Hobbs Sworn In As Washington Secretary Of State

OLYMPIA, WA — Washington has a new Secretary of State, following a swearing in ceremony in Olympia.

Washington Supreme Court Justice Mary Yu on Monday swore in former state Sen. Steve Hobbs as Washington's 16th Secretary of State. Following the ceremony in the capitol, Hobbs held his first address as secretary, thanking his family for support and calling the appointment an opportunity to build upon the work of outgoing Secretary of State Kim Wyman.

In particular, Hobbs said one of his biggest priorities will be continuing Wyman's efforts to address election security concerns.

"We are going to create a cell, if you will, to respond to the misinformation and disinformation that hits our elections," Hobbs said. "Because that's as big of a threat as our cyber. The last thing we need is our democracy eroded by people believing that our election system is not secure, when it is secure."

Wyman made a name for herself as one of few Republicans to firmly push back against the claims of widespread voter fraud made by former President Donald Trump and his allies— which likely helped her secure her new position as Senior Election Security Lead for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Wyman announced she had been tapped by the Biden administration to fill that role late last month, and would be resigning on Nov 19.

Shortly afterwards, Gov. Jay Inslee announced he was appointing Hobbs to replace Wyman, calling Hobbs a "dedicated public servant" with a "strong national security perspective."

Hobbs has represented the 44th Legislative District in the state Senate since 2007. Before that, he served for more than 32 years in the U.S. Army, enlisting as a private before working his way up to Lt. Colonel in tours of Kosovo and Iraq.

Hobbs also took time to thank Wyman during his address Monday, complimenting her dedication at several times throughout the speech.

"Thank you for all you've done for the state and your continuing service for our nation," Hobbs said.

As Crosscut's Melissa Santos first reported, Hobb's appointment marks the first time a Democrat has been Washington's Secretary of State in almost six decades. Hobbs, an Asian-American, is also the first person of color to ever serve as Washington's Secretary of State.

Meanwhile, Wyman was the last Republican to hold statewide office in Washington. While Inslee appointed a Democrat as her replacement, the governor has emphasized Hobbs' history of bipartisan action— something Hobbs touched on in his address as well.

"Really nothing is going to change too much," Hobbs said. "Luckily for me, the last three secretaries were centrists. I'm also a centrist. Some would say I'm a radical moderate at times, but you have to have that, you have to have the trust of the secretary, that way you have trust in the election system."