Democratic incumbents sweep Washington’s down ballot races • Washington State Standard

In the races for state treasurer, auditor and secretary of state, Washington voters are re-electing  the Democratic incumbents by wide margins. 

“Isn’t it great that for the first time in 50 years, we have run the table with Democratic statewide officials?” said Gov. Jay Inslee at Tuesday’s election night event hosted by the Washington State Democratic Party. 

Here’s where these so-called “down ballot” races stand as of Wednesday. 

Treasurer

State Treasurer Mike Pellicciotti of Seattle has a nearly 16-point lead on Republican challenger Sharon Hanek, an accountant from Bonney Lake who last ran for state treasurer nearly a decade ago. 

Washington’s state treasurer is responsible for managing the state’s investments, debt and cash. 

Pellicciotti, 46, was first elected state treasurer in 2020 after serving two terms as a state representative. An attorney by trade, Pellicciotti once prosecuted corporate financial crime as an assistant attorney general. 

As state treasurer, he’s pushed lawmakers to require financial education in Washington’s schools and pitched a “baby bonds” bill to create trust funds for low-income babies born in the state through Medicaid. He also helped make Washington’s GET/529 education savings program, which helps families save for their children’s college tuition, more affordable. 

Pellicciotti also touts his work refinancing existing debt to save Washington over a half a billion dollars since 2021 and increasing investment returns for state and local governments. 

“Don’t let anyone tell you for a second that Democrats are not the party of fiscal responsibility,” Pellicciotti said in his victory speech on Tuesday. 

Hanek told the Spokesman-Review she ran to use her accounting experience to fix mismanagement of funds, pointing to improper documentation from the state for billions of federal pandemic relief dollars. While she agreed with Pellicciotti on expanding financial education, she opposed his baby bonds bill. 

Pellicciotti raised $484,769 to Hanek’s $50,061 by the end of the race. 

Secretary of State

Secretary of State Steve Hobbs is projected to crush Republican challenger Dale Whitaker, who is trailing by 19 points.

The secretary of state supervises local and state elections and certifies the results of elections. 

Hobbs, a former state senator, was tapped by Inslee in 2021 to be secretary of state after Republican Kim Wyman left for an election security post in President Joe Biden’s administration. The Lake Stevens resident was the first Democrat in 56 years and the first person of color to head the office. 

In 2022, he was elected to finish Wyman’s term. This year marks the first time Hobbs has run for a full four-year term. 

Hobbs’ time in office has centered around combating voting misinformation, expanding ballot access and ensuring election security. 

He requested legislation — which lawmakers passed — to ban political campaigns from using false images, videos or audio without disclosing use of manipulated media. He also requested funding for a new division focused on “strengthening cybersecurity and fighting election misinformation,” which was granted by the Legislature. During the campaign, he argued his former career in the military, where he worked with the National Security Agency, has best prepared him to combat cyberattacks and security threats. 

Under Hobbs, the office put a focus on reaching voters from underserved communities, including young voters, tribal communities, residents with disabilities and formerly incarcerated people. Hobbs also instituted text messages to notify voters about their ballot status, starting in the 2023 election. 

Whitaker, of Spokane, owns a tax practice and is executive director of We Believe We Vote, a nonprofit that describes itself as “a Christian ministry providing resources to assist citizens in social, cultural, and governmental engagement based on Biblical truths and Constitutional principles.”

During the campaign, Whitaker pushed for a return to in-person voting and called on Washington to cross reference its voter data with citizenship information to ensure voters are eligible. He also criticized Hobbs for deciding to no longer enforce a requirement that a person live at the same address for at least 30 days before an election in order to vote in that election, arguing that it disenfranchises local communities. Hobbs said new residents have “every right to have a voice in their new community.” 

Hobbs raised $227,229 to Whitaker’s $90,722.

Auditor

State Auditor Pat McCarthy is poised to return for a third term. As of Wednesday, she was beating Republican challenger Matt Hawkins by about 17 points. 

The state auditor oversees an office of over 400 state employees who investigate local government and local agencies’ performance and their handling of public funds. The auditor’s office also makes recommendations to those agencies and governments as a result of their findings. 

McCarthy was the elected auditor of Pierce County and then the county’s executive before she was elected state auditor in 2016. She is also a former Tacoma School District board member and is currently the president-elect of the National Association of State Auditors. 

McCarthy inherited an office in turmoil, as her predecessor, Troy Kelley, was convicted in 2017 for eight felonies, including possessing stolen funds and filing false tax returns. Under her tenure, the office has emphasized transparency and accessibility of its findings to the public. 

McCarthy’s work includes audits documenting improper or insufficiently documented spending of federal pandemic money, Marysville School District’s “alarming” financial condition and small-town fraudsters. She also created a new audit to investigate police use of deadly force. 

During her campaign, she’s also touted her office’s work on cybersecurity reviews and its Financial Intelligence Tool. McCarthy’s office recently added the state’s 295 school districts to the tool. 

McCarthy’s challenger, Hawkins, told the Spokesman-Review he was running because he thinks the auditor’s office should help the private sector more. He also touted his 30-plus years of private sector experience — compared to McCarthy’s public sector career — as a reason why he would take an “unbiased approach.”

McCarthy raised $44,133 to Hawkins’ $18,556.