2022 Northern Mariana Islands gubernatorial election

Last updated
2022 Northern Mariana Islands gubernatorial election
Flag of the Northern Mariana Islands.svg
←  2018 November 8, 2022 (first round)
November 25, 2022 (runoff)		 2026  →
  Arnold Palacios.jpg Governor Torres official portrait, high resolution.jpg TinaSablan.jpg
Nominee Arnold Palacios Ralph Torres Tina Sablan
Party Independent Republican Democratic
Running mate David Apatang Vinnie Sablan Leila Staffler
First round4,890
33.15%		5,726
38.83%		4,132
28.01%
Runoff 7,077
54.14%		6,017
45.86%		Eliminated
Northern Mariana Islands 2022 gubernatorial election map.svg
Results by voting district:
Arnold Palacios:     50–55%     60–65%     65–70%
Ralph Torres:     50–55%     65–70%     70–75%
Governor before election

Ralph Torres
Republican

Elected Governor

Arnold Palacios
Independent

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. [1]

Contents

Incumbent Republican Governor Ralph Torres ran for re-election to a second full term in office with territorial senator Vinnie Sablan as his running mate. [2] Lieutenant Governor Arnold Palacios, a career Republican, also contested the seat, running as an independent with Saipan mayor David Apatang as his running mate. [3] Democratic nominee Tina Sablan, a member of the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives, is the first woman to be nominated for Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands. She chose fellow territorial representative Leila Staffler as her running mate. [4]

In the general election, Torres came in first with 38.83% of the vote, followed by Palacios at 33.15% and Sablan at 28.01%. Because no candidate received more than 50% of the vote, a runoff between Torres and Palacios was held on November 25, 2022. [5] [6] [7] Sablan and Staffler endorsed Palacios in the runoff, and Palacios and Apatang signed a "unity pledge" with them promising action on several policy issues, including health care, labor, and infrastructure. [8] [9]

Palacios and Apatang won the runoff election with 54.14% of the vote to 45.86% for Torres and Sablan. [10] Palacios was the first independent elected Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands and the first independent to win a gubernatorial election in any U.S. state or territory since 2014. [lower-alpha 1]

Background

Torres has been under investigation for misusing public funds since 2019. On January 12, 2022, the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives voted to impeach Torres on charges of theft and corruption. A two-thirds majority vote in the Northern Mariana Islands Senate was required to remove the governor from office. [11] [12] The Senate acquitted Torres on May 18 in a 3–4 party-line vote with two senators absent. However, Torres still faced criminal charges brought against him by Attorney General Edward Manibusan. [13] His trial was set for July 5, 2022, [14] but was delayed several times and will not take place until after the November election. [15] Manibusan was reelected in the 2022 election. [5]

Candidates

Vinnie Sablan Vinnie Sablan Official Portrait.jpg
Vinnie Sablan
Leila Staffler Leila Staffler Official Portrait.jpg
Leila Staffler
David Apatang David Apatang Standing with USAF Airmen (cropped).jpg
David Apatang

Republican Party

Declared

Declined

Democratic Party

Declared

Declined

Independents

On October 22, 2021, Palacios and Apatang announced they were leaving the Republican Party and would run as an independent ticket. [3]

Declared

Declined

Endorsements

Tina Sablan (D)
Politicians
Organizations
Arnold Palacios (I)
Territory-wide officials
Territorial legislators
Commonwealth Ports Authority board members
  • Pete P. Reyes [3]
  • Thomas Villagomez [3]
Local politicians

Results

2022 Northern Mariana Islands Gubernatorial Election [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Ralph Torres (incumbent)
Vinnie Sablan 		5,72638.83%
Independent Arnold Palacios
David Apatang 		4,89033.15%
Democratic Tina Sablan
Leila Staffler 		4,13228.01%
Total votes14,750 100.0
Turnout  %
Registered electors
2022 Northern Mariana Islands Gubernatorial Runoff Election. [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Independent Arnold Palacios
David Apatang 		7,077 54.14%
Republican Ralph Torres (incumbent)
Vinnie Sablan 		6,01745.86%
Total votes13,094 100.0
Turnout  %
Registered electors
Independent gain from Republican

Notes

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arnold Palacios</span> Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands since 2023

Arnold Indalecio Palacios is a Northern Marianan politician currently serving as the ninth governor of the Northern Mariana Islands, since 2023. He previously served as the 12th lieutenant governor of the Northern Mariana Islands, from 2019 to 2023. He represented Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands Senate. Formerly a member of the Republican Party, he is the governor of the Northern Mariana Islands, having won the 2022 election.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Northern Mariana Islands general election</span>

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. 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.

