Hawaii Legislature: Primary Results Could Bring Leadership Change
UPDATED 11 p.m.
Big winners after Saturday’s primary: state House dissidents who want a new speaker, and Laura Thielen.
That could shake things up in the 2013 Hawaii Legislature, depending on the outcome of the general election. Legislation impacting labor unions, the environment and development is sure to be introduced.
Because of reapportionment, all 25 state Senate and all 51 state House of Representatives seats are up for re-election, and many were settled during the primary.
Our tally below — as based on the fourth printout from the Office of Elections at 11 p.m. Saturday; final results come early Sunday — covers key House and Senate races identified by Civil Beat as significant.
For the outcomes in other races, please check full election results available on our homepage.
State Senate
District 1 Incumbent Gil Kahele defeated Hawaii County Council member Donald Ikeda 56-40 percent in the race for the Hilo-area seat. Kahele was appointed to the seat in 2011 to replace Russell Kokubun, who is the Agriculture Department Department director in the Abercrombie administration.
District 2 State Rep. Bob Herkes, who left the House to run for this newly created Puna-area seat (thanks to reapportionment), lost to Russell Ruderman 36-32 percent.
District 4 Incumbent Malama Solomon appeared to have held off former legislator and Big Isle mayor Lorraine Inouye 48-47 percent in the contest for the seat that runs from North Hilo to Waimea, though the race seems too close to call.
Solomon, herself a former legislator and Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee, was appointed by the governor in 2010 to replace Dwight Takamine, who became Labor Department director.
District 7 Molokai-Lanai-East Maui incumbent Kalani English prevailed over Barbara Haliniak in the Democratic primary 67-24 percent. Independent candidate Kanohowailuku Helm did not get the 10 percent of the vote needed to make it to the general election.
District 11 Longtime Democratic incumbents Brian Taniguchi and Carol Fukunaga were forced into the same Makiki-Manoa-Tantalus district because of reapportionment. Tanaguchi defeated Fukunaga 52-42 percent.
District 17 Incumbent Clarence Nishimoto crushed former legislator Alex Sonson 58-37 percent in the Waipahu-Pearl City area.
District 18 Incumbent Michelle Kidani swamped former legislator Michael Magaoay 60-33 percent in the hunt for the Mililani-Waikele-Kunia seat.
District 25 Incumbent Pohai Ryan lost to Laura Thielen 46-35 percent, while a third Democrat, Levani Lipton, had 11 percent in the race to represent Lanikai, Kailua, Keolu Hills, Waimanalo and Hawaii Kai.
State House of Representatives
District 19 Former legislator Bert Kobayashi defeated former legislator Brian Yamane 55-33 percent in the Democratic primary for the Kaimuki-Kapahulu-Diamond Head seat.
District 26 Incumbent Scott Saiki defeated his two challengers with 58 percent of the vote; former legislator Lei Ahu Isa had 27 percent and legislative staffer Ryan Kapuniai had 6 percent.
District 30 Term-limited Honolulu City Council member Romy Cachola beat fellow Democrat Nicole Velasco 51-46 percent for the Sand Island-Kalihi-Airport area seat.
District 33 Democratic incumbents Mark Takai and Heather Giugni were placed into the same Halawa-Aiea-Newton race because of reapportionment; Takai won easily over Giugni, 70-27 percent. Giugni was appointed by the governor in 2011 to replace Blake Oshiro, now the gov’s deputy chief of staff.
District 34 Former TV reporter Gregg Takayama edged former legislator Eloise Tungpalan 49-46 percent in the Pearl City-Waimalu-Pacific Palisades area.
District 41 Democratic incumbent Rida Cabanilla held off challenger Matt LoPresti, a professor, 57-38 percent. The race is for the Ewa Beach-West Loch Estates seat.
District 47 In an upset, GOP incumbent Gil Riviere lost to Richard Fale 50-45 percent.
District 48 In another closely watched race — and a huge loss for Speaker Calvin Say — House dissident Jessica Wooley topped House Majority Leader Pono Chong 54-41 percent. Both were thrown into the same Windward Oahu district because of reapportionment.
