This year, 15 candidates ran for three at-large seats on the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. The primary election narrowed that down to the top six vote-getters.
Current OHA trustees Brickwood Galuteria, John Wahieʻe IV and Keoni Souza will face off against Ikaika Anderson, Adrian Kealiʻi Akina, and Kanekoa Crabbe in the November general election.
According to the election results, Oʻahu accounted for about 70% of the votes cast in the race, determining the order of the at-large candidates in the primary.
Galuteria, a former state senator and radio personality, came in first because of the Oʻahu votes. Waiheʻe, the son of former Gov. John Waiheʻe III, came in second on Oʻahu. And Anderson, a former Honolulu City Council Member came in third, followed by Souza, Akina and Crabbe.
“It’s going to be a fight between Ikaika Anderson and Keoni Souza for that third spot,” said Jacob Aki, president of the Oʻahu Council of Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs.
He said name recognition plays into the OHA races, but noted Souza and Anderson ran competitive campaigners.
“Keoni is the incumbent, he does have name recognition," Aki said. “He’s done a lot of things in terms of getting his signs up. … But the dynamic Ikaika brings to this race, it’s going to be interesting to see how Keoni manages it.”
While Oʻahu helped determine the outcome of the at-large race, the election results show that on the neighbor islands, Waiheʻe and Souza had a broader geographic appeal.
But Aki said it's still going to come down to which candidates can get the most Oʻahu votes.
Competitive campaigning
Between the six top vote-getters, Anderson and Souza have been heavily campaigning for the primary, both spending the most money on campaign advertisements and getting support from some unions.
Anderson raised $33,298.88 and spent $21,751.77 for the election period, according to campaign spending reports. He has $11,547.11 cash on hand.
Souza raised $14,381.71 and spent $8,872.99. He has $10,334.73 cash on hand.
“Both Keoni and Ikaika are going to turn their general election campaigns into hyper-drive,” Aki said.
The other two OHA races in the general election are for the O’ahu and Maui seats. Incumbent Kalei Akaka will face Hinaleimoana Wong, and incumbent Carmen Hulu Lindsey will face Keʻeaumoku Kapu.
