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Hawaii elections, 2014

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 Hawaii's 2014 elections
U.S. Senate • U.S. House • Governor • Lt. Gov • State Senate • State House • State ballot measures • Candidate ballot access
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Hawaii

The state of Hawaii held elections in 2014. Below are the dates of note:

2014 elections and events in Hawaii
Signature filing deadline for all candidates June 3, 2014 Red padlock.png
Voter registration deadline for primary election July 10, 2014 Red padlock.png
Primary election date August 9, 2014 Red padlock.png
U.S. Senate special election (primary) August 9, 2014 Red padlock.png
Voter registration deadline for general election October 6, 2014 Red padlock.png
General election date November 4, 2014 Red padlock.png
U.S. Senate special election (general) November 4, 2014 Red padlock.png
Statewide ballot measure elections November 4, 2014 Red padlock.png

Below are the types of elections that were scheduled in Hawaii in 2014:

On the 2014 ballot
Find current election news and links here.
U.S. Senate Scheduled electiona
U.S. House Scheduled electiona
State Executives Scheduled electiona
State Senate Scheduled electiona
State House Scheduled electiona
Statewide ballot measures (5 measures) Scheduled electiona
Local ballot measures Scheduled electiona
School boards Unscheduled electiond

2014 elections

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Races to watch in Hawaii

Hawaii State Legislature

See also: Hawaii State Senate elections, 2014 and Hawaii House of Representatives elections, 2014

Elections for the Hawaii State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on August 9, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 3, 2014. Heading into the election, the Democratic Party controlled the chamber. The following table details the 10 districts with the smallest margin of victory in the November 6, 2012, general election.

Elections for the Hawaii House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on August 9, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 3, 2014. Heading into the election, the Democratic Party controlled the chamber. The following table details the 10 districts with the smallest margin of victory in the November 6, 2012, general election.

Elections by type

U.S. Senate

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U.S. Senate elections in Hawaii

See also: United States Senate special election in Hawaii, 2014 and Special elections to the 113th United States Congress (2013-2014)

Hawaii held a special election for the U.S. Senate in 2014. The primary election was held on August 9, 2014, with the general election on November 4, 2014.[1]

On December 26, 2012, Governor of Hawaii Neil Abercrombie (D) appointed his Lieutenant Governor Brian Schatz to fill the seat's vacancy.[2]

The special election was held to fill the vacancy left by the death of Senator Daniel Inouye (D).

On June 17, 2013, the Hawaii Democratic Party filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to close its primary to all except registered Democrats.[3] Hawaii does not ask voters to choose a party when they register to vote. This was the first time any state Democratic Party had ever filed a lawsuit to close an open primary.[4]

The winner of the contested Democratic primary was a favorite for the general election in the heavily Democratic state.[5]

Candidates

General election candidates


Note: The results of the Democratic primary were initially too close to call. Colleen Hanabusa and incumbent Brian Schatz were separated by less than one percent of the vote.[6] A special make-up election was held on August 15, 2014, for the two precincts that were forced to close the polls on the original August 9, 2014, primary election.

August 9, 2014, primary results

Democratic Party Democratic Primary

Republican Party Republican Primary

Grey.png Third Party Candidates

Libertarian Party Libertarian Party Candidates

Failed to file

Declined candidates

The following individuals were mentioned as possible candidates, but declined to run.

Race background

Senator Daniel Inouye died December 17, 2012, 50 years after he was first elected to represent Hawaii in the U.S. Senate. He was the longest serving sitting Senator in U.S. history.[19] According to Hawaii law, Gov. Neil Abercrombie (D) was required to appoint someone to the open seat until the special election in 2014. The appointee had to be one of three names submitted by the state party of the incumbent. Inouye gave his preference for his successor in a letter to Abercrombie, in which Inouye listed Colleen Hanabusa as his pick to replace him in the U.S. Senate. Representative Hanabusa topped the list of early contenders.[8]

The fiscal cliff votes gave Abercrombie a very narrow window to appoint another Democrat to Inouye's seat.[20][21] On December 26, 2012, the governor tapped his Lieutenant Governor, Brian E. Schatz (D), to fill the vacancy, denying Inouye's deathbed request that Hanabusa should succeed him.[22]

