2022 Washington Secretary of State special election

Last updated

2022 Washington Secretary of State special election
Flag of Washington.svg
  2020 November 8, 2022 2024  
  Steve Hobbs (cropped).jpg 3x4.svg
Nominee Steve Hobbs Julie Anderson
Party Democratic Nonpartisan
Popular vote1,468,5211,351,926
Percentage49.77%45.82%

2022 Washington Secretary of State special election results map by county.svg
2022 Washington Secretary of State by Congressional District.svg
WA SOS 2022.svg
Hobbs:     20–30%     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90%
Anderson:     30–40%     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%
Tie:     40–50%     50%     No data

Secretary of State before election

Steve Hobbs
Democratic

Elected Secretary of State

Steve Hobbs
Democratic

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]

Contents

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 to have won second place and moved on to the general election. [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

Forum

2022 Washington Secretary of State candidate forum
No.DateHostModeratorLink Nonpartisan Republican Unity Republican Democratic Republican Democratic Republican
Key:
 P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited  W  Withdrawn
Julie AndersonTamborine BorrelliKurtis EngleBob Hagglund Steve Hobbs Mark Miloscia Marquez Tiggs Keith Wagoner
1 [14] Jul. 14, 2022 League of Women
Voters of Washington
The Spokesman-Review
TVW
Laurel Demkovich TVW [15] PNNPPPPN

Endorsements

Julie Anderson (NP)

County officials

Organizations

Labor unions

Newspapers

Steve Hobbs (D)

Statewide officials

Organizations

Labor unions

Newspapers

Keith Wagoner (R)

Statewide officials

State legislators

Organizations

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
Sample
size [b]
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) [26] [A] June 1–2, 20221,039 (LV)± 3.0%5%5%1%5%17%2%3%6%56%
Public Policy Polling (D) [27] [A] February 17–18, 2022700 (LV)± 3.7%11%33%30%25%

Results

Blanket primary results by county
Hobbs
20-30%
30-40%
40-50%
50-60%
Wagoner
20-30%
Hagglund
20-30%
30-40% 2022 Washington Secretary of State special primary election results map by county.svg
Blanket primary results by county
  Hobbs
  •   20–30%
  •   30–40%
  •   40–50%
  •   50–60%
  Wagoner
  •   20–30%
  Hagglund
  •   20–30%
  •   30–40%
Blanket primary election results [28]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Steve Hobbs (incumbent) 747,993 39.96%
Nonpartisan Julie Anderson 240,035 12.82%
Republican Keith Wagoner 227,84212.17%
Republican Bob Hagglund225,63312.06%
Republican Mark Miloscia 187,77410.03%
Democratic Marquez Tiggs148,7167.95%
Republican Tamborine Borrelli86,7484.63%
Unity Kurtis Engle6,8870.37%
Total votes1,871,628 100.00%

General election

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
Sabato's Crystal Ball [29] Leans DNovember 3, 2022
Elections Daily [30] Leans DNovember 7, 2022

Candidates

Debates

A debate was scheduled for October 18 at the University of Puget Sound, [32] but it was canceled. [33]

2022 Washington Secretary of State special election debates
No.DateHostModeratorLink Democratic Nonpartisan
Key:
 P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited  W  Withdrawn
Steve Hobbs Julie Anderson
1Aug. 17, 2022Association of
Washington Business
Melissa Santos AWB [34] PP
2Oct. 23, 2022 KSPS
League of Women Voters
of Washington
The Spokesman-Review
Washington Debate Coalition
Laurel Demkovitch YouTube PP

Endorsements

Endorsements in bold were made after the primary election.

