Editor’s note: This story was updated at 10:19 p.m. on Saturday.

With the second printout for the 2026 primary election now in, preliminary results are showing Manu Powers securing 58% of the vote for the Hawai‘i County Council seat for North Kona.

Hawai‘i County Council incumbents Heather Kimball for District 1 and Dennis “Fresh” Onishi for District 3 will keep their seats.

Candidates who receive 50% plus one vote in the primary win the contest outright. In the races where no one reached that threshold, the top two vote-getters proceed to a runoff in the general election.

Four of the nine seats were open, with three council members unable to run because of term limits and a fourth member deciding not to seek re-election.

District 5, representing Upper Puna, which was one of the open seats, is a tight race between Shannon Matson with 862 votes, Ikaika Rodenhurst with 846 votes and Dawn Kānealiʻi-Kleinfelder with 819. There will likely be a recount because the margin of votes between the candidates is less than 100.

Council Districts 4 and 6 were also open seats and will be headed for a runoff.

Holeka Inaba, who represents District 8, and James Hustace, who represents District 9, kept their seats as they ran unopposed.

District 1

At 9:40 p.m. Saturday, 54-year-old Kimball had 57.3% of the vote with 2,405 votes against challengers Ren del Rosario, who had 31.8%, or 1,337 votes, and former UFC champion BJ Penn, who had 4.8%, or 202 votes.

Kimball has represented portions of North Hilo and the Hāmākua Coast for the past 6 years. This will be her fourth and final two-year term.

Kimball said she was grateful for the continued community support for her final term on the council.

“I have dedicated my heart and soul to serving District 1 and am thankful to have the opportunity to do this meaningful work for another term,” she said.

District 2

District 2 incumbent 61-year-old Jennifer “Jenn” Kagiwada is potentially headed for a runoff as she has only secured 46.6% of the vote, or 2,702 votes.

District 2 was the most crowded council race, where Kagiwada, who is seeking re-election for a third 2-year term, had competition from Blaine Bautista, JoNelle Fukushima, Wendy Botelho and William Halversen.

Botelho has the second most votes with 968, or 16.7%, followed by Fukushima with 816 votes, or 13.7%.

Bautista received 754 votes, or 13%, and Halversen garnered 94 votes, or 1.6%.

District 3

District 3 incumbent Dennis “Fresh” Onishi secured 60% of the vote, with 3,129 votes against his challenger, Kelton Chang, who garnered 1,753 votes, or 33.6%.

Since Onishi faced one opponent in the primary, he only needed to secure more votes than Chang to retain his seat for a second 2-year term.

District 4

Former council member Eileen O’Hara and Lloyd Enriquez are leading the pack in the District 4 race.

Preliminary results show O’Hara with 1,408 votes, or 34.3%, and Enriquez with 967 votes, or 23.5%. They will likely go head-to-head in the Nov. 3 general election.

With Hawaiʻi County Council member Ashley Kierkiewicz unable to seek re-election because of term limits, four candidates competed for the open seat to represent Lower Puna.

Along with O’Hara and Enriquez, Shannon Smiley Burrows, and Cyd Makanui Hoffeld also campaigned for the vacant seat.

Burrows received 663 votes. Hoffeld garnered 696 votes.

District 5

As of 9:30 p.m., the District 5 seat to represent Upper Puna was still neck-and-neck between Shannon Matson with 862 votes, Ikaika Rodenhurst with 846 votes and Dawn Kānealiʻi-Kleinfelder with 819.

The seat was left vacant by Hawaiʻi County Council Member Matt Kānealiʻi-Kleinfelder, who was unable to pursue re-election because of term limits.

Candidate Seaula Jr. Tupaʻi also sought to capture the seat and garnered 683 votes so far. Chantel Mākuaole-Perrin garnered 385 votes.

District 6

Guy Enriques and Zed Ka‘apana Aki are still leading the District 6 race for a chance to represent South Kona and Ka‘ū on the council.

Enriques has garnered 28.3% of the vote, with 1,241 votes, and Aki has 21.3%, or 935 votes.

Sitting Kaʻū District council member Michelle Galimba did not seek re-election, which left her seat up for grabs. Enriques and Aki entered the contest along with three other candidates.

As of 9:30 p.m., Kyle Kepano Jones received 298 votes, Jason Masters received 696 and Justin Robert Canelas garnered 780.

District 7

Manu Powers continues to have a commanding lead for the District 7 seat to represent North Kona outright. As of 9:30 p.m., Powers has garnered 58.8% of the vote, or 2,373 votes.

Following behind Powers is Edgar “Eddie” Ombac with 765 votes and Mark Henriques with 446.

The seat was left open by council member Rebecca Villegas, who was unable to run for re-election because of term limits.