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee announced on April 23 that it planned to back U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz in his bid for re-election next year amid a primary challenge from U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa.[23] On May 7th, 2013 EMILY'S List endorsed Hanabusa over incumbent Brian Schatz.[24][25]

1st District incumbent Colleen Hanabusa announced her decision to run for the U.S. Senate seat on May 2, 2013.[26][27]

On May 3, 2013, the widow of Hawaii Senator Daniel K. Inouye endorsed Hanabusa’s bid against Sen. Brian Schatz (D), a move she said honors one of the late senator’s “last requests.”[28] In a statement Irene Hirano Inouye said, “Shortly after she was elected President of the Hawaii State Senate, Dan recognized that Colleen was more than capable of succeeding him and he began to mentor her. His last wish was that Colleen serve out his term because he was confident in her ability to step into the Senate and immediately help Hawaii. I am honoring one of his last requests, and look forward to supporting Colleen on the campaign trail.”[28]

Both candidates came to the race with their own strengths: Schatz, as an incumbent, started off with the fundraising advantage and inherited a team of national strategists and consultants to run his campaign.[29] Hanabusa, on the other hand, is better known within the state and tapped into the network and political organization Inouye left behind.[29]

Primary to watch

The primary battle between Brian Schatz and Colleen Hanabusa was highlighted as one of the top five primaries to watch in 2014.[30]

Primary vulnerability

Schatz was named by National Journal as one of the top five incumbent senators at risk of losing his or her primary election in 2014. Four of the five most vulnerable senators were Republican.[31]

U.S. House

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U.S. House of Representatives elections in Hawaii

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Hawaii, 2014 and United States House of Representatives elections, 2014

The 2014 U.S. House of Representatives elections in Hawaii took place on November 4, 2014. Voters elected two candidates to serve in the U.S. House, one from each of the state's two congressional districts.

Candidate Filing Deadline Primary Election General Election
June 3, 2014
August 9, 2014
November 4, 2014

Primary: 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.[32]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Voter registration: To vote in the primary, voters had to register by June 10, 2014. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 6, 2014.[33]

See also: Hawaii elections, 2014


Partisan breakdown

Heading into the November 4 election, the Democratic Party held both of the two congressional seats from Hawaii.

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

Incumbents

Heading into the 2014 election, the incumbents for the two congressional districts were:

Name Party District
Colleen Hanabusa Electiondot.png Democratic 1
Tulsi Gabbard Electiondot.png Democratic 2

List of candidates by district

1st Congressional District

General election candidates

August 9, 2014, primary results

Democratic Party Democratic Primary

Republican Party Republican Primary

Failed to file

Not on ballot

Rumored candidates

2nd Congressional District

General election candidates

August 9, 2014, primary results

Democratic Party Democratic Primary

Republican Party Republican Primary

Libertarian Party Libertarian Party Candidates

Failed to file

State Executives

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State executive official elections in Hawaii

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See also: Hawaii state executive official elections, 2014 and State executive official elections, 2014

Two state executive positions were up for election in 2014 in the state of Hawaii.

The following offices were elected in 2014 in Hawaii:

List of candidates by office

Governor

General election

Republican Party Duke Aiona/Elwin Ahu[49]
Democratic Party David Ige/Shan TsutsuiGreen check mark transparent.png[50]
Libertarian Party Jeff Davis/Cindy Marlin[51]
Grey.png Independent Party candidates Mufi Hannemann/Les Chang[52]

Lost in the primary

Gubernatorial

Democratic Party Neil Abercrombie - Incumbent[53]
Democratic Party Van Tanabe[54]
Republican Party Charles Collins - Retired businessman, artist, frequent candidate[54]
Republican Party Stuart Gregory - Frequent candidate[54]

Lieutenant gubernatorial

Democratic Party Clayton Hee - State Sen.[55]
Democratic Party Sam Puletasi - State Medical Board Member[54]
Democratic Party Miles Shiratori - Lifeguard, Real Estate Investor[54]
Democratic Party Mary Zanakis - Television documentary producer[56]
Republican Party Kimo Sutton[57]

