Hawaii voters are choosing party nominees and narrowing nonpartisan contests on Saturday, August 8, in a primary shaped by a corruption case involving Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke and a competitive Democratic contest for a US House seat. The Associated Press reported that polls close at 7 p.m. local time, or 1 a.m. Eastern time on Sunday, with every registered voter permitted to participate in any party primary.
Five Democrats and four Republicans are competing to succeed Luke, who pleaded not guilty in July to bribery charges connected to her 2022 campaign as a state legislator. AP reported that Luke has been on unpaid leave since April and that Governor Josh Green appointed state official Keith Regan as acting lieutenant governor. Regan is not seeking a full term, leaving one of Hawaii's traditional routes to higher office open.
The Democratic lieutenant-governor field includes Kauai County Mayor Derek Kawakami, state Representative Della Au Belatti and former state Deputy Attorney General John Choi. According to AP, Kawakami led fundraising and benefited from about $2 million in spending by a political action committee linked to the carpenters union. Republican Daniel Anthony led spending among his party rivals in early July, but his roughly $6,900 total was far below the leading Democratic campaigns.
A second major contest pits Democratic Representative Ed Case against four primary challengers as he seeks a seventh full term in Hawaii's heavily Democratic 1st Congressional District. State Senator Jarrett Keohokalole has criticized Case for supporting a 2025 version of President Donald Trump's SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship for federal voter registration. Case says that version included an alternative written attestation and notes that he opposed later versions without that accommodation.
The ballot extends well beyond those races. Honolulu Civil Beat says both congressional seats, governor, lieutenant governor, all 51 state House seats, 14 of 25 state Senate seats, several Office of Hawaiian Affairs positions and dozens of local posts are involved. Governor Green faces three Democratic challengers, while Republicans have a two-candidate gubernatorial primary. Some nonpartisan candidates can win outright Saturday, while other fields will narrow for the November 3 general election.
Hawaii conducts elections largely by mail, and voter service centers opened July 27, according to Civil Beat and the state election calendar. AP said about 861,000 voters were registered as of the November 2024 general election. Election officials will count ballots after the deadline, and AP says it will call a race only when no remaining scenario could allow a trailing candidate to overtake the leader.
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