# 2020 Washington Secretary of State election

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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. Wyman became the only Republican to hold statewide office in Washington and the entire West Coast. As of 2025, this was the last time a Republican won a statewide election in Washington.
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.
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.

## Primary election

2020 Washington Secretary of State primary debate :
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Republican | Democratic | Progressive | Independent |
| Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | | | | |
| Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Kim Wyman | Gael Tarleton | Gentry Lange | Ed Minger |
| 1 | Jul. 20, 2020 | KSPS League of Women Voters of Washington The Spokesman-Review | Kristi Gorenson | YouTube | P | P | P | P |
Top-two primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Kim Wyman (incumbent) | 1,238,455 | 50.89% |
| | Democratic | Gael Tarleton | 1,053,584 | 43.29% |
| | Independent | Ed Minger | 87,982 | 3.62% |
| | Progressive | Gentry Lange | 51,826 | 2.13% |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 1,919 | 0.08% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 2,433,766 | 100.00% |

## General election
### Predictions

| Source | Ranking | As of |
| The Cook Political Report | Lean R | June 25, 2020 |

### Debate

2020 Washington Secretary of State debate :
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Republican | Democratic |
| 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 | Kim Wyman | Gael Tarleton |
| 1 | Sep. 19, 2020 | League of Women Voters of Washington The Spokesman-Review | Jim Camden | YouTube | P | P |

### Polling

Graphical summary
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Kim Wyman (R) | Gael Tarleton (D) | Undecided |
| Public Policy Polling | October 14–15, 2020 | 610 (LV) | ± 4% | 49% | 43% | 8% |
| SurveyUSA | October 8–10, 2020 | 591 (LV) | ± 5.2% | 45% | 40% | 14% |

### Results

2020 Washington Secretary of State election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Kim Wyman (incumbent) | 2,116,141 | 53.61% |
| | Democratic | Gael Tarleton | 1,826,710 | 46.27% |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 4,666 | 0.12% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 3,947,517 | 100.00% |

#### By congressional district

Wyman won 7 of 10 congressional districts, including four that elected Democrats.
| District | Wyman | Tarleton | Representative |
| 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 |
| 10th | 58% | 42% | Marilyn Strickland |