Sam Sumner Reed (born January 10, 1941) is an American politician who served as the 14th Secretary of State of Washington from 2001 to 2013. Reed is largely considered to be one of the most consequential state-level secretaries of state in American history.

Reed received his bachelor's and master's degrees in political science from Washington State University. He was elected to the office of Secretary of State in 2000, as one of only two Republicans to be elected to statewide office that year, after serving as Thurston County auditor.

Early life

Reed, whose family lived in Washington since territorial days, grew up in Wenatchee. His family later moved to Spokane where Reed graduated from Lewis and Clark High School. He attended Washington State University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in social studies and master's degree in political science.

Career

A self-described Rockefeller Republican, in 1969 he, along with other moderate to liberal Republicans Chris Bayley and Daniel J. Evans founded the Cascade Conference, a symposium made up of fellow "Mainstream Republicans" where which ultimately evolved into the political advocacy group, the Mainstream Republicans of Washington, who continue to host annual Cascade Conferences to the present day.

Prior to his service as Secretary of State, Reed was elected Thurston County Auditor five times and served as Washington's Assistant Secretary of State under Lud Kramer and Bruce Chapman. He was also appointed by governor Daniel J. Evans onto the Governor's Advisory Council on Urban Affairs. by just over 0.4%.

Creation of the Top-two primary system

Background

In June 2000, California's blanket primary system was ruled unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court in a landmark case, California Democratic Party v. Jones. It was said to be unconstitutional on the terms that "violated the political parties’ freedom of association." Washington State had adopted a similar blanket primary system in 1935, though after negotiations, the Washington primary system remained unchanged.

Both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party had longtime lobbied for the removal of the blanket primary system in order to gain more control over primary elections. As such, incumbent Secretary of State Ralph Munro, Reed's predecessor began a series of hearings around the state to gather public input on potential changes to the blanket primary system. Following Washington's controversial gubernatorial race in 2004 (the closest such contest in U.S. history), Reed successfully pushed for several improvements to the state's voting process.

Other work as Secretary of State

As Secretary of State, Reed oversaw the controversial 2004 Washington gubernatorial election between Dino Rossi and Christine Gregoire.

Reed previously served as President of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS). He also served as an advisor to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission from 2005 to 2007. She would go on to win the 2012 election and serve until her resignation amid threats from fellow Republicans who spouted false claims that Wyman organized election fraud that caused President Donald Trump and Republican nominee for governor Loren Culp to lose the 2020 elections in the state.

In retirement, Reed continues to be active in his political advoacy group, the Mainstream Republicans of Washington, including hosting the annual Cascade Conference. Additionally, Reed is a member of the Olympia Kiwanis Club and sits on the Washington State Historical Society Board of Trustees, TVW's Board of Directors, the YMCA Youth & Government Board, and the State Capitol Committee. He also chairs the advisory committee for the Sam Reed Distinguished Professorship in Civic Education and Public Civility at Washington State University and serves on the advisory board for Washington State University's Tom Foley Institute for Public Policy.

2004 election

In 2004 Reed was re-elected by a relatively comfortable margin of about 6 percent. His opponents were Laura Ruderman, a state legislator, and Jacqueline Passey, a college student.

{| class="wikitable"

|-

| style="background-color:" | 

| Sam Reed

| Republican

| 1,369,421

| 51%

|-

| style="background-color:" | 

| Laura Ruderman

| Democrat

| 1,209,299

| 45%

|-

| style="background-color:" | 

| Jacqueline Passey

| Libertarian

| 82,097

| 3%

|}

2008 election

In November 2008 Sam Reed ran for re-election against Democrat Jason Osgood and won with more than 58 percent of the vote statewide.

Personal life

Reed and his wife Margie reside at their home in Olympia. They have two adult children, David and Kristen, and two grandchildren.

References

  • Washington Secretary of State Homepage
  • Sam Reed's Campaign Website