Hawaii Elections 2016: Primary Election Ballot
Need to figure out who to vote for on Saturday? Click on the links in this story to see how candidates in your area feel about certain issues.
Hawaii is the only state that holds its statewide primary election on a Saturday. This year, the primary is Aug. 13.
The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. but Hawaii also has a robust mail-in voting process. In 2014, 56 percent of voters dropped their ballots in the mail in the weeks before Election Day. Early voting has become such a factor that candidates time their campaigns to take advantage of it.
The race for president of the United States will top the Nov. 8 general election ballot, but Hawaii’s preferences for the Democratic and Republican nominees for president were decided in caucuses, rather than the primary election. Both parties held their caucuses in March this year; the Republicans chose Donald Trump, the Democrats gave the nod to Bernie Sanders. The candidate for each party who will appear on the general election ballot will be nominated at national conventions this summer.
But one U.S. Senate seat in Hawaii and both of our U.S. House seats will be on the Aug. 13 primary ballot.
Every state House seat — all 51 — is up for election along with 14 of the 25 state Senate seats.
So is the Honolulu mayor, five of nine Honolulu City Council seats, and county council seats in Maui, Kauai and Hawaii County. Prosecuting attorneys in Honolulu and Kauai are up for election.
Related
Four of the nine seats on the board of trustees for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs will also be on the ballot — one at-large seat, one representing Hawaii island, one for Kauai and one for Molokai.
Candidates who win their primaries and have no general election opponent are deemed to have won the office. In Hawaii, many statewide and legislative races are effectively decided in the primary because of the overwhelming dominance of the Democratic Party. So whichever Democrat wins the primary often goes on to prevail in the general election.
Hawaii allows candidates to run as independents if they choose not to join a political party. But independent candidates rarely progress past the primary election because them to get at least 10 percent of the total votes cast in the primary or as many votes as the winning partisan candidate who got the least number of votes.
County-level races as well as the contest for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs are non-partisan. Candidates are not designated as Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians or any other affiliation. Some county races with only two candidates won’t appear on the primary ballot but will be on the Nov. 8 ballot.
Below is a list of the candidates who have filed their paperwork to run for office in the primary. The filing deadline for both the primary and the Nov. 8 general election was June 7.
Some candidates have been active for months, including raising money from contributors. You can study campaign finance reports for each candidate at the . The most recent reports cover donations through July 29.
Critics are concerned that voters don’t have much time to check on where candidates are getting their money, especially with the popularity of early voting in which people can begin turning in their ballots about a month before the election.
Civil Beat has been analyzing the campaign cash flowing to candidates, looking at candidates as well as contributors, including political action committees. You can find those stories in our ongoing report, Cashing In.
Check back frequently. We’ll also be including links to information on candidates and where they stand on important issues. We’ve sent out candidate questionnaires in statewide and legislative races as well as the Honolulu mayor and City Council races. We’ll link to those from this page as they come in.
