2020 Washington Secretary of State election

See also: 2020 United States secretary of state elections

2020 Washington Secretary of State election
← 2016 November 3, 2020 2022 (special) →
 
Nominee Kim Wyman Gael Tarleton
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 2,116,141 1,826,710
Percentage 53.6% 46.3%
Wyman:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Tarleton:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Tie:      40–50%      50%      No data
Secretary of State before election

Kim Wyman
Republican

Elected Secretary of State

Kim Wyman
Republican

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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.[1] Wyman became the only Republican to hold statewide office in Washington and the entire West Coast.[2] As of 2024, 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.[3]

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.[4]

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 P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
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[5]
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 1,919 0.08%
Total votes 2,433,766 100.00%

General election

Predictions

Source Ranking As of
The Cook Political Report[6] 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
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[a] 		Margin
of error 		Kim
Wyman (R) 		Gael
Tarleton (D) 		Undecided
Public Policy Polling[7] October 14–15, 2020 610 (LV) ± 4% 49% 43% 8%
SurveyUSA[8] October 8–10, 2020 591 (LV) ± 5.2% 45% 40% 14%

Results

2020 Washington Secretary of State election[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Kim Wyman (incumbent) 2,116,141 53.61%
Democratic Gael Tarleton 1,826,710 46.27%
Write-in 4,666 0.12%
Total votes 3,947,517 100.00%

By congressional district

Wyman won 7 of 10 congressional districts, including four that elected Democrats.[10]

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
Marilyn Strickland

Notes

  1. ^ Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear

References

  1. ^ Primary results
  2. ^ Santos, Melissa (November 11, 2020). "How Republican Kim Wyman keeps winning in blue Washington state". Cascade PBS. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  3. ^ "Endorsements". Kim Wyman for Secretary of State. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  4. ^ "Endorsements". Vote for Gael. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  5. ^ "Certification of the 2020 Primary Results" (PDF). Secretary of State of Washington. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  6. ^ "An Updated Look at Handicapping the 2020 Secretary of State Elections". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  7. ^ Public Policy Polling
  8. ^ SurveyUSA
  9. ^ "Official Canvass of the Returns" (PDF). Secretary of State of Washington. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  10. ^ Results. sos.wa.gov (Report). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 24, 2020.