Northern Mariana Islands Senate | |
---|---|
Senate | |
Type | |
Type | |
History | |
New session started | 23rd Legislature |
Leadership | |
Vice President | |
Majority Leader | Corina Magofna (I) since January 9, 2023 |
Structure | |
Seats | 9 |
Political groups | Majority Caucus
Minority Caucus
|
Website | |
https://cnmileg.net/senate.asp |
The Northern Mariana Islands Senate is the upper house of the Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth Legislature. The Senate consists of nine senators representing three senatorial districts (Saipan & the Northern Islands, Tinian & Aguijan, and Rota), each a multi-member constituency with three senators.
Maria Frica Pangelinan was the first woman to serve in the Senate. [1]
In the event of a vacancy that occurs less than two years before the end of the Senator's term, the Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands appoints the runner-up of the most recent election. Should that individual decline, the next highest vote getting, unsuccessful candidate become the prospective appointee. Should all the previous candidate's decline, the Governor would then choose an eligible citizen for consideration. [2] In the event a vacancy occurs more than two years before the next scheduled election, a special election is held. [3]
In the 2022 general election, a coalition of Democrats and Independents won a majority of seats in the Northern Mariana Islands Senate. [4] When the 23rd Commonwealth Legislature convened on January 9, 2023, it elected Edith DeLeon Guerrero its President, Donald Manglona its Vice President, and Corina Magofna its floor leader. [5]
District | Name | Party | Caucus | Took Office |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 Rota | Donald Manglona | Independent | Majority | January 9, 2023 [4] |
Paul Manglona | Independent | Majority | February 10, 2016 [6] | |
Dennis Mendiola | Republican | Minority | January 9, 2023 [4] | |
2 Tinian | Jude Hofschneider | Republican | Minority | January 12, 2015 [7] |
Francisco Cruz | Republican | Minority | January 11, 2010 [8] | |
Karl King-Nabors | Republican | Minority | January 11, 2021 [9] | |
3 Saipan | Celina Babauta | Democratic | Majority | January 9, 2023 [4] |
Corina Magofna | Independent | Majority | January 9, 2023 [4] | |
Edith DeLeon Guerrero | Democratic | Majority | January 11, 2021 |
In the November 2007 elections, the three senators up for re-election were all re-elected to another four-year term in the 16th and 17th Senate. The Covenant Party, which lost control of the House, entered into coalition with the Democrats and a lone Independent over the Senate's leadership and voting agenda. The CNMI Senate was controlled in 2016 by a Republican majority under Senate President Francisco Borja. [10]
Affiliation | Party (Shading indicates majority/plurality) | Total | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Independent | Democratic | Covenant | Vacant | ||||||||
End of 17th Legislature | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 0 | ||||||
Beginning of 18th Legislature | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | ||||||
End of 18th Legislature | 5 | 3 | 1 [11] | |||||||||
Beginning of 19th Legislature | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | ||||||
End of 19th Legislature | 6 | 3 | ||||||||||
20th Legislature | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | ||||||
21st Legislature | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | ||||||
22nd Legislature | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | ||||||
23rd Legislature | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 9 | |||||||
Latest voting share | 44% | 56% |
The CNMI Republican Party is a political party in the Northern Mariana Islands. The Northern Mariana Islands Republican Party is now associated with the United States Republican Party though no Northern Mariana Islands politicians have achieved high-ranking positions in the mainland United States.
Benjamin Taisacan Manglona was a Northern Marianan politician and civil engineer. He is the CNMI's longest serving elected official having served as a congressman, senator, and former mayor of Rota. Manglona served as the third lieutenant governor of the Northern Mariana Islands from 1990 to 1994 and as Mayor of Rota from 1998 to 2006.
General elections were held in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) on Saturday, 5 November 2005, electing the governor and Legislature. There was also a referendum on calling a Constitutional Convention, which was approved by voters. The gubernatorial election was the closest in the commonwealth's history, and resulted in the election of Benigno Fitial, narrowly defeating independent Heinz Hofschneider by 84 votes and incumbent Republican Governor Juan N. Babauta by an additional 98 votes. This would be the last year that the gubernatorial race would work in a first-past-the-post voting system as it would be reformed to work under a two-round system for the 2009 general elections. This election made commonwealth history by electing both the territory's first Carolinian governor and its first third party governor.
Benigno Repeki Fitial is a Northern Marianan politician who served was the sixth governor of the Northern Mariana Islands. The second longest-serving governor in CNMI history, Fitial was elected on November 6, 2005, assumed office on January 9, 2006, and was re-elected to a (five-year) second term in 2009. He was impeached by the CNMI House of Representatives on February 11, 2013, and was scheduled to face trial before the CNMI Senate to determine if he should be removed from office. He resigned on February 20, 2013, after 7 years, 1 month, and 11 days in office.
The Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives is the lower house of the Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth Legislature.
The 2009 Northern Mariana Islands general election was held on Saturday, November 7, 2009. This was the last general election to be held on a odd year. This election also saw the extension all office holding officials by one year to move the elections to even-years, corresponding with the elections of other federal and state offices, including the nationwide United States House of Representatives elections and the United States general elections. This election also oversaw the first run-off to be held in the Northern Mariana Islands, which were held on Monday, November 23, 2009. Benigno Fitial became the first governor to win a second term since 1985 and the first time a candidate won a majority since 1993 thanks to the newly implemented run-off voting system.
Rita Hocog Inos was a Northern Mariana Island educator, activist and politician. Inos was the former Education Commissioner of the Northern Marianas school system and served on the Northern Marianas College Board of Regents. Inos was a two-time candidate for Lieutenant Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands, becoming the first woman to seek election to that particular office.
Ramon "Kumoi" Santos Deleon Guerrero was a Northern Mariana Islands politician. Guerrero was an independent candidate for Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands in the 2009 gubernatorial election.
General elections were held in the Northern Mariana Islands on 4 November, 2014. Voters elected the Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Lieutenant Governor, the Attorney General, the Delegate to the US Congress, the Senate, the House of Representatives, mayors, municipal councils and the Board of Education. Additionally, a referendum involving changes to the constitution was held.
Ralph Deleon Guerrero Torres is a Northern Marianan politician, who served as the eighth governor of the Northern Mariana Islands, from December 29, 2015, to January 9, 2023. He is a Republican from Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). The third longest-serving governor in CNMI history, Torres took office upon the death of Governor Eloy Inos on December 29, 2015, before being reelected as governor in his own right in 2018. He previously served as the tenth lieutenant governor, having been elected to that post in 2014.
Victor Borja Hocog is a Northern Marianan politician. He served as the President of the Northern Mariana Islands Senate from January 14, 2019 to January 11, 2021, and previously from January 12, 2015 to December 29, 2015. He also served as the 11th Lieutenant Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands from December 29, 2015 to January 14, 2019.
The 2018 Northern Mariana gubernatorial election took place on Tuesday, November 13, 2018, to elect the Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands and the Lieutenant Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands to a four-year term in office. Incumbent Republican governor Ralph Torres, who ascended to governorship in December 2015 following the death of Governor Eloy Inos, sought election to a full term.
The 2018 Northern Mariana Islands general election was held on Tuesday, 13 November, 2018, corresponding with the 2018 United States midterm elections. Originally scheduled to take place on Tuesday, 6 November, 2018, the elections were delayed by one week due to the impact and aftermath of Typhoon Yutu. Early voting was held from Tuesday, 6 November, until Monday, 12 November, 2018. An estimated 18,975 voters were eligible to vote in the 2018 election.
The 2022 Northern Mariana gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2022 to elect the governor of the Northern Mariana Islands and the lieutenant governor of the Northern Mariana Islands to a four-year term in office. Because no candidate received 50% of the vote in the general election, the two highest-placing candidates advanced to a runoff election on November 25, 2022.
David Mundo Apatang is a Northern Mariana Islander politician who is serving as the 13th lieutenant governor of the Northern Mariana Islands since 2023. He previously served as the mayor of Saipan from January 12, 2015 to January 8, 2023. As a Republican, Apatang formerly served in the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives. Apatang was elected lieutenant governor of the Northern Mariana Islands in the 2022 election on an independent ticket headed by Arnold Palacios.
Paul Atalig Manglona is a member of the Northern Mariana Islands Senate from Rota. Manglona was appointed to the Senate on February 10, 2016 to succeed Victor Hocog upon Hocog’s elevation to Lieutenant Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands. He previously served in the Senate from 1987 until 2013 and again from 2013 to 2015.
Karl Rosario King-Nabors is a Republican member of the Northern Mariana Islands Senate.
The 2022 Northern Mariana Islands general election was held on Tuesday, 8 November 2022, corresponding with the elections of other federal and state offices, including the nationwide 2022 United States House of Representatives elections and the 2022 United States general elections. A runoff for the gubernatorial race were held on Friday, 25 November 2022. Total registered voters was 19,275. The general election saw turnout of 14,750 voters, or 76.52%, while the runoff saw a turnout of 13,094 voters, around 67.93%. This election saw the election of the CNMI's first independent governor and lieutenant governor. Both the CNMI Democratic Party and the CNMI Republican Party displayed lackluster results when compared to the independents in the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives. This election also saw the first time the Democratic Party contested the governorship since the 2014 Northern Mariana Islands general election and the first time said party received more than 10% of the popular vote since the 2005 Northern Mariana Islands general election.
General elections were held in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) on 3 November 2001, electing the governor and members to the legislature. The 2001 elections marked the last general election that the dissolved Reform Party, which merged back into the Democratic Party in 2002, would appear on the ballot. Despite the economic hardships experienced under Pedro Pangelinan Tenorio's Administration, the apparent strength the 1999 general elections signaled that the Democratic Party and its splinter Reform Party had, and the newly formed Covenant Party which was formed as a splinter party from the ruling Republican Party, Republican candidate Juan Nekai Babauta won with a landslide in the four-way race. Benigno Repeki Fitial's newly formed Covenant Party landed a distant yet sizable second place. Jesus Borja of the Democratic Party won a distant third and Froilan Tenorio of the Reform Party placed fourth.
The 2024 Northern Mariana Islands general election will be held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, corresponding with the elections of other federal and state offices, including the nationwide 2024 United States House of Representatives elections and the 2024 United States general elections.