Hawaii Lt. Gov.: Sylvia Luke Wins Democratic Primary
The powerful state lawmaker could soon be the state’s second-in-command.
One of the state鈥檚 most powerful legislators will be the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor based on results released Saturday night by the state elections office.
With most of the vote in, Rep. Sylvia Luke, who controlled the state鈥檚 budget as chair of the House Finance Committee, had 34.8% of the vote late Saturday night. She led contenders Ikaika Anderson 25.4%, Keith Amemiya 21.7%, and Sherry Menor-McNamara 9.8%, according to the state Office of Elections.
“Right now I’m just ecstatic,” Luke said in a phone interview. “I’m just so thankful to the state and to the voters of Hawaii for the support that I’ve had.”
Anderson wouldn’t concede the race and told , “We’ve got a long night ahead of us.”
Luke endured a massive attack campaign mounted by the super PAC Be Change Now, which is backed by the local construction industry. Be Change Now spent more than $3 million supporting Anderson鈥檚 campaign and attacking Luke鈥檚.
It鈥檚 the same group that propelled Lt. Gov. Josh Green to his current office in 2018.
Luke said her nomination is a “clear indication that voters saw through the negative campaign ads.”
Luke also had outside financial support from the Hawaii Government Employees Association, the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly and the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 675.
In the Republican primary, Seaula Tupa鈥榠 led with 41.7% of the vote. Rob Burns had 29.5% and Tae Kim had 10.5%.
Most eyes were on the four-way race for the Democratic nomination to be the state鈥檚 second-in-command. Many lieutenant governors, like Green, eventually run for governor or use the position as a stepping stone to higher office, like U.S. Sens. Brain Schatz and Mazie Hirono.
All four of the candidates expressed at least some interest in leading their own initiatives alongside the next governor. The top issue for most was affordable housing.
Luke also wanted to speed housing development and the building of more preschool classrooms. Anderson also wanted to tackle homelessness. Menor-McNamara, the president of the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii, also had plans to develop workforce initiatives.聽Amemiya campaigned on a platform of tackling housing and public corruption.
Throughout the election season, polls from various media outlets as well as the candidates’ own internal polling showed a wide open race in which all the candidates lacked name recognition among a broad, statewide audience.
Anderson and Amemiya each spent more than $830,000 on their campaigns, but Anderson had outside assistance from the Be Change Now super PAC of more than $2 million in paid advertising.
But Luke, who spent years amassing a campaign war chest as a state legislator, led the field in fundraising. Her campaign spent more than $1 million during the election season.
The negative advertising focused on Luke鈥檚 campaign donations in 2017 from former Navatek CEO Martin Kao, who along with two other executives were indicted on federal conspiracy charges in February.
Recent ads also tied Luke to Milton Choy, the wastewater executive who bribed two state lawmakers and is at the center of an ongoing federal investigation. Luke returned more than $25,000 worth of donations from Choy and his associates to the state.
Luke railed against super PACs at a press conference on Wednesday, where she called on the Legislature to crack down on such groups and require them to provide more disclosure on where their money comes from.
鈥淲e鈥檙e at a low point in the history of Hawaii鈥檚 elections,鈥 Luke said.
The state鈥檚 ability to limit super PAC spending and contributions to those groups is limited by a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision called Citizens United.
Amemiya and Menor-McNarama did not attract that kind of outside money. Super PACs did not play a role in the Republican primary race.
