Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District election, 2020 (August 8 Democratic primary)
- Primary date: Aug. 8
- Primary type: Open
- Registration deadline(s): July 9
- Online registration: Yes
- Same-day registration: Yes
- Early voting starts: July 27
- Absentee/mail voting deadline(s): Aug. 8 (received)
- Voter ID: Non-photo ID
- Poll times: 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
2022 →
← 2018
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| Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District |
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| Democratic primary Republican primary General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: June 2, 2020 |
| Primary: August 8, 2020 General: November 3, 2020 Pre-election incumbent: Tulsi Gabbard (Democratic) |
| How to vote |
| Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voting in Hawaii |
| Race ratings |
Inside Elections: Solid Democratic Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Democratic |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020 |
| See also |
1st • 2nd Hawaii elections, 2020 U.S. Congress elections, 2020 U.S. Senate elections, 2020 U.S. House elections, 2020 |
Kaiali'i Kahele defeated Brian Evans, Brenda Lee, and Noelle Famera to win the Democratic nomination in Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District in a primary on August 8, 2020. Kahele received 77% of the vote to Evans' 9%, Lee's 8%, and Famera's 6%. Kahele ran in the district's general election on November 3, 2020.
Incumbent Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D) did not run for re-election. Gabbard, who sought the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, was first elected to represent the district in 2012. She won each of her elections in the district by more than 50 percentage points, and election forecasters considered the seat to be solidly Democratic at the time of the primary.
Three candidates had active campaign websites at the time of the primary: Kaiali'i Kahele, Brian Evans, and Noelle Famera. Kahele, a state senator, said his campaign priorities were public education, increasing access to healthcare, and addressing climate change.[1] Brian Evans, a singer and activist, listed Universal Basic Income, passage of the HEROES Act, and increased access to counsel for civil litigation as some of his key priorities.[2] Famera, a businesswoman, said she would prioritize environmental legislation like the Green New Deal, and implementing Universal Basic Income.[3]
Kaiali'i Kahele advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Hawaii District 2.
| Candidate filing deadline | Primary election | General election |
|---|---|---|
Click on candidate names below to view their submitted key messages:
 Brian Evans |
 Noelle Famera |
This page focuses on Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District Democratic primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Republican primary and the general election, see the following pages:
- Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District election, 2020 (August 8 Republican primary)
- Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District election, 2020
Election procedure changes in 2020
Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.
Political party events in Hawaii were modified as follows:
- Political party events: The Democratic Party of Hawaii canceled in-person voting in its presidential preference primary, originally scheduled to take place on April 4, 2020. All voting instead took place by mail. The return deadline for mail-in ballots was May 22.
For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.
Candidates and election results
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Hawaii District 2
Kaiali'i Kahele defeated Brian Evans, Brenda Lee, and Noelle Famera in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Hawaii District 2 on August 8, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Kaiali'i Kahele | 76.5 | 100,841 |
 | Brian Evans  | 9.4 | 12,337 | |
| Brenda Lee | 8.1 | 10,694 | ||
 | Noelle Famera | 6.1 | 7,992 | |
| Total votes: 131,864 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- David Cornejo (D)
- Ryan Meza (D)
Candidate profiles
This section includes candidate profiles created in one of two ways. Either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey or Ballotpedia staff created a profile after identifying the candidate as noteworthy.[4] Ballotpedia staff compiled profiles based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements.
Party: Democratic Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office: None
Submitted Biography: "My name is Brian Evans. For too long, we have allowed politicians to make promises they don't keep. Once elected, you're lucky to hear from them again. I pledge to donate half of my salary to charity if I am elected, and I refuse to take donations from the Hawaiian people, or anyone, for my campaign. Sacred land is being disrespected, mental health care is all but nothing, good doctors and teachers are leaving the island because they can't afford to live here, and students leave because they find themselves in the same economic situation. School and colleges must be tuition free, and I am a supporter of Bernie Sanders and his beliefs. We also have a serious crisis in America with hospitals. 240,000 to 440,00 patients die a year due to medical error. And do you know how many death certificates claim those errors as a "cause of death"? 0. There is a serious crisis in our hospitals that not one candidate is talking about, so I will be that candidate. I want to save lives, give Hawaii the respect it deserves, and not be one of these candidates who just seek to get rich off of it. If you elect me, you'll always hear from me, not a staff member, even if I have to stay up 24 hours a day. People have called me "cynical." I'm sorry, but if you vote for someone to represent you: Cynical is the job. You don't need another candidate who smiles for camera while your life is unwinding."
