Five candidates are running for Hawaii’s two U.S. House districts—the fewest in the last 10 years

by Briana Ryan, Ballotpedia, July 1, 2024 

This year’s filing deadline for candidates running for Congress in Hawaii was June 4, 2024.

Five candidates are running for Hawaii’s two U.S. House districts, including three Democrats and two Republicans. That’s an average of 2.5 candidates per district. There was an average of 6.5 candidates per district in 2022, 9.5 candidates per district in 2020 and 6.5 in 2018.

Here are some other highlights from this year’s filings:

The number of candidates running for the U.S. House in Hawaii this year is also fewer than any other year in the last 10 years. Between 2014 and 2022, an average of 13.8 candidates ran per election cycle.

Both incumbents—Reps. Ed Case (D-01) and Jill Tokuda (D-02)—are running for re-election this year. This is the only election cycle in the last 10 years in which a district is not open.

Three candidates—two Democrats and one Republican—are running for the 1st Congressional District, the most candidates running for a district this year.
The Democratic primary in the 1st Congressional District is the only contested primary this year. That’s the fewest number of contested primaries in Hawaii in the last 10 years.
Case is the only incumbent running in a contested primary this year.
Candidates filed to run in the Republican and Democratic primaries in both districts, meaning no seats are guaranteed to either party.

Hawaii is holding primary elections on August 10.

In Hawaii, the winner of a primary election is the candidate who receives the greatest number of votes, even if they do not win an outright majority of votes cast.