Two incumbent Republican lawmakers will not be returning to the state Legislature after losing their primary elections by drawing.
In a drawing conducted by the state Office of Elections on Saturday, Bob McDermott defeated incumbent Kurt Fevella to win the Republican nomination for state Senate District 20, representing ʻEwa Beach. Fevella had been in office since 2018.
Sheila Medeiros beat incumbent Kanani Souza for the Republican nominee for state House District 43, representing Kapolei and Makakilo. Souza has held the seat since 2022.
Final primary election results released Friday showed the candidates tied in their respective races.
State Office of Elections results published Friday evening show Souza and Medeiros tied with 842 votes apiece, while McDermott and Fevella tied with 1,212 votes each.
Souza led Medeiros by one vote when officials released the third printout of results the day after Election Day. McDermott was leading Fevella by seven votes.
A recount conducted Tuesday confirmed that margin for both races.
But that was before voters who submitted ballots with faulty envelope signatures fixed their signatures.
The deadline for fixing those signatures was Friday.
In accordance with state law, the state Office of Elections conducted a drawing by lot to determine the outcomes. For each race, the candidates' names were written on cards then folded and placed in a lauhala box. The box was closed and then shaken by an Elections Office employee. Once the box was opened, Chief Election Officer Scott Nago pulled a card without looking to select the Republican candidate.