References

  1. ↑ De Guzman, Andrew (2009-07-29). "Fitial approves runoff law". Marianas Variety News & Views . Garapan, Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
  2. 1 2 3 Limol, K-Andrea Evarose (August 16, 2021). "Ralph & Vinnie in 2022". Marianas Variety News & Views. Garapan, Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Erediano, Emmanuel T. (2021-10-22). "Palacios, Apatang vow to rebuild trust in government". Marianas Variety News & Views. Garapan, Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. Retrieved 2021-11-28.
  4. ↑ Manglona, Thomas (2021-11-15). "Tina Sablan says it's time for change in the CNMI". KUAM News. Dededo, Guam. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  5. 1 2 3 "2022 General Election Results". Commonwealth Election Commission. 2022-11-11. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
  6. ↑ De La Torre, Ferdie (2022-11-09). "Torres-Sablan wins; to face Palacios-Apatang in runoff". Saipan Tribune. Garapan, Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. Retrieved 2022-11-11.
  7. ↑ De La Torre, Ferdie (2022-11-11). "BREAKING NEWS: Runoff election on Nov. 25". Saipan Tribune. Garapan, Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. Retrieved 2022-11-11.
  8. ↑ Sablan, Tina (2022-11-10). "Opinion: The Movement for Good Governance Must Continue". Saipan Tribune. Garapan, Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. Retrieved 2022-11-11.
  9. ↑ Manglona, Thomas (2022-11-16). "CNMI independents & democrats sign Unity Pledge". KUAM News. Dededo, Guam. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  10. 1 2 "Palacios-Apatang wins gubernatorial runoff".
  11. ↑ Heaton, Thomas (2021-12-16). "Impeachment Charges Filed Against CNMI Governor". Civil Beat. Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  12. ↑ Limtiaco, Steve (2022-01-12). "CNMI House of Representatives votes to impeach Torres". Pacific Daily News. Hagåtña, Guam. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  13. ↑ Limtiaco, Steve (2022-05-18). "CNMI Gov. Ralph Torres acquitted of all impeachment articles". Pacific Daily News. Hagåtña, Guam. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  14. ↑ Manabat, Bryan (2022-06-13). "AG's office says it will provide evidence against governor". Marianas Variety News & Views. Garapan, Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  15. ↑ Bautista Esmores, Kimberly (2022-09-27). "Criminal court case vs Torres to resume after '22 elections". Saipan Tribune. Garapan, Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  16. 1 2 3 Erediano, Emmanuel T. (2021-12-01). "CNMI Dems endorse Sablan for governor". The Guam Daily Post. Tamuning, Guam. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  17. 1 2 Erediano, Emmanuel T. (2021-11-04). "NMI Democrats: Tina Sablan for governor". Marianas Variety News & Views. Garapan, Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. Retrieved 2021-11-28.
  18. ↑ De La Torre, Ferdie (January 21, 2022). "Staffler is Tina's running mate". Saipan Tribune. Garapan, Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  19. ↑ Torres, Troy (2021-10-24). "Edith: The pioneer of the opposition". KANDIT News Group. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  20. ↑ Erediano, Emmanuel T. "CNMI Dems urge Sablan to run for governor". The Guam Daily Post. Tamuning, Guam. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  21. ↑ Limol, K-Andrea Evarose (2021-09-29). "Kilili says he may run for governor". Marianas Variety News & Views. Garapan, Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  22. ↑ Erediano, Emmanuel T. (September 21, 2022). "Former governors Babauta, Fitial remind NMI Republicans of 'core values'". Marianas Variety News & Views. Garapan, Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
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