Hawaii election recap: Who won, lost key races in the Aloha State
Hawaii voters cast their ballots in the 2024 general election on Tuesday, motivated in part by a tight presidential race between Vice President Kamala Harris and President-elect Donald Trump. In a state historically dominated by Democrats, Harris claimed victory, securing roughly 61% of the vote with 86% reporting.
In other races, Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono successfully won her third term in the U.S. Senate, defeating Republican challenger Bob McDermott by a wide margin. In Hawaii’s two congressional districts, Democratic Reps. Ed Case and Jill Tokuda comfortably defended their seats covering urban and suburban Honolulu and neighboring islands.
One of the most closely watched local races — the Hawaii Island mayoral contest — saw Kimo Alameda unseat Hawaii County Mayor Mitch Roth. He currently leads with 54% of votes compared to Roth's 46%, according to early results from the Hawaii Office of Elections. The initial tally reflects an estimated 90% of the vote count.
Alameda, a psychologist and former vice president at Hawai‘i Island Community Health Center, focused on affordable housing, homelessness, and infrastructure improvements. His support from key unions proved decisive, despite a smaller campaign budget than Roth.
The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) Board of Trustees race also favored incumbents this cycle. At-large Trustee Kelii Akina holds a strong lead over former trustee Lei Ahu Isa. Trustee Luana Alapa has a narrower lead against Kunani, while on Kauai, Trustee Dan Ahuna leads Laura Lindsey.
Former congressman Kai Kahele won the Big Island seat in the primary, replacing outgoing Trustee Mililani Trask. The board, which manages resources for Native Hawaiian communities, plays a major role impacting programs in education, business support, and community services.
Hawaii’s Democratic supermajority in the state Legislature remained strong after early Election Day results showed Republicans losing a seat in the 76-member body. Three first-term Republican representatives from Oahu’s Leeward Side and state Sen. Brenton Awa successfully held off Democratic challengers.
All 51 House seats and 13 of the 25 Senate seats were up for election this year. Once final results are in, Democrats are expected to hold close to 70 seats.
Voters also appear to have approved two amendments which would alter Hawaii's state constitution.
Amendment on same-sex marriage — Hawaii voters appear to have approved a repeal of Section 23 of the state constitution, which had granted the legislature authority to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples. With an estimated 76% of the vote reporting, 56% voted in favor of the repeal, while 44% opposed it.
With the majority yes vote, the state constitution will be amended to affirm the right to same-sex marriage in Hawaii.
Judicial appointment amendment — Hawaii voters overwhelmingly vote to standardize the appointment and confirmation process of District Court judges with that of state Supreme Court justices and other higher court judges. The goal is to simplify the judicial appointment process and improve the efficiency and uniformity of judicial selections.
With an estimated 73% of the vote reporting, 71% voted in favor while 29% opposed.
Jeremy Yurow is a politics reporting fellow based in Hawaii for the Paste BN Network. You can reach him at JYurow@gannett.com or on X, formerly Twitter @JeremyYurow