Republicans fail to make the ballot for Washington Secretary of State for the first time in 60 years

Washington’s Secretary of State race this November will be between Democratic incumbent Steve Hobbs and non-partisan candidate Julie Anderson, with the Associated Press calling the primary election Tuesday, Aug. 9.

Before Steve Hobbs was appointed to the position last November, a Republican held the position for the prior 56 years.

Kim Wyman had previously held the position before being appointed to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in the Biden administration.

Gov. Inslee appoints state Sen. Steve Hobbs as Washington’s next Secretary of State

In the special election for the secretary of state position, Hobbs is hoping to finish out the last two years of Wyman’s term.

Currently, Hobbs is leading the primary election, with 40% of the vote, and trailing behind him are several candidates, with Anderson leading the pack at 12.83%.

In Washington state, the top two candidates in the primary are the ones that move on to the general election, which means a candidate from each major party is not necessarily in the election. This process has made it so that Hobbs, a Democrat, will be facing Anderson, who is running as an independent, and there will be no Republican candidates on the ballot.

Anderson is just barely beating out her next two Republican competitors, Bob Hagglund and Keith L. Wagoner, who have 12% and 12.11%, respectively.

Hobbs has said he is the most qualified candidate for the position because it is one he currently holds. He also references his time as a Washington National Guard lieutenant colonel and a state senator from Snohomish County.

Anderson has been an election official for 12 years. As a non-partisan candidate, she advocates for the role of secretary of state being a job independent of party line politics.

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