Is ex-Secretary of State Kim Wyman running for that office again?

Mar 13, 2024, 1:28 PM | Updated: 5:25 pm

Kim Wyman was elected as Washington Secretary of the State in 2016. (AP)

(AP)

MyNorthwest Content Editor

Kim Wyman was secretary of state in Washington for eight years, from 2013-2021. She is a Republican but is well known for keeping politics out of her work.

Rumors are spreading that Wyman is running for that office again.

On KTTH, host Jason Rantz pointed out that the Public Disclosure Commission website showed that Wyman was a candidate for secretary of state.

Rantz asked directly: “Are you or are you not running for secretary of state?”

“No, actually, back in 2020, after we won and certified the election, I filed for the upcoming 2024 election, which is pretty standard for candidates,” Wyman explained. “When one campaign ends, you go ahead and file for the next one. So you can begin fundraising and start to work on the next campaign. So that’s what that filing is from this is back in 2020. And we had closed down that campaign in 2021, when I left, so no, I am not running for secretary of state.”

Rantz wanted to know if she felt any media bias when she was in office. “Generally speaking, do you think the right and the left are being treated equally?” Rantz asked.

“My experience is that there is a bit of bias in the media. As a candidate for 20 years in Washington, I can tell you that the standard I was held to was different than some of my Democratic counterparts. And so I believe that’s what also happens in terms of people’s evaluation of content that’s on social media.”

Rantz asked what Wyman she decided not to run again.

“(The year) 2020 was such a tremendously difficult year,” she said. “I felt like I was in a position to be able to be nonpartisan and support election officials and U.S. citizens in the election process.”

What Kim Wyman has been doing in recent years

Rantz asked Wyman about how she was doing that.

“I work for an organization in Washington, D.C., called the Bipartisan Policy Center. And we’re really focusing our work on elections,” Wyman said.

She explained that she wanted to help election officials because there has been a big exodus since 2020.

“Some of that’s normal retirement, some of that is just the stress and pressure coming out of the 2020 election,” Wyman explained. “We’re trying to figure out where the gaps and things like training are. How are we recruiting the next generation of election officials, that type of thing. So it’s really rewarding work, and I liked the bipartisan nature of it, and I’m just having a great time.”

She also worked on election security for the Biden administration.

“I knew that being a Republican would be a big statement for a Democratic president to appoint me,” Wyman said. “I also knew that would come with political risk and that there would be those who would just be certain that this confirmed she was a Democrat all along. I can completely confirm that I have never been a Democrat, and nor am I now. And I always find it ironic that people who are accusing me of being a RINO (Republican in name only) can’t tell you why they’re a Republican.

Despite her election and cybersecurity work, she feels like officials need to be careful not to cross a line.

“I think government, whether it is a federal level, the state level or local level, as government representatives, we have to be really cautious about anything that might even come close to trampling on or impacting someone’s right to an opinion or right to be critical of the government, be critical of a process, or be critical of an individual,” she said. “That’s protected speech.”

Wyman is a graduate of California State University, Long Beach and holds a Master of Public Administration from Troy State University. Additionally, she has been a certified elections and registration administrator since 2004.

Bill Kaczaraba is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here. Follow Bill on X, formerly known as Twitter, here and email him here.