2014 elections review: Hawaii primary still too close to call
August 11, 2014
By Ballotpedia's Congressional team
The fate of the Democratic nominee in the race for the Senate seat lies in the hands of a few thousand voters after the race was deemed too close to call. Voters in two precincts in the Puna District of Hawaii's Big Island who would normally vote in person will instead have the opportunity to cast absentee ballots after they were unable to cast ballots when two polling sites were closed because of damage caused by Tropical Storm Iselle.[1][2]
Incumbent Brian Schatz and Rep. Colleen Hanabusa were separated by fewer than 2,000 votes out of more than 230,000 ballots cast.[3]
By law, election officials have 21 days to conduct an election, but the state is still working to restore essential services following the tropical storms.[1]
U.S. Senate
Hawaii will hold a special election for the U.S. Senate in 2014. The special election will be held to fill the vacancy left by the death of Senator Daniel Inouye (D).[4]
The results of the Democratic primary remained too close to call. Colleen Hanabusa and incumbent Brian Schatz were separated by less than one percent, or approximately 2,000 votes out of the more than 230,000 votes.[5][6]
Voters in two precincts in the Puna District of Hawaii's Big Island who would normally vote in person will instead have the opportunity to cast absentee ballots after they were unable to cast ballots when two polling sites were closed because of damage caused by Tropical Storm Iselle.[1] While election officials have 21 days to conduct an election, there is currently no timeline in place for when the winner will be determined.[1]
On December 26, 2012, Governor of Hawaii Neil Abercrombie (D) appointed his Lieutenant Governor Brian Schatz to fill the seat's vacancy.[7]
On June 17, 2013, the Hawaii Democratic Party filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to close its primary to all except registered Democrats.[8] Currently, Hawaii does not ask voters to choose a party when they register to vote. This is the first time any state Democratic Party has ever filed a lawsuit to close an open primary.[9]
The winner of the contested Democratic primary is a favorite for the general election in the heavily Democratic state.[10] The winner of the primary will face businessman and former state Representative Cam Cavasso (R) in the general election.[6]
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Brian Schatz Incumbent |
49.3% | 115,445 | ||
| Colleen Hanabusa | 48.6% | 113,663 | ||
| Brian Evans | 2.1% | 4,842 | ||
| Total Votes | 233,950 | |||
| Source: Hawaii Office of Elections |
||||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Cam Cavasso |
72.3% | 25,874 | ||
| John Roco | 12.4% | 4,425 | ||
| Harry Friel | 9.7% | 3,477 | ||
| Eddie Pirkowski | 5.7% | 2,033 | ||
| Total Votes | 35,809 | |||
| Source: Hawaii Office of Elections |
||||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joy Allison | 67.8% | 388 | ||
| Art Reyes | 32.2% | 184 | ||
| Total Votes | 572 | |||
| Source: Hawaii Office of Elections |
||||
U.S. House
There are two seats up for grabs in the Hawaii's 2014 congressional elections. The Democratic Party currently holds both seats.
| Members of the U.S. House from Hawaii -- Partisan Breakdown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 2014 | After the 2014 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 2 | 2 | |
| Republican Party | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 2 | 2 | |
District 1
Heading into the election the incumbent is Colleen Hanabusa (D), who was first elected in 2010. She announced her decision to run for the U.S. Senate seat on May 2, 2013.[11][12]
State Representative Mark Takai beat out six challengers for the nomination in the Democratic primary. He will face Charles Djou, who beat out serial candidate Allan Levene in the Republican primary.[13] Djou previously represented the 1st District from 2010 to 2011.[14][15]
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mark Takai |
44.5% | 52,736 | ||
| Donna Kim | 28.4% | 33,678 | ||
| Stanley Chang | 10.2% | 12,135 | ||
| Ikaika Anderson | 6.7% | 7,937 | ||
| Will Espero | 3.8% | 4,555 | ||
| Joey Manahan | 3.8% | 4,495 | ||
| Kathryn Xian | 2.6% | 3,039 | ||
| Total Votes | 118,575 | |||
| Source: Hawaii Office of Elections |
||||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Charles Djou |
96.4% | 20,802 | ||
| Allan Levene | 3.6% | 777 | ||
| Total Votes | 21,579 | |||
| Source: Hawaii Office of Elections |
||||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Meyer | 51.3% | 99 | ||
| Calvin Griffin | 48.7% | 94 | ||
| Total Votes | 193 | |||
| Source: Hawaii Office of Elections |
||||
District 2
Heading into the election the incumbent is Tulsi Gabbard (D), who was first elected in 2012. She was elected with 77% of the vote in 2012. She ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.
Kawika Crowley beat out Marissa Capelouto for the nomination on the Republican ticket. Libertarian candidate Joe Kent will also appear on the general election ballot after he ran unopposed in the primary.[13]
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Kawika Crowley |
56.8% | 9,094 | ||
| Marissa Capelouto | 43.2% | 6,926 | ||
| Total Votes | 16,020 | |||
| Source: Hawaii Office of Elections |
||||
See also
- List of U.S. Congress incumbents not running for re-election in 2014
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2014
- United States House of Representatives elections in Hawaii, 2014
- United States Senate special election in Hawaii, 2014
- Hawaii elections, 2014
External links
- Hawaii Elections Division
- List of primary candidates
- Hawaii U.S. House Primary Results
- Hawaii U.S. Senate Primary Results
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Wall Street Journal, "Hawaii Senate Primary Too Close to Call," accessed August 10, 2014
- ↑ USA Today, "Hawaii senator locked in nail-biting Dem primary," accessed August 10, 2014
- ↑ Associated Press, "Senate Primary Results," accessed August 10, 2014
- ↑ Hawaii.gov, "Elections" accessed July 17, 2013
- ↑ Chronicle, "Schatz, Hanabusa Senate primary too close to call," accessed August 10, 2014
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Fox News, "Hawaii gov ousted in Dem primary, Senate race too close to call," accessed August 10, 2014
- ↑ Hawaii Reporter, "Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz to Replace Inouye in U.S. Senate," December 26, 2012
- ↑ Hawaii Democrats, " News Release: Primary Election Challenge" accessed June 19, 2013
- ↑ Ballot Access.org, "Hawaii Democratic Party Sues To Keep Outsiders from Voting in its Primaries" accessed June 19, 2013
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedgore - ↑ Huffington Post, " Colleen Hanabusa Senate Run: Congresswoman Says She Will Challenge Brian Schatz" accessed May 3, 2013
- ↑ Yahoo News, "Hanabusa announces US Senate run in Hawaii" accessed May 3, 2013
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Associated Press, "House Primary Results," accessed August 10, 2014
- ↑ Office of the Clerk announcing Abercrombie's vacancy
- ↑ Hawaii Reporter, "GOP Now ‘Endangered Species’ in Hawaii: Democrats Win Big, Taking Governorship, Congressional Seat from GOP," November 3, 2010
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