Hawaii, Governor - Power Voter

Hawaii held elections for governor on November 6, 2018. The candidate filing deadline was June 5, 2018.

Incumbent David Ige (D) defeated challengers Andria Tupola (R), Jim Brewer (Green), and Terrence Teruya (nonpartisan), receiving 62.7 percent of the vote to Tupola's 33.6 percent, Brewer's 2.6 percent, and Teruya's 1.0 percent. Ige's 62.7 percent share of the vote was greater than any Democratic candidate for governor in state history, surpassing the 59.83 percent record set by John Waihee (D) in 1990.

SETTING THE STAGE
Heading into the election, the sitting governor was David Ige (D). He was first elected to the office in 2014.
At the time of the 2018 election, Hawaii was a Democratic trifecta. It first gained this status when former Gov. Neil Abercrombie (D) took office in 2010. Hawaii was a Democratic triplex in 2018.
Hawaii had been won by the Democratic candidate in each of the five presidential elections leading up to the 2018 election. The widest margin of victory was Barack Obama's 45 percent margin in 2008 while the narrowest was John Kerry's nine percent margin in 2004.

Race rating

Race ratings: Hawaii gubernatorial election, 2018

Race tracker	Race ratings
	November 5, 2018	October 30, 2018	October 23, 2018	October 16, 2018
The Cook Political Report	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Safe Democratic	Safe Democratic	Safe Democratic	Safe Democratic

State election history

This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Hawaii from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from the Hawaii Office of Elections.

Historical elections

Presidential elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Hawaii every year from 2000 to 2016.

Election results (President of the United States), Hawaii 2000-2016

Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	Hillary Clinton	61.0%	Donald Trump	29.4%	31.6%
2012	Barack Obama	70.1%	Mitt Romney	27.7%	42.4%
2008	Barack Obama	71.5%	John McCain	26.4%	45.1%
2004	John Kerry	53.7%	George W. Bush	45.0%	8.7%
2000	Al Gore	55.3%	George W. Bush	37.1%	18.2%

U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Hawaii from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.

Election results (U.S. Senator), Hawaii 2000-2016

Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	Brian Schatz	70.1%	John Carroll	21.2%	48.9%
2014	Brian Schatz	66.8%	Cam Cavasso	26.5%	40.3%
2012	Mazie Hirono	61.6%	Linda Lingle	36.8%	24.8%
2010	Daniel Inouye	71.9%	Cam Cavasso	20.7%	51.2%
2006	Daniel Akaka	60.3%	Cynthia Thielen	36.1%	24.2%
2004	Daniel Inouye	72.7%	Cam Cavasso	20.2%	52.5%
2000	Daniel Akaka	67.7%	John Carroll	22.8%	44.9%

Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Hawaii.

Election results (Governor), Hawaii 2000-2016

Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2014	David Ige	49.0%	Duke Aiona	36.7%	12.3%
2010	Neil Abercrombie	57.8%	Duke Aiona	40.8%	17.0%
2006	Linda Lingle	49.8%	Randy Iwase	34.9%	14.9%
2002	Linda Lingle	51.6%	Mazie Hirono	47.0%	4.6%

Congressional delegation, 2000-2016

This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Hawaii in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.

Congressional delegation, Hawaii 2000-2016

Year	Republicans	Republicans (%)	Democrats	Democrats (%)	Balance of power
2016	0	0.0%	2	100.0%	D+2
2014	0	0.0%	2	100.0%	D+2
2012	0	0.0%	2	100.0%	D+2
2010	1	50.0%	1	50.0%	Even
2008	0	0.0%	2	100.0%	D+2
2006	0	0.0%	2	100.0%	D+2
2004	0	0.0%	2	100.0%	D+2
2002	0	0.0%	2	100.0%	D+2
2000	0	0.0%	2	100.0%	D+2

Trifectas, 1992-2017

A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.

Hawaii Party Control: 1992-2019
20 years of Democratic trifectas • No Republican trifectas

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19
Governor	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
Senate	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
House	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D

Demographics

Demographic data for Hawaii

	Hawaii	U.S.
Total population:	1,425,157	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	6,423	3,531,905
Gender
Female:	49.5%	50.8%
Race and ethnicity**
White:	25.4%	73.6%
Black/African American:	2%	12.6%
Asian:	37.7%	5.1%
Native American:	0.2%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	9.9%	0.2%
Two or more:	23.7%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	9.9%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	91%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	30.8%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$69,515	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	11.6%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Hawaii.

As of July 2017, Hawaii's three largest cities were Urban Honolulu (pop. est. 350,395), East Honolulu (pop. est. 47,957), and Pearl City (pop. est. 47,241).