Hobbs takes lead in Secretary of State race, November challenger still unknown
Only one candidate in the Secretary of State race found himself in a comfortable position as primary election results were counted Tuesday evening: Democratic incumbent Steve Hobbs.
As of Tuesday evening, Hobbs had 41% of the votes statewide.
Hobbs, a former state Senator, was appointed to the position by Gov. Jay Inslee in 2021 after Washington state’s former Secretary of State, Republican Kim Wyman, left to take a position with President Joe Biden’s administration as a senior election security lead of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
Wyman was the last Republican on the West Coast to hold a statewide spot prior to her departure.
While Hobbs will most certainly appear on the November ballot, as of Tuesday night it was unclear which other candidate will face him in the general election.
Anderson, a three-term non-partisan Pierce County Auditor, came in with almost 13% of the votes as the tallying came to a close. Republican Bob Hagglund and current Republican state Sen. Keith Wagoner were both barely trailing Anderson.
Washington voters had until 8 p.m. Tuesday to submit their ballot. Results will continue to come in over the next few days, and the election will be certified 14 days from the primary election day.
Republican Mark Miloscia, a former state Senator, had 9% of the vote, while Democrat Marquez Tiggs ended the night with almost 8% of the vote.
Tamborine Borrelli, an “America First” candidate running on an “election integrity” platform, only managed to secure 4% of the vote as of Tuesday evening. Borrelli had formerly filed multiple lawsuits alleging election fraud in the 2020 races, and her website notes that if she were to be elected, she would replace the mail-in process with in-person voting.
Secretary of State elections are typically held every four years, but the candidate elected this time around to the position will only hold the seat until 2024.
The Secretary of State wears many hats in their position. They are responsible for the supervision of state and local elections, and also responsible for certifying primary and general election results. Additionally, they handle the filing and verification process for initiatives and referendums, along with several other duties.
The top two vote-getters from the primary election will advance to the general election in November.
As of 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, more than 1 million ballots had been counted and more than 300,000 ballots still needed to be counted. More are expected in the upcoming days.
This story was originally published August 2, 2022 at 9:51 PM with the headline "Hobbs takes lead in Secretary of State race, November challenger still unknown."