The Ballot (Unofficial)
D = Democrat, R = Republican, I = Independent, L = Libertarian, G = Green Party, C = Constitution, A = American Shopping, N = Nonpartisan, NS = Nonpartisan Special
* = incumbent
U.S. Senate
Tutz Honeychurch (D)
Arturo Reyes (D)
Brian Schatz (D) *
Miles Shiratori Ìý(¶Ù)
John Carroll (R)
Karla Gottschalk (R)
Eddie Pirkowski (R)
John Roco (R)
Michael Kokoski (L)
Joy Allison (C)
John Giuffre (A)
Colleen Hanabusa (D)
Lei Ahu Isa (D)
Howard Kim (D)
Javier Ocasio (D)
Sam Puletasi (D)
Lei Sharsh-Davis (D)
Steve Tataii (D)
Shirlene Ostrov (R)
Alan Yim (L)
Calvin Griffin (N)
Tulsi Gabbard (D) *
Shay Chan Hodges (D)
Eric Hafner (R)
Angela Kaaihue (R)
Richard Turner (N)
State Senate
District 1
Kaialii Kahele (D) *
Kaola Robinson (D)
Dennis Onishi (D)
Kimberly Arianoff (L)
District 2
Greggor Ilagan (D)
Russell Ruderman (D) *
Frederick Fogel (L)
District 5
Gil Keith-Agaran (D) *
District 8
Kanoe Ahuna (D)
Ron Kouchi (D) *
District 9
Michael Bennett (D)
Stanley Chang (D)
Richard Kim (D)
Sam Slom (R) *
District 10
David Farrell (D)
Les Ihara (D) *
Arnold Phillips (L)
District 11
Brian Taniguchi (D) *
C. Kaui Amsterdam (R)
Joseph Kent (L)
District 13
Kim Coco Iwamoto (D)
Keone John Nakoa (D)
Karl Rhoads (D)
Rod Tam (R)
Harry Ozols (L)
District 14
Carl Campagna (D)
Donna Kim (D) *
District 15
Glenn Wakai (D) *
Roman Kalinowski (L)
District 19
Will Espero (D) *
Kurt Favella (R)
Chris Fidelibus (R)
District 20
Mike Gabbard (D) *
District 22
Donovan Dela Cruz (D) *
District 25
Laura Thielen (D) *
Heather Dozier (R)
Robert Nagamine (R)
State House
District 1
Heather Kimball (D)
Mark Nakashima (D) *
Byron Young (R)
District 2
Janis Cowser (D)
Clifton Tsuji (D) *
Jonathan Wong (D)
Grace Larson (N)
District 3
Aiona Naniole (D)
Richard Onishi (D) *
Gregory Arianoff (L)
Kealoha Pisciotta (G)
District 4
Joy San Buenaventura (D) *
Moke Stephens (C)
Laura Jones (N)
District 5
Richard Creagan (D) *
Michael Last (L)
District 6
Bronsten Kossow (D)
Nicole Lowen (D) *
Thomas Mann (D)
Bruce Pratt (R)
District 7
Cindy Evans (D) *
David Tarnas (D)
Jeffrey Coakley (R)
District 8
Richard Abbett (D)
Joe Souki (D) *
Gilbert Rebolledo (R)
District 9
Justin Woodson (D) *
District 10
Angus Mckelvey (D) *
Chayne Marten (R)
District 11
Kaniela Ing (D) *
Deidre Tegarden (D)
Daniel Peku (R)
District 12
Tiare Lawrence (D)
Kyle Yamashita (D) *
District 13
Lynn Decoite (D) *
Alexander Haller (D)
±·¾±³¦°ìÌý±·¾±°ì³ó¾±±ô²¹²Ô²¹²Ô»å²¹ (G)
District 14
Nadine Nakamura (D)
Fern Rosenstiel (D)
Sandra Combs (R)
District 15
Tommy Ol (D)
James Tokioka (D) *
District 16
Dee Morikawa (D) *
Victoria Franks (R)
District 17
Karlen Ross (D)
(R) *
District 18
Mark Jun Hashem (D) *
District 19
Bert Kobayashi (D) *
Stephen Bischoff (R)
Anthony Higa (L)
District 20
Calvin Say (D) *
Julia Allen (R)
District 21
Scott Nishimoto (D) *
District 22
Tom Brower (D) *
Dennis Miller (D)
Kathryn Henski (R)
District 23
Isaac Choy (D) *
Dale Kobayashi (D)
District 24
Della Au Belatti (D) *
Cody Rodriguez (D)
Lawrence Fenton (R)
Michelle Tippens (L)
District 25
Sylvia Luke (D) Â *
District 26
Scott Saiki (D) Â *
District 27
Takashi Ohno (D) *
District 28
Ikaika Hussey (D)
John Mizuno (D) *
Carole Kaapu (R)
District 29
Alvin Au (D)