This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Hawaii District 2 in 2020.
Party: Democratic Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office: None
Submitted Biography: "Aloha, I'm Noelle Famera, 2020 Democratic Candidate for Hawaii's Second Congressional District. I've worked diligently for positive change in Hawaii. My experience in the private sector gave me the tools to be in business for the people. My family and I feel the time has now come for me to seek elected office. I want to change the game and bring new ideas to the State of Hawaii and the federal level by running for US Congress District 2. I've always been concerned about the environment and clean energy solutions. I would like to see a Sustainable Future Act passed, while also incentives to electric vehicle owners, residential and commercial solar. I'm here to also fight for data rights and a free open internet. My goal is to restore trust in the government here for the people of Hawaii and to unite us all."
This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Hawaii District 2 in 2020.
District analysis
- See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index
- See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores
The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+19, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 19 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District the 70th most Democratic nationally.[5]
FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 1.09. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.09 points toward that party.[6]
Endorsements
This section lists endorsements issued in this election. If you are aware of endorsements that should be included, please email us.
| Democratic primary endorsements | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Endorsement | Evans | Famera | Kahele | Lee | ||
| Organizations | ||||||
| Serve America PAC[7] | ✔ | |||||
Campaign finance
This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.[8] It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees.[9] The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Evans | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Noelle Famera | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $281 | As of July 15, 2020 |
| Kaiali'i Kahele | Democratic Party | $1,253,139 | $1,059,753 | $193,386 | As of December 31, 2020 |
| Brenda Lee | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
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Primaries in Hawaii
A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election.
Hawaii utilizes an open primary system, in which registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.[10][11]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
General election race ratings
- See also: Race rating definitions and methods
Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:
- Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
- Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
- Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[12]
- Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.
Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[13][14][15]
| Race ratings: Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District election, 2020 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race tracker | Race ratings | ||||||||
| November 3, 2020 | October 27, 2020 | October 20, 2020 | October 13, 2020 | ||||||
| The Cook Political Report | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | |||||
| Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | |||||
| Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Safe Democratic | Safe Democratic | Safe Democratic | Safe Democratic | |||||
| Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season. | |||||||||
See also
- Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District election, 2020 (August 8 Republican primary)
- Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District election, 2020
- United States House elections in Hawaii, 2020 (August 8 Democratic primaries)
- United States House elections in Hawaii, 2020 (August 8 Republican primaries)
- United States House Democratic Party primaries, 2020
- United States House Republican Party primaries, 2020
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2020
- U.S. House battlegrounds, 2020
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Kaiali'i Kahele 2020 campaign website, "Kai Kahele," accessed August 6, 2020
- ↑ Honolulu Civil Beat, "Candidate Q&A: U.S. House District 2 — Brian Evans," July 10, 2020
- ↑ Noelle Famera 2020 campaign website, "About Me," accessed August 6, 2020
- ↑ Candidate Connection surveys completed before September 26, 2019, were not used to generate candidate profiles. In battleground primaries, Ballotpedia based its selection of noteworthy candidates on polling, fundraising, and noteworthy endorsements. In battleground general elections, all major party candidates and any other candidates with the potential to impact the outcome of the race were included.
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017
- ↑ FiveThirtyEight, "Election Update: The Most (And Least) Elastic States And Districts," September 6, 2018
- ↑ Email communication with Serve America PAC dated June 25, 2020.
- ↑ Fundraising by primary candidates can be found on the race's respective primary election page. Fundraising by general election candidates can be found on the race's general election page.
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2022 Quarterly Reports," accessed March 2, 2022
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," accessed July 19, 2024
- ↑ Hawaii State Legislature, "Hawaii Revised Statutes §12-31," accessed July 19, 2024
- ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