Disqualified

Independent (nonpartisan) Misty Davis[58]
Independent (nonpartisan) Khistina Dejean[58]
Independent (nonpartisan) Richard Morse, Jr.[58]

Withdrawn

Independent (nonpartisan) Joe Spatola - Entertainer[58]

Lieutenant Governor

General election

Democratic Party Shan Tsutsui - Incumbent
Republican Party Elwin Ahu[54]
Grey.png Les Chang[54]
Libertarian Party Cindy Marlin[59]

Defeated in primary

Democratic Party Clayton Hee - State Sen.[60]
Democratic Party Sam Puletasi - State Medical Board Member[54]
Democratic Party Miles Shiratori - Lifeguard, Real Estate Investor[54]
Democratic Party Mary Zanakis - Television documentary producer[61]
Republican Party Kimo Sutton[62]

State Senate

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State Senate election in Hawaii

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See also: Hawaii State Senate elections, 2014 and State legislative elections, 2014

Elections for the Hawaii State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on August 9, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 3, 2014.

Majority control

See also: Partisan composition of state senates

Heading into the November 4 election, the Democratic Party held the majority in the Hawaii State Senate:

Hawaii State Senate
Party As of November 3, 2014 After November 4, 2014
     Democratic Party 24 24
     Republican Party 1 1
Total 25 25

List of candidates by district

District 1 • District 3 • District 4 • District 6 • District 7 • District 12 • District 16 • District 17 • District 18 • District 21 • District 23 • District 24

State House

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State House elections in Hawaii

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See also: Hawaii House of Representatives elections, 2014 and State legislative elections, 2014

Elections for the Hawaii House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on August 9, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 3, 2014.

Majority control

See also: Partisan composition of state senates

Heading into the November 4 election, the Democratic Party held the majority in the Hawaii House of Representatives:

Hawaii House of Representatives
Party As of November 3, 2014 After November 4, 2014
     Democratic Party 44 43
     Republican Party 7 8
Total 51 51

List of candidates by district

District 1 • District 2 • District 3 • District 4 • District 5 • District 6 • District 7 • District 8 • District 9 • District 10 • District 11 • District 12 • District 13 • District 14 • District 15 • District 16 • District 17 • District 18 • District 19 • District 20 • District 21 • District 22• District 23 • District 24 • District 25 • District 26 • District 27 • District 28 • District 29 • District 30 • District 31 • District 32 • District 33 • District 34 • District 35 • District 36 • District 37 • District 38 • District 39 • District 40 • District 41 • District 42 • District 43 • District 44 • District 45 • District 46 • District 47 • District 48 • District 49 • District 50 • District 51

Statewide ballot measures

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Statewide ballot measure elections in Hawaii

See also: Hawaii 2014 ballot measures and 2014 ballot measures

Five statewide ballot measures were certified for the 2014 statewide ballot in Hawaii.

On the ballot

November 4:

Type Title Subject Description Result
LRCA Amendment 1 Judiciary Requires the disclosure of names of nominees for appointment to state courts
Approveda
LRCA Amendment 2 Bonds Authorizes the issuance of bonds for agricultural enterprises
Approveda
LRCA Amendment 3 Judiciary Increases the mandatory age of retirement for judges and justices to 80
Defeatedd
LRCA Amendment 4 Education Permits the appropriation of public funds for private early childhood education programs
Defeatedd
LRCA Amendment 5 Bonds Authorizes the issuance of bonds for loan assistance to dam and reservoir owners
Approveda

Local ballot measures

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Local ballot measure elections in Hawaii

See also: Local ballot measures, Hawaii and Local ballot measure elections in 2014

Elections by date

Click below for more information about local ballot measure elections on:


...click here for more 2014 Hawaii local measures.


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Voting in Hawaii

See also: Voting in Hawaii

Important voting information

  • 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.[63]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

  • Hawaii passed legislation in 2012 authorizing online voter registration, but a system has not yet been implemented.

