August 9, 2026 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

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Sunday, August 9, 2026

August 9, 2026 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 12:35 PM :: 293 Views

Primary Election -- First Read Results

Three years later: Lahaina Rebuild Bleak

'Office of Economic Revitalization' will officially cease operations on August 14, 2026

‘One of the most Conservative Democrats’ Ed Case bucks socialist trend in deep-blue Hawaii district

RC: … The Democratic Party’s anti-incumbent wave has skipped Hawaii, with centrist Rep. Ed Case handily defeating state Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole in this weekend’s primary.

Case, 73, who’s spent more than a decade in the House across two separate stints, was leading Keohokalole, 60 to 36 percent as of Sunday morning, with 91 percent of votes counted in the Honolulu-based 1st District…

The win bucks a national trend that has seen several House Democrats losing to primary challenges in deep-blue districts this year. Case also had historic headwinds on his side: No sitting member of Congress from Hawaii has ever lost a primary challenge. Case himself came up short in 2006, when he challenged incumbent Sen. Daniel Akaka in a Senate Democratic primary.

Keohokalole, 43, positioned himself as a change agent who would usher in “a new generation of leadership.” He had the backing of Our Revolution, the progressive group founded by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders….

TH: Case, one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress, defeated 42-year-old state Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole, who ran a campaign calling for a “new generation” of leaders and attacking the 73-year-old incumbent from the left.

NYT: Moderate Democrat in Hawaii Easily Defeats Progressive House Challenger - The New York Times

Rep. Ed Case defeats progressive primary challenger in Hawaii's 1st District - CBS News

Moderate Democrat Ed Case defies progressive challenge in Hawaii primary | Hawaii | The Guardian

Rep. Ed Case Holds Onto His Congressional Seat In A Landslide

Read … Democrat Ed Case bucks insurgent trend in deep-blue Hawaii district – Roll Call

Team Methamphetamines on the Ballot in Upcountry Maui Council Race

CB: … With 40.1% of the vote, ~~well-known Native Hawaiian kalo farmer~~ (so-called Progressive) Bobby Pahia had pulled well ahead in the race to represent Upcountry on the Maui County Council, a position that Sugimura has held since 2016. Business owner Jon Yokouchi was in second with 19.3% of the vote, and will face Pahia in November. Hana tour bus driver Derrick Cabiles was in third place with 15.13% of the vote, followed by real estate agent John Guard at 8.9%.

(TRANSLATION: They all need to unite behind Yokouchi just as all mayoral voters must unite behind Sugimura.)

A couple dozen of Pahia’s supporters —including Maui County Council member Keani Rawlins-Fernandez, House District 14 Green Party candidate Paele Kiakona, (the son of convicted 20-lbs-a-month meth dealer Moses Kiakona) and others associated with ~~locally~~ (meth-)led groups like Lahaina Strong— gathered at Wow-Wee Maui’s Kava Bar and Grill to watch the results come in.

Outside the restaurant, which is only a few hundred feet away from Akakū, Pahia told Civil Beat he was feeling great and immensely thankful to his campaign team, (‘Methamphetamines’)….

(CLUE: Tourism marketing is a media circus. As residents of a perpetual media circus, their feigned defiance is actually an attempt to accommodate themselves to their assigned roles as circus performers. Their candidates are all pretend ‘kalo farmers.’ It makes more sense if you do drugs.)

Marvin Moniz, the longtime airports manager for the state Department of Transportation, was way out front in the race to represent Central Maui with 34.5% of the vote. Ashley Awakea Lindsey was second with 18.7%, so is on track to face Moniz in November. James Forrest was in third with 14.3% of the vote, followed by arborist and pastor Randy Konohia with 11.9% and progressive community advocate Alan Lloyd with 4.7%. The seat was left open when current Council Chair Alice Lee announced her plans to retire at the end of her term and through her support behind Moniz.

Council member Kauanoe Batangan — who was appointed to fill the Kahului seat after the death of former council member Tasha Kama — was at the top with 42.2% of the vote. He will face Carol Lee Kamekona, who lost to Kama by 9 percentage points in 2024, and had 32.4% of the votes in Saturday’s primary. Jason Ababan, the third candidate in the race, had 6.8%.

Only three of the nine council seats up for election this year appeared on the primary ballot because the other six all had two or fewer candidates, automatically advancing to the general election or winning uncontested….

Read … Maui Election Results: Bissen Out Ahead Of Sugimura In Mayor's Race - Honolulu Civil Beat

Last-minute voters turn out on primary Election Day — but not many

HNN: … As of 12:18 p.m. Saturday, only 471 voters had visited Oahu’s two voter service centers, with 232 in Kapolei and 239 in Honolulu.

Honolulu elections administrator Rex Quidilla said that turnout was lower than the numbers recorded during the previous primary election….

SA: In-person voting slow so far as Hawaii’s primary election wraps up | Honolulu Star-Advertiser -- Polls opened at 7 a.m. today in all four counties but just 113 voters had showed up at Honolulu Hale and Kapolei Hale by 9 a.m. to cast their ballots in person, said Honolulu Election Administrator Rex Quidilla.

KITV: "We've had about 900 voters come to the service centers at Honolulu Hale, Kapolei Hale today, which is kind of comparable to what we saw in 2024," said Rex Quidilla with the Honolulu Elections Division. "We've seen more activity at our drop boxes. We have 16 located throughout the islands. On average, though, what we've seen is about 11% of all balanced casts are cast to date through the drop boxes."

Read … Last-minute voters turn out on primary Election Day — but not many | Election 2026 | Hawaii News Now

New details unveiled in Waianae child torture investigation

KHON: … In January 2026, the victim reported his mother held a knife to his throat and told him, “Convince me why I shouldn’t kill you.”

He also reported that his mother antagonized the family dogs and caused them to attack him. He sustained multiple dog bites to his leg, resulting in bleeding and injuries.

Recently, in July 2026, the victim reported that his mother restrained his wrists to a chair inside his bedroom using zip ties and left him there for hours.

He was routinely locked inside his bedroom at night and was not permitted to leave until the following morning. He stated that he was not allowed to use the bathroom inside the residence and was forced to urinate from his bedroom window and defecate outside in the backyard.

He reported that although adequate food was available inside the residence, he was not permitted to eat it. At the time he ran away, he stated that he had not eaten for approximately three days and had been wearing the same underwear for approximately one month ….

SA: Mother, stepdad allegedly tortured boy, 13, in Maili | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Read … New details unveiled in Waianae child torture investigation

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