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Early primary election returns suggest there will be few changes on the Hawaii County Council this year, but the competitive race between Big Island Mayor Mitch Roth and psychologist Kimo Alameda is headed for a runoff this fall.

With almost all votes counted Sunday morning, Roth, who is seeking a second term as chief executive of the county, had 37.8% of the vote, while Alameda had slightly less than 27.5%.

Trailing well behind Roth and Alameda were Hilo businesswoman Breeani Kobayashi with 20.3%, and Seaula “Junior” Tupai with 12%. Tupai was the Republican Party’s nominee for lieutenant governor in 2022, but the county mayor’s race is nonpartisan.

Three lesser-known candidates in the mayor’s race were Daniel Cunningham, Kavin Kahikina and Yumi Kawano, who all received less than 1%.

Hilo Councilwoman Jennifer Kagiwada easily won reelection outright with more than 64.7% of the vote in her four-way race in District 2, which includes downtown Hilo, Waiakea Uka and Kaumana.

Kagiwada’s closest competitor was Blaine Bautista with 17.9%, followed by Gary Napoleon Jr., who had 11.3%. Grace Manipol had 5.9%.

In West Hawaii’s District 8, which includes part of Kailua-Kona and Waikoloa, Councilman Holeka Inaba won reelection in his race with Caryl Burns. Inaba had 71.1%, while Burns had 28.9%.

Any candidate able to secure more than 50% of the vote in the Big Island mayoral or council primaries on Saturday would be elected outright. In races where no candidate was able to reach the 50% mark, the top two vote-getters will advance to a runoff in the Nov. 5 general election.

The percentages in this story were calculated after removing blank votes and over votes.

The relatively crowded field of candidates in the mayor’s race this year as well as opposition from several public worker unions made it difficult for Roth to win a majority in the primary this year.

Roth served as the elected Hawaii County prosecutor from 2012 to 2020 before successfully running for mayor in 2020. Alameda is the former executive of aging for the Hawaii County Office of Aging, and also former CEO of the Bay Clinic Health Center.

Both Roth and Alameda are Hilo residents who have waged polite campaigns, but the race was marred by a tragedy this past spring. Alameda’s wife, Star, 55, was found unresponsive at the couple’s home, and died May 3 after emergency personnel were unable to revive her.

Alameda’s campaign paused for a time, but he announced on June 8 he was resuming his run for mayor.

Hawaii’s public worker unions tend to back incumbents, but this year Alameda benefited from support from the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers, the United Public Workers union and the Hawaii Government Employees Association.

Those unions are pressing the state and counties to provide tens of millions of dollars in back hazard pay for work performed by thousands of their members during the pandemic, but Hawaii County under Roth’s leadership has so far not agreed to those payments.

That has been a sore spot for the unions because each of them have specific language in their contracts calling for hazard pay under certain circumstances. The unions have reached settlements or won arbitration decisions on the hazard pay issue on other islands.

Roth has been citing this year’s Point in Time count of homelessness in Hawaii County as a key accomplishment for his administration because it showed a .

He also cites improvements in the county’s historically inefficient process for issuing building permits as well as its record of paving more than 70 miles of roads since 2020. He also contends his administration has made significant progress in increasing the supply of affordable housing in the county.

Alameda counters that a county initiative to pump millions of dollars in additional county funding into programs for the homeless — which many believe helped lower the homeless headcount — actually originated with the Hawaii County Council.

He has also questioned whether the Roth administration’s changes in the building permitting process have been as successful as Roth suggests.

On the hot-button issue of the Thirty Meter Telescope, Roth has said the project should be built, while Alameda and his family protested against the TMT in 2019. However, Alameda said things have changed in recent years, and he may be open to the project if the community agrees, if certain conditions are met, and if the project is “done with integrity.”

Most of the current Hawaii County Council members won easily. One exception was West Hawaii County Councilwoman Cindy Evans, a longtime state representative, who was trailing in District 9 and headed for a runoff with James Hustace.

Hustace was the leader in the race for that seat, which includes Waimea, Waikoloa and Hawi, with 44% of the vote. Evans had 38%, while Michael Konowicz had 17.9%.

Council Chair Heather Kimball won reelection outright in District 1 that includes the Hamakua Coast, with 52.4% of the vote.

Brittany Anderson had 29.6%, while B.J. Penn, the former mixed martial arts fighter, had 17.8%.

Council member Rebecca Villegas won reelection in a five-way council race in West Hawaii’s District 7, which includes Keauhou, Holualoa and part of Kailua. Villegas had 53.8%, while her closest challenger Zahz Hewlen had 13.9%.

Also in that race was Wesley Moore with 12.3%, Joshua Montgomery with 11% and Jennifer Wilkinson with 8.9%.

Dennis “Fresh” Onishi, who previously served four two-year terms on the County Council, won outright for the Hilo council seat in District 3, which includes Keaukaha, Panaewa and parts of Waiakea.

Onishi, who was on the council from 2008 to 2016, had 51.6%, followed by Kelton Chang with 21.6%. Kaloa Robinson had 19.8%, followed by Leomana Turalde with 6.9%.

Council member Michelle Galimba also won reelection outright in her four-way race in the huge District 6, which extends from the Volcano area through Pahala, South Point and Hawaiian Ocean View Estates and to Kealakekua.

Galimba led with 54.9%, while challengers Ikaika Kailiawa-Smith had 30%, Kyle Jones had 9.7% and Marie Burns had 5.2%.

Council member Matt Kanealii-Kleinfelder was headed for a runoff in a closer five-way race in Upper Puna’s District 5, which includes Keaau, Hawaiian Acres and Mountain View.

Kanealii-Kleinfelder had 44.7%, while his leading opponent, former county Department of Public Works Director Ikaika Rodenhurst, had 25.6%. They will face off in November.

Also in the race were Aaron Tolentino with 22.4%, Haylie Taylor with 4% and Sysha-Marie Torres with 3%.

Councilwoman Ashley Kierkiewicz, who represents Lower Puna’s District 4, was unopposed this year.