2002 Hawaii gubernatorial election

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2002 Hawaii gubernatorial election
Flag of Hawaii.svg
←  1998 November 5, 2002 2006  →
  Linda Lingle navy 1-cropped.jpg Mazie Hirono, official 110th Congress photo.jpg
Nominee Linda Lingle Mazie Hirono
Party Republican Democratic
Running mate Duke Aiona Matt Matsunaga
Popular vote197,009179,647
Percentage51.56%47.01%
2002 Hawaii gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
County results
Lingle:     50–60%
Hirono:     50–60%
Governor before election

Ben Cayetano
Democratic

Elected Governor

Linda Lingle
Republican

The 2002 Hawaii gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002, to select the governor of Hawaii. Incumbent Democratic Governor of Hawaii Ben Cayetano was term-limited and therefore could not run for re-election. Former Maui Mayor Linda Lingle, who had narrowly lost the 1998 election, was nominated once again by the Republicans while Lieutenant Governor Mazie Hirono earned the Democratic nomination in a tight race. Lingle and Hirono duked it out in a hard-fought campaign, with Hirono's campaign crippled by allegations of corruption within the Hawaii Democratic Party and many voters desiring a change. [1] The influence of migrants from the mainland as well as the decease in party loyalty of ethnic groups led more voters towards Lingle. [2] Ultimately Lingle defeated Hirono in a close election, making her the first Republican governor of Hawaii elected since 1959 and the state's first-ever female governor. She was the first white person to be elected governor of the state since 1970. Lingle and Hirono faced off again in Hawaii's 2012 U.S. Senate election; Hirono won that race and thus became the first female U.S. senator in Hawaii history.

Contents

Democratic primary

Candidates

Mazie Hirono was Hawai'i's lieutenant governor from 1994 to 2002 under Ben Cayetano. Cayetano had loss democratic support due to links to a bad economy and bad relationships with labor groups. Hirono had to separate her image from Cayetano. She originally was not in the race for governor, but the race for mayor. Mayor Jeremy Harris was highly expected to win the Democratic gubernatorial primary but didn't run. Hirono then switched to the gubernatorial race, but with a late start she didn't have much time to campaign and raise money. [3]

Ed Case was focused on statewide campaigns to win the primary. He was a fresh face in the election. However, he didn't have full support of Native Hawaiians due to a bill he introduced that would combine the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. [3]

Andy D.G. Anderson had run for governor before. He was a Republican turned Democrat but also a Native Hawaiian. He effectively took points away from both Hirono and Case. [3]

Results

Hirono beat Case by less than 2% of the votes. However, the Case campaign was ruled a success due to the amount of voters he was able to take from a known Democratic face. [3]

Democratic primary results [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Mazie Hirono 76,709 41.24
Democratic Ed Case74,09639.84
Democratic D. G. Anderson33,38417.95
Democratic George Nitta, Jr.7470.40
Democratic Art P. Reyes5680.31
Democratic Joe Fernandez4910.26
Total votes185,995 100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

John Carroll was running on experience from military and business; he believed Hawaii's citizens needed a governor with both military and political experience. [5] Carroll attempted to use Lingle's non Republican views against her. His campaign appealed to Lingle’e opponents in the GOP. As Lingle wasn't a typical Republican with her support on abortion and opposition of the death penalty. [6] A campaign brochure of Carroll states “John Carroll stands with the social conservatives that Lingle has alienated”. [5]  Carroll's campaign was unsuccessful due to lack of funding and inability to win over Native Hawaiians and their activists due to suing the Office of Hawaiian Affairs for being “racially discriminatory”. [7] [5]

Results

Republican primary results [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Linda Lingle 70,808 89.77
Republican John Carroll7,6169.66
Republican Crystal Young4540.58
Total votes78,878 100.00

General election

Campaign

Lingle was critical of the way that Hirono had handled education and economic issues as lieutenant governor; in a TV spot premiered by the Lingle campaign in September, the Republican noted that "Reading scores are now among the worst in the nation. We rank last in jobs creation and first in poverty increase" and argued that Hirono bore part of the blame. [8] Hirono responded that low reading scores could be attributed to the fact that many Hawaiian students — such as Hirono, herself an immigrant from Japan — were learning English as a second language. She also pointed to legislation which she had supported to "improve teacher quality" and boost test scores, and commented that "I'd like to know what Linda has done" to further the cause. [8]

Native Hawaiians’ vote became a deciding factor. Ben Cayetano stopped Public Land Trust (PLT) funds from being transferred to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA). Many programs that supported Native Hawaiians could no longer operate without these funds. The OHA held a gubernatorial debate where PLT funds were the main focus. Hirono didn't make any commitments but Lingle promised to restart PLT funds. Lingle's stance on Native Hawaiian affairs was a strong part of her campaign. [9]

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report [10] TossupOctober 31, 2002
Sabato's Crystal Ball [11] Lean R (flip)November 4, 2002

Results

Hawaii gubernatorial election, 2002 [12]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican Linda Lingle 197,009 51.56% +2.74%
Democratic Mazie Hirono 179,64747.01%−3.09%
Natural Law Bu Laʻia Hill 2,5610.67%
Libertarian Tracy Ryan 1,3640.36%−0.72%
Independent Jim Brewer1,1470.30%
Independent Daniel Cunningham3820.10%
Majority17,3624.54%+3.25%
Turnout 382,110
Republican gain from Democratic Swing

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

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References

  1. ↑ Broder, John M. (October 19, 2002). "THE 2002 CAMPAIGN: THE DEMOCRATS; Hawaii Democrats Reeling After Scandals and a Death". The New York Times. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  2. ↑ "THE 2002 ELECTIONS: HAWAII; In the 50th State, the End of the Democrats' 40-Year Streak". The New York Times. November 7, 2002. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Blair, Chad (October 19, 2011). "When Mazie Met Linda ... and Ed". Honolulu Civil Beat. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
  4. 1 2 "2002 Primary election results" (PDF).
  5. 1 2 3 "Article clipped from Honolulu Star-Advertiser". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. January 20, 2002. p. 38. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
  6. ↑ Blair, Chad (October 9, 2022). "Chad Blair: How Did Republican Linda Lingle Become Governor Of Hawaii?". Honolulu Civil Beat. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
  7. ↑ "It's Hirono vs. Lingle | The Honolulu Advertiser | Hawaii's Newspaper". the.honoluluadvertiser.com. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
  8. 1 2 "Lingle Unveils New Political Ad Blasting Mazie Hirono's Record". Hawaii News Now. Gray Television. September 26, 2002. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  9. ↑ Wong, Sterling (August 2, 2018). "History shows power of the Hawaiian vote". Ka Wai Ola. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
  10. ↑ "Governor Updated October 31, 2002". The Cook Political Report. October 31, 2002. Archived from the original on December 8, 2002. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Governors Races". www.centerforpolitics.org. November 4, 2002. Archived from the original on December 12, 2002. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  12. ↑ "2002 General election results" (PDF).

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