Firmo Dayao (D)
Valerie Dionne (D)
Daniel Holt (D)
James Logue (D)
Kaiwiola Coakley (R)
District 30
Romy Cachola (D) *
Marcelino Velasco (D)
District 31
Aaron Ling Johanson (D) *
Eric Ching (R)
District 32
Linda Ichiyama Chong (D) *
District 33
Tracy Arakaki (D)
Sam Kong (D) *
District 34
Gregg Takayami (D) *
Jaci Agustin (R)
District 35
Roy Takumi (D) *
Roger Clemente (R)
District 36
Zuri Aki (D)
Marilyn Lee (D)
Beth Fukumoto (R) *
District 37
Ryan Yamane (D) *
Katherine Kupukaa (R)
District 38
Henry Aquino (D) *
District 39
Ty Cullen (D) *
District 40
Rosebella Ellazar-Martinez (D)
Randy Gonce (D)
Bob McDermott (R) *
District 41
Matt LoPresti (D) *
Bryan Jeremiah (R)
District 42
Sharon Har (D) *
District 43
Karen Awana (D)
Stacelynn Eli (D)
Andria Tupola (R) *
District 44
Cedric Gates (D)
Jo Jordan (D) *
Marcus Paalui (R)
Tamiko Sequin (R)
District 45
Lauren Matsumoto (R) *
District 46
Marcus Oshiro (D) *
Scott Noltie (R)
District 47
Sean Anthony Quinlan (D)
Toagaifasa Mataafa (R)
Feki Pouha (R) *
District 48
Jarrett Keohokalole *
District 49
Ken Ito (D) *
Patrick Shea (D)
District 50
Joan Hood (R)
Cynthia Thielen (R) *
District 51
Chris Lee *
Honolulu Mayor
Kurt Baker
Zachary Burd
Peter Carlisle
Lillian Hong
Mike Powers
Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney (both candidates advance to general election)
Keith Kaneshiro *
Anosh Yaqoob
District 1
Marc Anthony
Tom Berg
Kioni Dudley
District 3
Ikaika Anderson *
District 5
Robert Armstrong
Kimberly Case
Ann Kobayashi *
District 7 (both candidates advance to general election)
Chace Shigemasa
District 9Â (both candidates advance to general election)
Ron Menor *
Hawaii County Mayor
Alvin Akina
Daniel Cunningham
Wendell Kaehuaea
Harry Kim
Walter Lau
Helen Luta
Gene Tamashiro
Timothy Waugh
Eric Weinert
Hawaii County Prosecuting Attorney
Michael Kagami
Mitchell Roth *
Hawaii County Council
District 1
Valerie Poindexter *
District 2
Aaron Chung *
William Halversen
District 3
Grace Castillo
²Ñ´Ç²¹²Ô²¹Ìý°±ð±ô¾±¾±
Susan Lee Loy
District 4
Madeline Greene
District 5
Jennifer Ruggles
District 6
Maile David *
District 7
Nestorio Domingo
Dru Kanuha *
District 8
Jeffrey Citron
Karen Eoff *
District 9
Herbert Richards
Maui County Council
East Maui (both candidates advance to general election)
Shane Sinenci
West Maui (both candidates advance to general election)
Ernest Balinbin
Elle Cochran *
Wailuku-Waihee-Waikapu
Alika Atay
Dane Kane
°²¹³ó³Ü±ô³Ü¾±Ìý(both candidates advance to general election)
Don Guzman *
Vanessa Medeiros
South Maui
Richard DeLeon
Jerome Metcalfe
Makawao-Haiku-Paia
Upcountry
Napua Greig-Nakasone
Eric Molina
Yuki Sugimura
³¢²¹²Ô²¹¾±Ìý(both candidates advance to general election)
Riki Hokama *
Gabe Johnson
²Ñ´Ç±ô´Ç°ì²¹¾±Ìý(both candidates advance to general election)
Stacy Crivello *
Keani Rawlins-Fernandez
Kauai County Prosecuting Attorney (both candidates advance to general election)
Lisa Arin
Kauai County Council
Juno-Ann Apalla
Matthew Bernabe
Arthur Brun
Mason Chock Sr. *
Richard Fukushima
Gary Hooser *
Ross Kagawa *
Arryl Kaneshiro *
Derek Kawakami
Kipukai Kualii *
Mel Rapozo *
Norma Sparks
At-Large
Daniel Anthony
Douglas Crum
Leona Kalima
Paul Mossman
Hawaii
Bo Kahui
Molokai
Alapai Hanapi
Colette Machado *
