Hillary Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State planned to testify herself in January. The Benghazi matter also had an effect on Clinton's successor as Secretary of State. Obama's first choice was Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice, but she came under heavy criticism from Congressional Republicans for what they felt were incorrect or deceptive statements in the aftermath of the attack, and by mid-December she withdrew her name from consideration. Obama then nominated Senator John Kerry for the position instead. By one report, Clinton had preferred Kerry over Rice all along anyway. Although still not well enough to attend the December 21 announcement of Kerry's nomination, Clinton
2000 Washington secretary of state election candidates of the Libertarian Party and Reform Party, respectively. The general election was a close race, with Reed only eking out a victory over Bonker, despite outspending his opponent by a factor of nearly four to one. It was the ninth consecutive election for Washington secretary of state won by Republicans in the Democratic-leaning state. 2000 Washington secretary of state election The Washington secretary of state election, 2000, took place on November 7, 1992. Republican Sam Reed was elected to succeed incumbent Ralph Munro who did not seek re-election. The primary election took place in September. Leading contenders for the