Opinion: A Republican write-in for Secretary of State

Nancy Churchill continues her examination of Washington’s Secretary of State race

Nancy Churchill
Dangerous Rhetoric

We are now less than 60 days from the Nov. 8 general election, and once again the Washington race for secretary of state is in the news. The winners of the primary election were Steve Hobbs, a Democrat, and “Ranked-Choice Julie” Anderson, a radical far-left progressive who pretends to be independent. Republicans, conservatives and other reasonable people were once again faced with being disenfranchised with a choice between “bad” and “worse” for this important office.

Fortunately for conservatives, Republican Brad Klippert, former state representative for the 8th Legislative District, has declared his intention to run a write-in campaign for Secretary of State. This long-shot campaign will only succeed if the grass-roots conservatives get off the sidelines and take action on Election Day by writing in “Brad Klippert” for Secretary of State.

Full disclosure: Last week, I was asked to support this campaign in my professional capacity as a marketing consultant. However, this opinion column is not a paid campaign piece – Dangerous Rhetoric is an independent reader-supported project (nancydchurchill.substack.com/). One of the joys of running my own business is that I only accept clients that completely align with my faith and values. I fully endorse Brad Klippert, and intend to invest considerable energy to help get the word out about the only Republican choice for Secretary of State.

Inconsistent?

A few weeks ago, I wrote a column about the correct way to use the write-in option on the Washington ballot. Some people who read the piece assumed I would never support a write-in candidate. That’s not true. There’s a right time and a wrong time to use that blank line. As a frequent election observer, I have seen that most people don’t understand the write-in process.

In one example of people who don’t understand write-ins, a local underdog candidate for legislature recommended on his podcast that voters should “just write someone in” if they don’t like the choices in a race. This is absolutely bad advice because of the consequences to the voter.

If NO candidate has filed as a write in for the race, the voter loses the opportunity to choose. I may not like the choices, but I still want a chance to impact the race. My vote IS important! Races can be decided by just a few votes. Never, ever “just write someone in”… unless you KNOW there is a declared write-in candidate for that position.

The other potential problem is that a ballot with a write-in will go to adjudication. The vote in that race is then controlled by the election officials — they have to review the ballot, and decipher both the voter’s handwriting and intent. If there is no declared write-in candidate for that race, this is a complete waste of everyone’s time. Only elections staff will ever see a “protest” vote, and they’re busy counting votes.

Klippert is a valid write-in candidate for SOS

For the Secretary of State race, voters who want a Republican choice can safely write in “Brad Klippert.” He’s running a real campaign (bit.ly/3RCJJjh), there is a PDC account for the campaign (bit.ly/3B90r2u), and he will be filing his paperwork as a write-in candidate soon.

Klippert was recruited by a grassroots conservative coalition who wanted a Republican choice for secretary of state. Klippert will need lots of grassroots support from all around Washington to have a chance to make a difference. If you’re happy to have a Republican choice for Secretary of State, please vote, and talk to everyone you know about this important race!

If Klippert’s name seems familiar, it may be because he was one of the many Republican candidates running in the 4th Congressional district against Rep. Dan Newhouse. Because he ran in the primary for that position and lost, he’s not able to be a write-in against Newhouse in the general election. However Klippert is absolutely available to be a write-in for the secretary of state race.

Ranked-choice voting: a future problem

SOS candidate Julie Anderson is FOR ranked choice voting (bit.ly/3Q2YQk9). Ranked-choice voting was just used for the first time in Alaska, and the complicated system allowed a Democrat with only 40% of the vote to win the special congressional election in a Republican State over two Republican candidates (fxn.ws/3qxmonb). Ranked-choice voting is just another way to confuse and disenfranchise the voters, and it will deepen voter apathy and distrust in elections. Don’t be tricked by Anderson’s claim to be independent: her strong support for ranked-choice voting proves she’s more radical than her Democrat opponent. Brad Klippert strongly opposes ranked-choice voting and will work to improve election transparency and security (bit.ly/3RCJJjh). If you choose to write-in Brad Klippert for secretary of state, you’re voting for improved election processes for everyone. Spread the word: There’s a Republican choice in the Secretary of State race!

Nancy Churchill is the state committeewoman for the Ferry County Republican Party. She may be reached at DangerousRhetoric@pm.me. The opinions expressed in Dangerous Rhetoric are her own.