Voting absentee

See also: Absentee voting by state

For information about eligibility, deadlines, military and overseas voting and updates to the voting laws in Hawaii, please visit our absentee voting by state page.

Voting early

See also: Early voting

Hawaii is one of 34 states that permits early voting with no specific restrictions as to who can vote early. Early voting begins 14 days before an election and ends three days prior to Election Day.[64]

Elections Performance Index

See also: Pew Charitable Trusts' Elections Performance Index

Hawaii ranked 45th out of the 50 states and District of Columbia in the Pew Charitable Trusts' Elections Performance Index (EPI), based on the 2012 elections. The EPI examined election administration performance and assigned an average percentage score based on 17 indicators of election performance. These indicators were chosen in order to determine both the convenience and integrity of these three phases of an election: registration, voting and counting. Hawaii received an overall score of 54 percent.[65]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Hawaii.gov, "Elections" accessed July 17, 2013
  2. ↑ Hawaii Reporter, "Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz to Replace Inouye in U.S. Senate," December 26, 2012
  3. ↑ Hawaii Democrats, " News Release: Primary Election Challenge" accessed June 19, 2013
  4. ↑ Ballot Access.org, "Hawaii Democratic Party Sues To Keep Outsiders from Voting in its Primaries" accessed June 19, 2013
  5. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named gore
  6. ↑ Chronicle, "Schatz, Hanabusa Senate primary too close to call," accessed August 10, 2014
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Civil Beat, "Inouye's Last Wish Is Abercrombie's Biggest Burden," December 24, 2012
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 WMTW.com, "Inouye gave preference for successor before he died," December 18, 2012
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Washington Post "Gov. Abercrombie to appoint Inouye’s replacement," December 17, 2012
  10. ↑ Huffington Post " Colleen Hanabusa Senate Run: Congresswoman Says She Will Challenge Brian Schatz" accessed May 3, 2013
  11. ↑ Yahoo News "Hanabusa announces US Senate run in Hawaii" accessed May 3, 2013
  12. ↑ Brian Evans for Senate, "Home," accessed March 17, 2014
  13. ↑ Hawaii Elections, "Candidate Report," accessed March 17, 2014 (dead link)
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 14.6 14.7 14.8 Hawaii Elections, "Candidates," accessed June 3, 2014 (dead link) Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "candidatelist" defined multiple times with different content
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 15.7 15.8 Hawaii Elections Division, "Candidate Report," accessed April 30, 2014 (dead link) Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "list" defined multiple times with different content
  16. ↑ John Roco for Senate 2014, "Home," accessed March 17, 2014
  17. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Cam Cavasso," accessed October 30, 2013
  18. ↑ Hawaii Reporter "Former Congressman Ed Case Joins Growing List of Democrats Applying for Inouye's U.S. Senate Seat" accessed July 5, 2013
  19. ↑ ABC news, "Sen. Dan Inouye Dies; In Office Since '59," December 17, 2012
  20. ↑ CBS news, "Inouye replaceent to be named Wednesday," December 24, 2012
  21. ↑ Civil Beat, "Inouye's Last Wish Is Abercrombie's Biggest Burden," December 24, 2012
  22. ↑ The Washington Post, "Hawaii governor picks Brian Schatz for Inouye’s seat," December 26, 2012
  23. ↑ My San Antonio, "DSCC to back Schatz over Hanabusa in Senate race" accessed April 29, 2013
  24. ↑ Emily's list, "Endorsements," accessed May 9, 2013
  25. ↑ Politico, "Colleen Hanabusa rallies EMILY’s List support" accessed May 9, 2013
  26. ↑ Huffington Post, " Colleen Hanabusa Senate Run: Congresswoman Says She Will Challenge Brian Schatz" accessed May 3, 2013
