The 2012 Washington Secretary of State election took place on November 6, 2012. Republican Kim Wyman was narrowly elected Secretary of State to succeed incumbent Republican Sam Reed, who did not seek re-election.
The primary election took place in August. Under Washington's top-two primary system, introduced in the early 2000s, the primary was designed to narrow the field of candidates to two, rather than select specific party nominees, and candidates could designate themselves as affiliated with any political party, whether it existed or not.
Seven candidates contested the primary:
Wyman and Drew scored the most votes in the primary contest, thereby becoming the two candidates to advance to the general election. Wyman received 39.75-percent of the vote and Drew 21.73-percent.
Republican Kim Wyman won the general election in a close-fought contest, and was the only Republican elected to statewide office in Washington.
With Wyman's victory, Republicans extended their control of the office of Secretary of State of Washington to 48 consecutive years, having won each of the preceding 12 elections.
Graphical summary<br />
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
Wyman won six of ten congressional districts, including two that elected Democrats.