the General Election Held on November 3, 2020" (PDF). Secretary of State of Washington . Archived (PDF) from the original on June 29, 2025. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  10. Wyman, Kim (November 3, 2020). "Secretary of State - County Results". Secretary of State of Washington . Archived from the original on June 16, 2025. Retrieved August 6, 2025.
  11. "2020Gen Results by Congressional District" (PDF). sos.wa.gov. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 22, 2024.