Voters give 2nd term to Wyman

OLYMPIA — Republican Secretary of State Kim Wyman has been re-elected to a second term.

Wyman defeated Democrat Tina Podlodowski, a former Microsoft manager, with about 54 percent of the vote.

Wyman narrowly won her election four years ago and voting in August’s top two primary was tight, with Wyman getting 48 percent of the vote and Podlodowski receiving 46 percent.

Podlodowski attacked Wyman on issues ranging from low primary voter turnout to a translation mistake in the Spanish version of the voters guide that could have led some who were convicted of misdemeanor crimes to think they were not qualified to vote. Wyman apologized for the error and sent out mailers to voters who were potentially affected.

In an emailed statement, Wyman wrote that her re-election was a “huge victory.”

“In the face of the most money ever spent on a Washington Secretary of State race, and in the crosshairs of one of the most negative campaigns ever run for this office, we held firm,” she wrote. “We proved that running a positive, issues-driven campaign still works. We proved that integrity and fairness do matter in our elections.”

Podlodowski raised more than $900,000 in her bid to oust Wyman, and spent more than half of that on negative TV ads. Wyman raised more than $855,000 in her race.

In other election developments, voters have rejected a measure that creates a publicly funded voucher system for political contributions.

Initiative 1464’s voucher system would have given voters three $50 “democracy credits” that they can use in state races every two years. To pay for the statewide system, the measure would’ve repealed the non-resident sales tax exemption for residents of sales-tax-free states like Oregon and Montana who shop in Washington. To be eligible to redeem the vouchers, participating political candidates would have to have pledged to limit self-financing, as well as the size of donations they accept.