Republican Kim Wyman to register as an Independent after taking new role with Biden administration

In a recent interview with Crosscut, Wyman said that she will change her voter registration from Republican to Independent due to the "nature" of her new position.

"I probably will register as an independent, in part because of the job and the nature of the job," Wyman said. "I'm really stepping back from political life in every sense. And I think just being an independent in terms of voter registration is kind of in line with that as well."

Wyman previously challenged former President Donald Trump's claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential election and called the recent audit in Arizona's Maricopa County "political theater."

During her tenure in office, Wyman has expanded Washington's vote-by-mail system to include fully paid postage, and wide network of ballot drop boxes which has led to increased voter turnout.

Progressive candidates in Seattle pulling ahead towards the end of ballot counting, sometimes in miraculous numbers, has become the new normal in Seattle as Washington state's all vote by mail system continues to be refined.

Wyman told KUOW after the riot at the US Capitol on January 6, "I think every Republican elected official right now in the country is really having to do some soul searching about why they're Republican, and what it means to them, and why they are a part of the party. I know I have been doing that."

She added addressing claims of voter fraud, "If that's what my party stands for now, I don't know that I can continue being a Republican, because that's not what republicanism is about." She later attempted to walk back the comments in subsequent interviews.

It was revealed earlier this month that in King County, the most populous county in the state, if a voter were to mail-in a candidate's name on a napkin along with the position that they were running for, the vote would be counted.

Wyman will be sworn into her new position on Monday after serving as Washington's Secretary of State since 2012.