Julie Anderson (NP)

U.S. Representatives

Statewide officials

  • Dan Evans , former Governor of Washington (1965–1977) (Republican) [36]
  • Rob McKenna , former Attorney General of Washington (2005–2013) (Republican) [37]
  • Sam Reed , former Secretary of State of Washington (2001–2013) (Republican) [37]

State legislators

Local officials

Organizations

Labor unions

Newspapers

Steve Hobbs (D)

Federal officials

Statewide officials

State legislators

Local officials

Organizations

Labor unions

Newspapers

Brad Klippert (R, write-in)

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
Sample
size [b]
Margin
of error
Steve
Hobbs (D)
Julie
Anderson (NP)
Undecided
Public Policy Polling (D) [42] [A] October 19–20, 2022782 (LV)± 3.5%33%34%32%
SurveyUSA [43] October 14–19, 2022589 (LV)± 5.0%40%29%30%
Strategies 360 [44] September 22–25, 2022500 (RV)± 4.4%35%36%29%
370 (LV)± 5.1%38%38%24%
The Trafalgar Group (R) [45] September 21–24, 20221,091 (LV)± 2.9%40%37%23%
Elway Research [46] September 12–15, 2022403 (LV)± 3.0%31%29%40%

Results

2022 Washington Secretary of State special election [47]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic Steve Hobbs (incumbent) 1,468,521 49.77% +3.50%
Nonpartisan Julie Anderson1,351,92645.82%N/A
Write-in 129,9334.40%+4.28%
Total votes2,950,380 100.0%
Democratic hold

By county

County results
County [48] Steve Hobbs

Democratic

Julie Anderson

Nonpartisan

Write-in

Various

MarginTotal votes
#%#%#%#%
Adams 92624.06%2,72170.69%2025.25%-1,795-46.64%3,849
Asotin 2,86333.27%5,54564.43%1982.30%-2,682-31.16%8,606
Benton 22,62630.95%40,97856.05%9,50013.00%-18,352-25.10%73,104
Chelan 11,88536.43%19,02658.33%1,7095.24%-7,141-21.89%32,620
Clallam 18,11145.93%19,68549.92%1,6384.15%-1,574-3.99%39,434
Clark 91,75846.03%97,35448.84%10,2245.13%-5,596-2.81%199,336
Columbia 50525.56%1,36869.23%1035.21%-863-43.67%1,976
Cowlitz 15,23935.28%25,73059.57%2,2235.15%-10,491-24.29%43,192
Douglas 4,66430.44%9,57162.47%1,0857.08%-4,907-32.03%15,320
Ferry 92728.87%1,87658.42%40812.71%-949-29.55%3,211
Franklin 6,64831.26%12,29557.82%2,32210.92%-5,647-26.55%21,265
Garfield 31927.64%81070.19%252.17%-491-42.55%1,154
Grant 6,74026.66%17,57969.54%9593.79%-10,839-42.88%25,278
Grays Harbor 12,18542.56%15,11552.80%1,3284.64%-2,930-10.23%28,628
Island 20,36848.81%19,83347.52%1,5323.67%5351.28%41,733
Jefferson 12,48760.91%7,45536.37%5582.72%5,03224.55%20,500
King 563,20765.14%282,35532.66%19,0282.20%280,85232.48%864,590
Kitsap 59,42449.64%55,69746.52%4,5943.84%3,7273.11%119,715
Kittitas 7,19936.50%11,54258.51%9844.99%-4,343-22.02%19,725
Klickitat 4,16938.37%6,15656.66%5394.96%-1,987-18.29%10,864
Lewis 9,56027.92%21,64363.21%3,0368.87%-12,083-35.29%34,239
Lincoln 1,32823.21%3,89968.14%4958.65%-2,571-44.93%5,722
Mason 11,72141.04%15,60154.62%1,2394.34%-3,880-13.58%28,561
Okanogan 5,75736.77%8,86256.60%1,0376.62%-3,105-19.83%15,656
Pacific 4,94143.66%6,15554.39%2211.95%-1,214-10.73%11,317
Pend Oreille 1,77227.42%4,33967.15%3515.43%-2,567-39.72%6,462
Pierce 133,81941.36%175,49254.24%14,2484.40%-41,673-12.88%323,559
San Juan 6,80062.45%3,43331.53%6566.02%3,36730.92%10,889
Skagit 24,60444.59%26,49248.01%4,0867.40%-1,888-3.42%55,182
Skamania 2,21937.51%3,28755.56%4106.93%-1,068-18.05%5,916
Snohomish 161,10251.38%140,03144.66%12,4273.96%21,0716.72%313,560
Spokane 87,05240.86%113,59153.32%12,3815.81%-26,539-12.46%213,024
Stevens 5,35024.90%13,26261.72%2,87413.38%-7,912-36.82%21,486
Thurston 59,87148.58%59,74948.48%3,6222.94%1220.10%123,242
Wahkiakum 88636.61%1,45159.96%833.43%-565-23.35%2,420
Walla Walla 8,93438.85%12,84755.87%1,2135.28%-3,913-17.02%22,994
Whatcom 53,02249.62%45,67142.74%8,1537.63%7,3516.88%106,846
Whitman 6,68144.63%7,86352.53%4262.85%-1,182-7.90%14,970
Yakima 20,85234.62%35,56759.05%3,8166.34%-14,715-24.43%60,235
Totals1,468,52149.77%1,351,92645.82%129,9334.40%116,5953.95%2,950,380

