# 2022 Washington Secretary of State special election

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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. 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.
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. 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

* Steve Hobbs, incumbent Washington Secretary of State
* Marquez Tiggs

### Republican Party
#### Declared

* Tamborine Borrelli, director of the Washington Election Integrity Coalition United and Independent candidate for Washington's 10th congressional district in 2018
* Bob Hagglund, technician
* Mark Miloscia, former state senator (2015–2019)
* Keith Wagoner, state senator (2018–present)

### Independents and third parties
#### Declared

* Julie Anderson (nonpartisan), Pierce County auditor
* Kurtis Engle (Union)

### Forum

2022 Washington Secretary of State candidate forum :
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Nonpartisan | Republican | Unity | Republican | Democratic | Republican | Democratic | Republican |
| Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | | | | | | | | |
| Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Julie Anderson | Tamborine Borrelli | Kurtis Engle | Bob Hagglund | Steve Hobbs | Mark Miloscia | Marquez Tiggs | Keith Wagoner |
| 1 | Jul. 14, 2022 | League of Women Voters of Washington The Spokesman-Review TVW | Laurel Demkovich | TVW | P | N | N | P | P | P | P | N |

### Endorsements

County officials
* Vicki Dalton, Spokane County auditor (Democrat)
* Greg Kimsey, Clark County auditor (Republican)
Organizations
* National Women's Political Caucus of Washington
Labor unions
* International Association of Fire Fighters Local 31
Newspapers
* The News Tribune (co-endorsed with Hobbs)
Statewide officials
* Bob Ferguson, Attorney General of Washington (2013–present)
* Gary Locke, 21st Governor of Washington (1997–2005)
* Pat McCarthy, Washington State Auditor (2017–present)
Organizations
* King County Democratic Party
Labor unions
* Washington AFL–CIO
Newspapers
* The Herald
* The News Tribune (co-endorsed with Anderson)
* The Seattle Times
* The Stranger
Statewide officials
* Ralph Munro, former Secretary of State of Washington (1981–2001)
* Sam Reed, former Secretary of State of Washington (2001–2013)
State legislators
* John Braun, Minority Leader of the Washington State Senate
Organizations
* King County Republican Party

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(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, 2022 | 1,039 (LV) | ± 3.0% | 5% | 5% | 1% | 5% | 17% | 2% | 3% | 6% | 56% |
| Public Policy Polling (D) | February 17–18, 2022 | 700 (LV) | ± 3.7% | 11% | – | – | – | 33% | – | – | 30% | 25% |

### Results

Blanket primary election results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Steve Hobbs (incumbent) | 747,993 | 39.93% |
| | Nonpartisan | Julie Anderson | 240,035 | 12.81% |
| | Republican | Keith Wagoner | 227,842 | 12.16% |
| | Republican | Bob Hagglund | 225,633 | 12.05% |
| | Republican | Mark Miloscia | 187,774 | 10.02% |
| | Democratic | Marquez Tiggs | 148,716 | 7.94% |
| | Republican | Tamborine Borrelli | 86,748 | 4.63% |
| | Unity | Kurtis Engle | 6,887 | 0.37% |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 1,499 | 0.08% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,873,127 | 100.0% |

## General election
### Predictions

| Source | Ranking | As of |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball | Leans D | November 3, 2022 |
| Elections Daily | Leans D | November 7, 2022 |

### Candidates

* Julie Anderson (nonpartisan), Pierce County Auditor
* Steve Hobbs (Democratic), incumbent Secretary of State
* Brad Klippert (Republican, write-in), state representative, candidate for U.S. Senate in 2004 and 2006, and candidate for Washington's 4th congressional district in 2022

