Thursday, November 21, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Wednesday, August 12, 2020
Election 2020: Democrats Aim to Eliminate All Republicans from Hawaii Legislature
By Andrew Walden @ 11:02 PM :: 4289 Views :: Hawaii Statistics, Republican Party

by Andrew Walden

For the first time since 2002, Hawaii Democrat candidates will be on the ballot in the General Election challenging every single sitting Republican incumbent legislator.

With Rep Cynthia Thielen (Kailua HD 50) retiring, the remaining Republican incumbents and their challengers are:

SD19 (Ewa) Sen Kurt Fevella vs Rep Rida Cabanilla

HD17 (Hawaii Kai) Rep Gene Ward vs Keith Kogachi

HD36 (Mililani) Rep Val Okimoto vs Trish LaChica

HD41 (Ewa) Rep Bob McDermott vs Rose Martinez

HD45 (N Shore) Rep Lauren Cheape Matsumoto vs Michael Chapman.

For Fevella, this is his first reelection campaign.  Rep Cabanilla is giving up her HD40 (Ewa Beach) seat just to run against him.  Cabanilla is known mostly for her decision to repeatedly and knowingly hire a convicted child molester as her legislative office manager.  Snagging Cabanilla’s old spot on the Democratic ticket for HD40 is ex-Rep Matt Lopresti (D-Bizarro World) whose 2016 Senate bid was defeated by Fevella after Lopresti was caught stealing campaign flyers from constituents doors.  To get back in to the seat he abandoned, Lopresti will have to overcome his own megalomania, and Republican candidate David Alcos, an ally of Fevella.

Right next door, HD41 (Ewa) Rep Bob McDermott beat Rose Martinez by 631 votes in 2018, 1,043 votes in 2016, and 1,246 votes in 2014.  2020 will be their fourth contest.

Between the 2016 defeat of Republican Senator Sam Slom and Fevella’s 2018 victory, Hawaii became notorious as the only US state to have a one-party Legislative chamber.  Slom is on the General Election ballot for a rematch against Sen Stanley Chang in SD9, Hawaii Kai.

HD17 Rep Gene Ward, also in Hawaii Kai, has not faced a Democrat General Election challenger since a 2016 shellacking of Karlen Ross by a 5,402 vote margin and a 2014 victory over Chris Stamp by 4,980 votes.

This is Rep Val Okimoto’s (HD36 Mililani) first reelection campaign.  Okimoto beat Marilyn Lee by 852 votes in 2018.  This year, Trish Lachica beat Lee in the Democrat Primary for the right to face Okimoto in the General.

North Shore Rep Lauren Cheape Matsumoto has not faced a challenger since delivering a 1,894 vote thumping to former House Vice Speaker Michael Magaoay in 2014

It is not all defense for the GOP.  Republican candidates are angling to re-take formerly Republican seats:

In HD43, Nanakuli, Diamond Garcia is attempting to win back the seat Andria Tupola gave up to run for Governor in 2018.  Tupola was just elected to Honolulu Council.

In HD47 (North Shore) Republican Boyd Ready is challenging Sean Quinlan.  Quinlan took the seat from GOP Rep Feki Pouha in 2016 by a 108 vote margin.  Quinlan then beat Republican Richard Fale by 1,102 votes in 2018

In HD50, Kailua, Republican Kanani Souza is campaigning to hold on to the seat being vacated by retiring Rep Cynthia Thielen.

According to the State Office of Elections website, General Election Ballot will be delivered October 16, 2020.  The all-mail-in General Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2020.

---30---

Related:

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii Military History

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Together

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

July 4 in Hawaii

Land and Power in Hawaii

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii