When the sun rose the day after elections, just 107 votes separated the Green Party's Pāʻele Kiakona and Democrat Sne Patel.
"I'm just ecstatic. I am humbled. I am grateful, and I am ready. I'm ready to get to the real work," homegrown Lahaina candidate Kiakona told HPR, in reaction after early results changed overnight to flip in his favor.
The Native Hawaiian will be the first third-party lawmaker in Hawaiʻi's Legislature in over a century.
“I feel like this is a win not just for Lahaina, not just for my district, not just for Maui County, but statewide,” he said.
As of the latest results, Kiakona earned 2,991 votes, or 41.1%, Patel received 2,884 votes, or 39.4%, and Republican incumbent Elle Cochran finished with 1,236 votes, or 17%.
The Associated Press called the race a win for Kiakona on Thursday.
Ballot deficiencies
But technically, the results are not final yet.
There are 151 District 14 ballots that have not yet been counted because they're considered deficient. That often means they have a mismatched or missing signature. The Maui County Clerk's office, which handles elections in the county, has notified those voters, and they have until Nov. 10 at 4:30 p.m. to fix, or cure, their ballots.
Deputy Maui County Clerk Richelle Thompson explained the situation.
“What that means just math-wise ... the challenger, Mr. Patel, would have to get at least 107 of those currently deficient ballot envelope votes plus one,” she said. “So to win, you need to close that gap and get more than 107 to be able to pull off a win in that district.”
It's an unlikely scenario, but it's technically possible.
Deficient ballots aren't unusual — there were over 800 of them across Maui County this year in the General Election, and about 1,500 on Oʻahu. But with such a close vote in this race, those outstanding ballots could play a more significant role than in races with a larger margin.
“We will definitely know the evening of Nov. 10 how everything shakes out,” said Thomson.
The county clerk's office confirms there will not be an automatic recount, even if the finalized ballots bring the results closer.
Patel said he recognizes he's currently behind and that a change in conclusion is unlikely.
“It's certainly been an emotional few days,” he told HPR by email. “I'm grateful to everyone who put their trust in me and to my family, volunteers and supporters who gave so much to this campaign.”
He said he respects the process and wants each voter to have an opportunity to have their ballot counted.
“What stays with me most are the conversations with people throughout our community,” he said. “It's getting harder and harder for many to afford to live here and build a good life, and many still need help rebuilding their homes and businesses. Whatever the outcome, I will continue to help and contribute the best I can.”
An uncharted path
For Kiakona, he considers it a win either way.
“We're celebrating where we're at in the first place. Nobody even thought we could get to this point.”
Kiakona said he was raised in Lahaina taro patches and majored in environmental studies. He became a leader in the Lahaina Strong initiative after the 2023 wildfire, camping on Kāʻanapali Beach for almost six months, taking a stand for long-term housing for displaced fire survivors.
“From the days on the beach with Lahaina Strong, to all of my experiences that I've garnered throughout the years working in the tourism industry, restaurants, bartending, I mean, you name it,” he said. “I've taken every moment as an opportunity to both educate people and educate myself on perspective and approach.”
Citing his work in community-led renewable energy for Lahaina, housing advocacy and water protections, he said he doesn't feel like his mission will change since being elected.
Kiakona feels running as a Green Party candidate was the best fit to represent his community.
“This community proved that when we stand together, it doesn't matter what party we're affiliated with. If the person wants to do what is right for the community, then they're going to take the path that they feel is most necessary,” he said.
A Green Party legislator is uncharted territory, but Kiakona said he plans to work across party lines to get the work done.
“I'm going to come into this willing to work with anybody who wants to do right by our community,” he said. “I have friends that are already in the (state legislative) building. There are Representatives that I know align with me, and more or less, most of my principles. So if I can't work through my own name, then I'm going to work through somebody else. Because at the end of the day, I'm not in it for the glory myself, I'm not in it for me to put my name in front of it. I'm in it to serve this community, and if it means me stepping back and helping somebody else get something pushed through, or if it means me stepping to the forefront and being bold and having to do that with them, then so be it.”
“I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that we are effective,” he added. “That this is not for nothing.”
History in the making
Not only is Kiakona the first Green Party candidate to be elected to state legislature, he’s also the first to serve as neither Democratic or Republican since the early 1900s.
In 1901 to 1904, several legislators were listed as independent, as well as those from Home Rule Party of Hawai’i, including Frederick W. Beckley, Jr., who represented the Maui district in the Hawai’i House of Representatives, according to records obtained by HPR from the state Legislative Reference Bureau. That was before Hawaiʻi was a state.
Home Rule was the same party that Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole first belonged to when he served as a Hawaiian delegate to the U.S. Congress during the same timeframe, according to U.S. House of Representatives archives.
Kiakona is full of gratitude, and said it “feels like I'm walking right alongside my kūpuna in this work.”
“I know a lot of community has expressed that they feel a lot of hope towards this movement and all that we're doing, and that's why they got engaged,” he said. “But it also gave me hope, seeing this community come out and going to bat for me like that. I’m just very humbled by the experience.”
Though he's confident in voter support of his election, Kiakona said the final results on Nov. 10th won’t alter anything for him.
“Regardless if we win or lose, the goal has been achieved, and that is change.”