By congressional district

Despite losing the state, Anderson won six of ten congressional districts, including four that elected Democrats and two that elected Republicans. [49]

DistrictHobbsAndersonRepresentative
1st 55%41% Suzan DelBene
2nd 51%43% Rick Larsen
3rd 42%53% Jaime Herrera Beutler (117th Congress)
Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (118th Congress)
4th 32%59% Dan Newhouse
5th 38%55% Cathy McMorris Rodgers
6th 47%49% Derek Kilmer
7th 75%24% Pramila Jayapal
8th 44%51% Kim Schrier
9th 62%35% Adam Smith
10th 46%50% Marilyn Strickland

Notes

  1. Borrelli listed on the ballot, under the "America First (R)" party designation.
  2. 1 2 Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear

Partisan clients

  1. 1 2 3 This poll was sponsored by the Northwest Progressive Institute

References

  1. O'Sullivan, Joseph (October 26, 2021). "Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman resigns to join Biden administration". The Seattle Times. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  2. "Inslee selects Democratic Sen. Steve Hobbs to temporarily replace Republican Wyman as secretary of state". The Seattle Times. November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  3. "Washington will elect non-Republican as secretary of state for the first time since 1960". The Seattle Times. August 9, 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  4. "Gov. Inslee announces pick for Washington's new Secretary of State". Crosscut. November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 Demkovich, Laurel (May 26, 2022). "Eight candidates vying for Washington secretary of state". The Spokesman-Review . Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  6. "Leader behind slew of voter fraud lawsuits in Washington files to run for secretary of state". MyNorthwest.com. April 4, 2022. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
  7. "Know Your Candidates 2022: Tamborine Borrelli (R), running for WA secretary of state". KATU (TV). July 15, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  8. "Know Your Candidates 2022: Bob Hagglund (R), running for WA secretary of state". KATU (TV). July 15, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  9. "Filing Week surprise: Fundamentalist Mark Miloscia jumps into Secretary of State contest". May 18, 2022.
  10. "Know Your Candidates 2022: Mark Miloscia (R), running for WA secretary of state". KATU (TV). July 15, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  11. "Senator becomes first GOP candidate for secretary of state". Everett Herald. November 30, 2021. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
  12. "Know Your Candidates 2022: Keith Wagoner (R), running for WA secretary of state". KATU (TV). July 15, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  13. Sailor, Craig (December 16, 2021). "Pierce Auditor Julie Anderson announces bid for Secretary of State as nonpartisan". The News Tribune . Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  14. Sowersby, Shauna (June 15, 2022). "Secretary of State candidates want to change the office". The Olympian . Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  15. TVW
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 O'Sullivan, Joseph (July 13, 2022). "Election security a key issue in the WA secretary of state race". Crosscut.com . Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  17. 1 2 "Our 2022 Endorsements". National Women's Political Caucus of Washington. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  18. 1 2 "Election Endorsements". International Association of Fire Fighters Local 31. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  19. 1 2 3 4 "TNT: Support Anderson, Hobbs for WA Secretary of State". The News Tribune. July 16, 2022. Archived from the original on July 17, 2022. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  20. 1 2 Ng, Assunta (December 9, 2021). "How Steve Hobbs won the Secretary of State job". Northwest Asian Weekly. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  21. 1 2 "2022 Endorsements". www.kcdems.org. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  22. 1 2 Lott, Jeremy. "Washington unions endorse mostly Democrats, capital gains tax". The Center Square . Retrieved May 23, 2022.
