The Projector: Pictures From Hawaii's Dramatic Primary Election Day

The Stage Is Set On Aug. 9, the primary night staging was ready downstairs at Ward Warehouse, which was the site of Gov. Neil Abercrombie's re-election campaign headquarters.
KITV's Little Fans On a very hot and humid afternoon, television reporter Andrew Pereira gets fanned by two Abercrombie staff members as he prepares for his live 5 p.m. broadcast.
The Guv Greets Knowing that surveys showed him far behind, Gov. Abercrombie told campaign workers he'd return in the evening to address them — after actual votes were counted.
First Formal Sign of Victory While polls showed state Sen. David Ige ahead for months, few expected the first readout of gubernatorial primary election results to show the challenger nearly doubling the incumbent's vote total. (Cory Lum/Civil Beat)
The Last Campaign Abercrombie and wife, Nancie Caraway, are ushered into a back room at campaign headquarters before he addressed campaign workers and the public, signaling the beginning of the end of his four decades in Hawaii politics.
In the Face of Defeat The governor, long known as a vibrant and effective campaigner, breaks the news to his campaign staff and supporters — he plans to publicly concede after the 9 p.m. vote count is released.
In Abercrombie's Footsteps He made history by being the first incumbent governor in Hawaii to lose a primary. His loss has been attributed to his clash with the state's teachers union, difficult fiscal decisions he made early in his term, very pro-development stances and his feisty political style in a laid-back state.
Final Campaign Gestures Surprisingly, after he thanked his supporters, Abercrombie left for Ige's campaign headquarters to join the party and offer his strong support for the democratic nominee in what may be a tight three-way race with Republican Duke Aiona and the Hawaii Independent Party's Mufi Hannemann.
Winning New Supporters Former Gov. John Waihee shares a joke with Ige at his headquarters. Ige, who earned a surprising number of endorsements in his run against an incumbent, can expect many more now that he is party's nominee. (Cory Lum/Civil Beat)
The Speed of Unity The night before the party's unity gathering, Abercrombie makes clear to the crowd at his opponent's headquarters that he will passionately support Ige, who defeated him by a two-to-one margin, in the general election.
Hawaii's Next First Family? Ige and his ohana talk to reporters after his huge victory. At the start of the year it was unimaginable that the wonky low-key state senator could win against the vastly better-funded governor.
Name That Dem! Tags awaited pickup at the Democratic Party Unity Breakfast on Aug. 10. Sen. Brian Schatz, whose race remains too close to call, hadn't yet stopped by. Thousands of people in two precincts on the Big Island who have yet to choose between Schatz and Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, due to logistical problems created by tropical storm Iselle, could ultimately decide senatorial race.
Words From a Former Congressman to a Hopeful Freshly-elected 1st Congressional District Democratic nominee Mark Takai gets some advice from the governor, who spent 18 years in Congress. The former military man faces a general election race against one of the stronger statewide Republican candidates, Charles Djou, who was the overwhelming winner of his party's primary.
Political Buffet Banter Abercrombie and Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell share a few words as they serve themselves. Abercrombie's defeat may offer lessons for the mayor, who is expected to run for re-election in 2016 in what may be a heavily contested field.
And the Winners Are... On the sidelines of the breakfast, Ige and Shan Tsutsui, the party's lieutenant governor nominee, attempt to project strength and unity for their party's ticket.

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PF Bentley is the former Chief Photographer for Civil Beat.

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