### Debates

A debate was scheduled for October 18 at the University of Puget Sound, but it was canceled.
2022 Washington Secretary of State special election debates :
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Democratic | Nonpartisan |
| Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | | |
| Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Steve Hobbs | Julie Anderson |
| 1 | Aug. 17, 2022 | Association of Washington Business | Melissa Santos | AWB | P | P |
| 2 | Oct. 23, 2022 | KSPS League of Women Voters of Washington The Spokesman-Review Washington Debate Coalition | Laurel Demkovitch | YouTube | P | P |

### Endorsements

Endorsements in bold were made after the primary election.
U.S. Representatives
* Jaime Herrera Beutler, U.S. Representative for Washington's 3rd congressional district (2011–2023) (Republican)
Statewide officials
* Dan Evans, former Governor of Washington (1965–1977) (Republican)
* Rob McKenna, former Attorney General of Washington (2005–2013) (Republican)
* Sam Reed, former Secretary of State of Washington (2001–2013) (Republican)
State legislators
* T'wina Nobles, state senator (Democrat)
* Emily Wicks, state representative (Democrat)
Local officials
* Mike Crowley, former mayor of Tacoma (Republican)
* Vicki Dalton, Spokane County auditor (Democrat)
* Reagan Dunn, King County Councillor (Republican)
* Greg Kimsey, Clark County auditor (Republican)
* Caroline Weikel, former Snohomish County auditor
* Victoria Woodards, mayor of Tacoma (Democrat)
* Nadine Woodward, mayor of Spokane (Republican)
Organizations
* National Women's Political Caucus
Labor unions
* International Association of Fire Fighters Local 31
Newspapers
* The News Tribune (co-endorsed with Hobbs)
* Tri-City Herald
Federal officials
* Maria Cantwell, U.S. Senator from Washington (2001–)
Statewide officials
* Bob Ferguson, Attorney General of Washington (2013–present)
* Gary Locke, 21st Governor of Washington (1997–2005)
* Pat McCarthy, Washington State Auditor (2017–present)
State legislators
* Andy Billig, Majority Leader of the Washington Senate
Local officials
* Mary Hall, Mason County auditor
* Paddy McGuire, Thurston County auditor
Organizations
* King County Democratic Party
Labor unions
* International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers Local 55 & 66
* Washington AFL–CIO
Newspapers
* The Columbian
* The Herald
* The News Tribune (co-endorsed with Anderson)
* The Seattle Times
* The Stranger
Organizations
* Washington State Republican Party

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Steve Hobbs (D) | Julie Anderson (NP) | Undecided |
| Public Policy Polling (D) | October 19–20, 2022 | 782 (LV) | ± 3.5% | 33% | 34% | 32% |
| SurveyUSA | October 14–19, 2022 | 589 (LV) | ± 5.0% | 40% | 29% | 30% |
| Strategies 360 | September 22–25, 2022 | 500 (RV) | ± 4.4% | 35% | 36% | 29% |
| Strategies 360 | September 22–25, 2022 | 370 (LV) | ± 5.1% | 38% | 38% | 24% |
| The Trafalgar Group (R) | September 21–24, 2022 | 1,091 (LV) | ± 2.9% | 40% | 37% | 23% |
| Elway Research | September 12–15, 2022 | 403 (LV) | ± 3.0% | 31% | 29% | 40% |

### Results

2022 Washington Secretary of State special election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Steve Hobbs (incumbent) | 1,468,521 | 49.77% | +3.50% |
| | Nonpartisan | Julie Anderson | 1,351,926 | 45.82% | N/A |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 129,933 | 4.40% | +4.28% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 2,950,380 | 100.0% | |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

#### By congressional district

Despite losing the state, Anderson won 6 of 10 congressional districts, including four that elected Democrats and two that elected Republicans.
| District | Hobbs | Anderson | Representative |
| 1st | 55% | 41% | Suzan DelBene |
| 2nd | 51% | 43% | Rick Larsen |
| 3rd | 42% | 53% | Jaime Herrera Beutler (117th Congress) |
| 3rd | 42% | 53% | 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 |