  23. 1 2 "Editorial: Hobbs edges Anderson for Secretary of State". The Herald. July 17, 2022. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  24. 1 2 "The Times recommends: Steve Hobbs for Secretary of State". The Seattle Times. July 8, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  25. 1 2 "The Stranger's Endorsements for the August 2, 2022, Primary Election". The Stranger. July 14, 2022. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  26. Public Policy Polling (D)
  27. Public Policy Polling (D)
  28. Hobbs, Steve (August 19, 2022). "Canvass of the Returns of the Primary Held on August 2, 2022" (PDF). Secretary of State of Washington . Archived (PDF) from the original on June 22, 2025. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  29. "Secretary of State and Attorney General: What to Watch for Next Week in Key Statewide Contests". Sabato's Crystal Ball. November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  30. Solomon, Zack (November 7, 2022). "Elections Daily Secretary of State Ratings". Elections Daily. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  31. 1 2 3 4 "WA Republicans are pushing this write-in for Secretary of State | Crosscut".
  32. Brunner, Jim (September 16, 2022). "Debates in WA set for U.S. Senate, House, secretary of state races" . Seattle Times. Archived from the original on May 22, 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  33. Gutman, David (May 6, 2023). "Second WA Senate debate remains unconfirmed; secretary of state debate canceled". The Spokesman-Review . Retrieved May 22, 2023.
  34. AWB
  35. 1 2 3 4 5 "Democrats accuse independent Secretary of State candidate of being a Republican". The Olympian . November 2, 2022. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  36. 1 2 3 4 O'Sullivan, Joseph (October 13, 2022). "WA's secretary of state race is a special election — in more ways than one". Crosscut.com . Retrieved December 24, 2022.
  37. 1 2 3 4 5 Demkovich, Laurel (September 25, 2022). "Candidates for Washington secretary of state disagree on experience, election management, cybersecurity". The Spokesman-Review . Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  38. "Nonpartisan secretary of state candidate attacked by Democrats". October 12, 2022.
  39. "2 excellent candidates vie for WA Secretary of State. Here's the Tri-City Herald's pick" . Tri-City Herald. Archived from the original on October 24, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  40. "SMART Local 66 – General Election Endorsements". October 21, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  41. "In Our View: Hobbs stronger choice for secretary of state".
  42. Public Policy Polling (D)
  43. SurveyUSA
  44. Strategies 360
  45. The Trafalgar Group (R)
  46. Elway Research
  47. Hobbs, Steve (December 7, 2022). "Canvass of the Returns of the General Election Held on November 8, 2022" (PDF). Secretary of State of Washington . Archived (PDF) from the original on June 22, 2025. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  48. Hobbs, Steve (November 8, 2022). "Secretary of State - County Results". Secretary of State of Washington . Archived from the original on November 29, 2023. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  49. "2022Gen Results by Congressional District" (PDF). sos.wa.gov. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 29, 2022.

Official campaign websites