Kimo Alameda leads incumbent Mitch Roth in the race for Hawaii Island mayor, the state’s three incumbent members of Congress up for reelection hold decisive advantages in their races, and Republicans are poised to pick up seats in both chambers of the state Legislature in the initial general election returns released just before 12:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

What You Need To Know

  • Kimo Alameda had 35,577 votes against 30,717 for incumbent Hawaii Island Mayor Mitch Roth in the early returns
  • All three Hawaii congressional delegation members up for reelection secured decisive wins
  • In the state Legislature, Republican Samantha DeCorte leads Democrat Cedric Gates 5,700 votes to 4,920 for the District 22 seat vacated by retired senator Maile Shimabukuro
  • Both statewide ballot measures are on track to pass with more than the requisite majority of votes cast

Alameda, a psychologist, had 35,577 votes against 30,717 for Roth in the early returns.

Alameda was considered an underdog in the race early on but has been buoyed by key endorsements by the Hawaii Government Employees Association and the United Public Workers.

At the federal level, U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono was the first of Hawaii’s congressional delegation to have her race called by The Associated Press. In the initial return, Hirono garnered 283,454 votes to Republican challenger Bob McDermott’s 135,454.

In the other congressional races, Rep. Ed Case leads Patrick Largey 149,244 votes to 56,154 and Rep. Jill Tokuda has 139,982 votes to 61,407 for challenger Steve Bond.

In the state Legislature, Republican Samantha DeCorte leads Democrat Cedric Gates 5,700 votes to 4,920 for the District 22 seat vacated by retired senator Maile Shimabukuro and incumbent Brenton Awa (9,001 votes) leads Ben Shafer (8,699) in a tight race for District 23.

If the results hold up, Republicans will pick up a third seat in the Senate.

In the state House, initial returns see Republicans potentially losing one seat but gaining two others.

Democrat Corey Rosenlee leads Republican incumbent Elijah Pierick 4,103 votes to 3,965 in District 39.

In District 45, Republican Chris Muraoka (2,608) holds a narrow lead over Desire DeSoto (2,556) for the seat Gates vacated to pursue his Senate race.

In District 40, Republican Julie Reyes Oda holds a 3,743 to 3,434 advantage over inclumbent Democrat Rose Martinez.

Meanwhile, Republican incumbents Lauren Cheape Matsumoto, David Alcos and Diamond Garcia hold significant leads in their races. House minority leader Matsumoto holds a commanding lead over Alexander Ozawa, 7,697 to 3,049. Alcos (4,762 votes) leads John Clark (3,460) in District 41 and Garcia (3,942) leads Anthony Makana Paris (3,116) in District 42. 

Both statewide ballot measures are on track to pass with more than the requisite majority of votes cast. The proposed amendment to the state Constitution to repeal the Legislature’s ability to define marriage as a union of opposite sexes received 232,017 “yes” votes, equivalent to 51.7% of total votes cast. Another proposal to amend the confirmation process for judicial appointments received 274,184 (61%) “yes” votes.

The first set of results also indicated higher-than-normal voter turnout for the state, with 52% (448,827) of registered voters casting ballots by mail or in person.

Michael Tsai covers local and state politics for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at michael.tsai@charter.com.