  27. ↑ Yahoo News, "Hanabusa announces US Senate run in Hawaii" accessed May 3, 2013
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Washington Post, "Inouye’s widow endorses Hanabusa against Schatz" accessed May 3, 2013
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Politico, "Sunny Hawaii is home to hottest Democratic primary" accessed July 12, 2013
  30. ↑ Washington Post, "The Fix’s top 10 Senate races of 2014," accessed December 10, 2013
  31. ↑ National Journal, "Ranking the Top 5 Senators Vulnerable in 2014 Primaries," accessed December 31, 2013
  32. ↑ Hawaii Legislature, "Hawaii Rev. Stat. § 12–31," accessed September 3, 2025
  33. ↑ Hawaii Office of Elections Website, "Voter Registration and Permanent Absentee," accessed January 3, 2014
  34. ↑ Hawaii News Now, "Senate President Donna Mercado Kim announces congressional bid," accessed November 11, 2013
  35. ↑ KITV "Councilman Stanley Chang sets sights on Congress" accessed April 25, 2013
  36. ↑ KHON " State Sen. Will Espero enters Congressional race" accessed July 25, 2013
  37. ↑ Honolulu Civil Beat "Yep, Will Espero Wants to Go to Congress" accessed July 25, 2013
  38. ↑ Hawaii News Now "Espero enters race to replace Hanabusa in Congress" accessed July 25, 2013
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 Hawaii Reporter, "Takai, Anderson are Latest Democrats to Enter Congressional District 1 Race," accessed August 9, 2013
  40. ↑ Hawaii Elections Division, "Candidate Report," accessed February 15, 2014 (dead link)
  41. ↑ Honolulu Star Advertiser, "Joey Manahan announces Congressional run," accessed February 15, 2014
  42. ↑ Atlanta Journal Constitution, "Running for Congress, in Georgia and three other states – at the same time," accessed November 12, 2013
  43. ↑ Honolulu Civil Beat, "It’s Official: Charles Djou Running for Congress Again," accessed April 5, 2014
  44. ↑ Hannah Miyamoto for Congress, "About Hannah," accessed October 30, 2013
  45. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Hannah Miyamoto Summary reports," accessed October 30, 2013
  46. ↑ Civil Beat, "Chad Blair: Mufi Returns?" accessed December 9, 2013
  47. ↑ Hawaii Free Press, "Why Marissa is Running for Congress," accessed January 21, 2014
  48. ↑ Joe Kent for Congress, "Home," accessed March 24, 2014
  49. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named duke
  50. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named ige
  51. ↑ Jeff Davis for Governor 2014 Official campaign website, "Meet Jeff," accessed February 18, 2014
  52. ↑ Hawaii News Now, "Hannemann supporters reach goal, will Mufi run?" February 21, 2014
  53. ↑ Neil Abercrombie for Governor 2014 Official Campaign Website, "Homepage," accessed September 3, 2013
  54. ↑ 54.0 54.1 54.2 54.3 54.4 54.5 54.6 54.7 54.8 Hawaii Division of Elections, "2014 Primary Candidate List: Certified," printed June 10, 2014
  55. ↑ Hawaii News Now, "Clayton Hee announces run for Lt. Governor," May 11, 2014
  56. ↑ Mary Zanakis for Lieutenant Governor 2014 Official campaign website, "Homepage" accessed June 30, 2014
  57. ↑ Kimo Sutton for Lieutenant Governor 2014 Official campaign website, "Homepage," accessed June 30, 2014
  58. ↑ 58.0 58.1 58.2 58.3 West Hawaii Today, "Nonpartisans in Hawaii governor race disqualified," June 25, 2014
  59. ↑ Hawaii Reporter, "Hawaii's Libertarian Candidates Field Record Number of Candidates," June 9, 2014
  60. ↑ Hawaii News Now, "Clayton Hee announces run for Lt. Governor," May 11, 2014
  61. ↑ Mary Zanakis for Lieutenant Governor 2014 Official campaign website, "Homepage" accessed June 30, 2014
  62. ↑ Kimo Sutton for Lieutenant Governor 2014 Official campaign website, "Homepage," accessed June 30, 2014
  63. ↑ Hawaii Legislature, "Hawaii Rev. Stat. § 12–31," accessed September 3, 2025
  64. ↑ Long Distance Voter, "Early Voting Rules: Hawaii," accessed December 18, 2013
  65. ↑ Pew Charitable Trusts, "Election Performance Index Report," accessed April 23, 2014
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