Democrats sweep Hawaiʻi governorship, US Senate seat and two US House seats

Updated with second print out at 10 p.m.:

As expected, there was a blue wave for the top races in the State of Hawaiʻi.

Dem. Josh Green won the governorship, incumbent Dem. Brian Schatz kept his U.S. Senate seat, incumbent Dem. Rep. Ed Case maintained his District 1 U.S. House seat and Dem. Jill Tokuda won the District 2 U.S. seat that was held by Kai Kahele who decided not to seek reelection in order to run for governor.

The first print out of the 2022 General Election results were released at about 8:20 p.m. And the second print out was released at about 9:50 p.m., with about 42,000 more votes.

Green, the current lieutenant governor, had 225,878 votes (66.9%) against former Lt. Gov. Aiona Duke, who received 122,656 (34.7%). He will become the ninth governor of Hawaiʻi.

“Aloha Hawaiʻi,” Green said. “First let me say a few things. Congratulations to Brian, Jill and Ed. Congratulations for dominating. For Sen. Mazie [Hirono] who has been kicking butt for so long. Thank you for being there for us all these years.”

In his victory speech, Green — who was born in Kingston, N.Y., and grew up in Pittsburgh, Penn. — went on for several minutes to thank all the people who supported him, starting with his wife, Jamie.

“I see so many people right in front of me,” Green said. “Thank you for getting us to the finish line for Hawaii. So Jamie, without you, there is no way, no way on Earth I will be standing here tonight. … I love you Jamie.”

Before entering politics, Green was a doctor in rural areas of the Big Island. He moved to Hawaiʻi in 2000 while with the National Health Service Corps. Green served as a state representative and a state senator before becoming second-in-command under Gov. Ige for his last four-year term.

Sylvia Luke will be Green’s lieutenant governor.

Aiona was hoping three times is the charm. The Republican ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2010 and 2014.

Aiona is a Native Hawaiian who has served as a Family Court Judge and Circuit Court Judge. While a judge, he led efforts to create the Hawaiʻi Drug Court program that offers non-violent offenders the opportunity for rehabilitation instead of prison.

But it was a tough challenge from the start. Hawaiʻi has had only two Republican governors since it became a state in 1959. Duke was part of one of those Republican administrations, serving as lieutenant governor under Rep. Linda Lingle from 2002 to 2010.

Green will replace Gov. David Ige, who is term-limited after serving for eight years.

“Tonight is about renewal,” Green said. It is abouti about change. We need to listen more. To care more. .. It is about an optimistic vision of the state.”

Hawaiʻi is a reliably blue state, with Democrats dominating federal and statewide elected offices. Joe Biden won 63% of the vote in 2020, compared to only 34% for Donald Trump.

So much so, that the press team of Democrat Governors Association chair Roy Cooper, governor of North Carolina, sent out an email congratulating Green on his victory at 7:15 p.m. before one vote was made public in Hawaiʻi.

For Hawaiʻi’s U.S. Senator seat, Democrat incumbent Schatz garnered 250,183 votes (70.8%) in the second print out to easily defeat Rep. Bob McDermott, a current state representative and former U.S. House candidate. McDermott mustered only 86,211 votes (24.4%)

Schatz was appointed to the Senate in 2021 following the death of Hawaiʻi’s long-time Senator Daniel Inouye. Schatz won a special election to finish Inouyeʻs term in 2014. Schatz won his first full term in 2016 and is chair of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. The other candidats, Aloha ʻĀina Dan Decker, Libertarian Feena M. Bonoan and Green Party Emma Jane A. Pohlman, got 1% or less of the first reading votes.

For Hawai’i’s U.S. Representative, District 1, which represents urban Oʻahu, Democrat incumbent Case got 129,069 (72.1%) in the second print out to easily defeat Rep. Conrad Kress, a former Navy Seal. Kress garnered 43,219 votes (24.2%).

Case initially served in the US House from 2002-2007 representing the 2nd Congressional District before he ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate. He was first elected to serve Hawaiʻi’s 1st Congressional District in 2019. Case is co-chair of the Blue Dog Coalition, an official caucus in the U.S. House for 19 fiscally conservative Democrats.

For Hawai’i’s U.S. Representative, District 2, representing rural Oʻahu and the rest of the Hawaiian Islands, Dem. Tokuda got 106,774 (61.2%) in the second printout to defeat Joe Akana, a businessman and former U.S. Air Force intelligence analyst. He received 55,932 (32%). Libertarian Michelle Rose Tippens was a distant third with 3,936 votes (2.3%).

Tokuda, a small business owner, served in the state Senate for 12 years, where she chaired the Ways and Means Committee. She also served as the external affairs director for the Nisei Veterans Memorial Center on Maui.

She entered the general election overwhelmingly favored to defeat Akana, who unsuccessfully ran for the same seat in 2020. Two years ago, Akana won 28.4% of the vote versus Kahele’s 57.9%.

“We made sure when they looked at the national map, Hawai’i stayed blue,” Tokuda said in her victory speech.