2022 Election Preview: Secretary Steve Hobbs vs. Julie Anderson

Washington Secretary of State Preview:

Incumbent Steve Hobbs and Julie Anderson advanced from August’s primary election race for Secretary of State, garnering 40.99% and 13.17% of the vote, respectively.

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The single biggest issue of the debate was the issue of election integrity, misinformation, and political polarization, about which Hobbs and Anderson were mainly in agreement.

Solving that issue, for auditor Anderson, was removing the politics from the position of Secretary of State, a job she said she was best fit for because of her time as a non-partisan election official.

Hobbs pointed to his long history of service, not only as a politician within the state legislature, but also as a leader in the military, especially when it came to developing relationships with those that can help increase election security.

Hobbs, Anderson debate focuses on trust in elections amid national crisis

Incumbent Steve Hobbs was appointed to the office following Republican Kim Wyman’s early exit when she took a post in the other Washington. Hobbs’ appointment marked the first time a Democrat had held the state’s top election post in nearly 60 years.

Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson is running without party affiliation, citing her strong belief that political parties do not belong in the Secretary of State’s Office. Anderson managed to rake in $159,745 in campaign contributions as of late July.

The midterm election is being held Nov. 8. Follow MyNorthwest’s coverage as the results are compiled.

Secretary Hobbs:

Get caught up on Secretary Hobbs’ campaign leading up to the midterm election:

WA Secretary of State stands by integrity of election process

First Democrat to serve as Washington Sec. of State in decades swears in as ‘radical moderate’

Auditor Anderson:

Get caught up on Auditor Anderson’s campaign leading up to the midterm election:

Gee & Ursula: Is it possible to be a nonpartisan politician?

Pierce County auditor hopes to be Washington’s first nonpartisan secretary of state