Daily Brew: Here’s what happened in the Hawaii primaries over the weekend

August 13, 2018

Gov. Ige wins contested primary PLUS Have you checked out our aggregate approval ratings page?   Gov. Ige fends off primary challenge Gov. David Ige (D) defeated five primary challengers including current U.S. House representative Colleen Hanabusa (D), in Saturday's primary. Ige received 51.4 percent of the vote to Hanabusa's 44.4 percent. Hanabusa, who is serving her third term, opted to challenge Ige rather than seek re-election to the House. She presented herself as a change candidate, according to political science professor Colin Moore, pointing to what she argued were Ige's failings during his first term. Among Hanabusa's endorsers were the Hawaii Government Employees Association—the state's largest union—as well as Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D) and Ige's former lieutenant governor Shan Tsutsui (D). Ige, who won election as governor in 2014 after defeating incumbent Neil Abercrombie (D) in the Democratic primary, pointed to what he said were his achievements since taking office, including low unemployment rates, a reduction in homelessness, and an initiative to expand access to air conditioning in public schools. His 2014 victory over Abercrombie remains the only successful primary challenge to a sitting Hawaii governor. A Rutgers University analysis found that since 1948, 35 governors seeking re-election have been defeated in primaries. Click here for a full rundown of Saturday's results         Presidential approval ratings: What do the aggregate numbers show? Political polls are released daily, providing a deluge of regular political information. Let our database of polling data help you sift through the figures. For Ballotpedia's presidential approval, congressional approval, and direction of the country polling results, we take an average of the most recent polls (from the last 30 days, with some exceptions for major news events) on one or more of these topics conducted by a specific list of trusted sources.  Every morning at approximately 9:30 am EST, you can find an updated number on presidential and congressional approval ratings and the direction of the country polling results.  Here are Friday’s numbers: Presidential approval: 43% Congressional approval: 18% Direction of country: 40% Learn more→ Learn about the administrative state in our monthly newsletter Last week, we fact-checked the historical use of the term administrative state. You can find that here. Today we’d like to make sure you’re aware of one of our newest newsletters - Checks and Balances - a monthly update from Ballotpedia’s Administrative State Project, including pivotal actions at the federal and state levels related to the separation of powers, due process and the rule of law. In the most recent edition, we take a closer look at President Donald Trump’s new executive order (EO) on administrative law judges (ALJs), who preside over hearings involving regulatory enforcement. The order allows the judges to be hired based on agency-specific criteria rather than the procedures otherwise applicable to civil servants. We also examine the views of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on the legitimacy of the administrative state; a federal appeals court ruling that the structure of the Federal Housing Finance Agency is unconstitutional; and President Trump’s rescission of the Obama Administration’s guidance on considering race in higher ed admissions. Read the latest edition and sign up here so you never miss an update→