With plenty to parse on this year's ballot, here are the main takeaways so far from the 2026 midterm elections for the state.
1. Gov. Josh reelected for a second term
Democratic Gov. Josh Green won a second term as Hawaiʻi governor by defeating Republican Gary Cordery on Tuesday. Green and his running mate, Kauaʻi Mayor Derek Kawakami, defeated Cordery and his running mate, Daniel Anthony.
The first printout of results from the state Office of Elections showed the Democratic ticket had about 75% of the vote and the Republicans trailed with just over 20%.
Green's running mate in the 2022 election, Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, took a leave of absence and didn't run for reelection amid an investigation into bribery allegations. A grand jury indicted Luke for bribery in July. Luke pleaded not guilty.
2. Hawaiʻi Democrats return to Congress
Hawaiʻi's two Democratic lawmakers both won reelection to the U.S. House on Tuesday.
Rep. Jill Tokuda defeated state Sen. Brenton Awa to secure the 2nd Congressional District covering rural Oʻahu and the neighbor islands.
The vote result has Awa "feeling good," he told HPR. He said was ready to sacrifice himself and go to Washington and had been bracing himself for the hard work of fighting lawsuits challenging Native Hawaiian rights and trying to win back billions of dollars the Trump administration and Congress cut from federal funds for the islands.
" I don't have to go fight the president, I don't have to go fight Congress. I can just stay here and fight these lawmakers in the capital, which I'm pretty good at," Awa said.
Rep. Ed Case beat Adriel Lam, a political newcomer, to represent urban Honolulu and the 1st Congressional District for another two-year term, the AP said. Early results showed Case won about 80% of the votes.
3. Mayoral races
With Kauaʻi mayor Derek Kawakami at the end of his term limit, he's moving on to become the next Lt. Gov. after winning his race with Gov. Green. That means a new mayor will be elected to a term that begins Dec. 1.
Currently, Mel Rapozo leads the race. After the second printout, Rapozo widened his lead with 10,859 votes. Bernard Carvalho received 7,325 votes.
Rapozo, 61, led the primary election with more than 40% of the vote against Carvalho, who had about 30% of the vote. Carvalho was Kauaʻi's mayor from 2008 to 2018. Rapozo has served on the County Council for 18 years, following a career with the Kauaʻi Police Department and the Hawaiʻi National Guard.
Meanwhile, Richard Bissen is ahead in his bid for reelection as Maui County mayor against longtime Upcountry County Councilmember Yuki Lei Sugimura. The latest printout showed Bissen leading Sugimura by about 6,000 votes.
4. Green Party teed up for historic win
Green Party candidate Pāʻele Kiakona is leading both Democrat Sne Patel and Republican incumbent Elle Cochran in the three-way race for the West Maui seat in the state House of Representatives.
The latest results showed that Kiakona had 41.1% of the votes while Patel was at 39.6%. Republican incumbent Elle Cochran trailed behind with about 17% of votes.
A win for Kiakona would be historic, making him the first Green Party lawmaker in the state Legislature. The last time a third-party lawmaker served in the Legislature was in 1904, when Hawaiʻi was a U.S. territory, according to the Legislative Reference Bureau.
5. Low election turnout — again
Hawaiʻi consistently ranks among the states with the lowest voter turnout. This election is shaping up to be no different. By the second printout, fewer than 40% of registered voters cast their ballot.
After Hawaiʻi became a state, the State Department of Accounting and General Services started keeping track of voter turnout. In 1959, the voter turnout in the general election was over 93%. Since then, Hawaiʻi has seen a relatively steady decline in the percentage of registered voters casting ballots.
Midterm elections usually draw fewer voters to the polls than presidential elections. The lowest turnout on record was for the 2022 midterms — fewer than 50% of registered voters showed up to vote.
