2002 Hawaii gubernatorial election

none related races 2002 United States gubernatorial elections January 2025 September 2023 2002 Hawaii gubernatorial election Hawaii presidential no 1998 Hawaii gubernatorial election 1998 2006 Hawaii gubernatorial election 2006 November 5, 2002 File:Linda Lingle navy 1-cropped.jpg Linda Lingle Duke Aiona Republican Party (United States) 197,009 51.56% Image:Mazie_Hirono,_official_110th_Congress_photo.jpg 150x150px Mazie Hirono Matt Matsunaga Democratic Party (United States) 179,647 47.01% 2002 Hawaii gubernatorial election results map by county.svg 310px County resultsLingle: #e27f7f 50–60%Hirono: #7996e2 50–60% Governor Ben Cayetano Democratic Party (United States) Linda Lingle Republican Party (United States) The 2002 Hawaii gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Democratic Governor Ben Cayetano was term-limited and therefore could not run for re-election. Former Maui Mayor Linda Lingle, who had narrowly lost the 1998 election, was nominated once again by the Republicans while Lieutenant Governor Mazie Hirono earned the Democratic nomination in a tight race. Lingle and Hirono duked it out in a hard-fought campaign, with Hirono's campaign crippled by allegations of corruption within the Hawaii Democratic Party and many voters desiring a change.Broder John M. THE 2002 CAMPAIGN: THE DEMOCRATS; Hawaii Democrats Reeling After Scandals and a Death https://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/19/us/2002-campaign-democrats-hawaii-democrats-reeling-after-scandals-death.html 21 August 2019 The New York Times 19 October 2002 The influence of migrants from the mainland as well as the decrease in party loyalty of ethnic groups led more voters towards Lingle.November 7, 2002 THE 2002 ELECTIONS: HAWAII; In the 50th State, the End of the Democrats’ 40-Year Streak https://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/07/us/2002-elections-hawaii-50th-state-end-democrats-40-year-streak.html November 25, 2024 The New York Times Ultimately Lingle defeated Hirono in a close election, making her the first Republican governor of Hawaii elected since 1959 and the state's first-ever female governor. She was the first white person to be elected governor of the state since 1970. Lingle and Hirono faced off again in Hawaii's 2012 U.S. Senate election; Hirono won that race and thus became the first female U.S. senator in Hawaii history. As of 2026, 2002 is the last Hawaii gubernatorial election where the winner did not win every county. Democratic primary Candidates Mazie Hirono, Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii Ed Case, Majority Leader of the Hawaii House of Representatives D. G. Anderson, 1982 and 1986 Republican nominee for Governor of Hawaii, former Hawaii state senator George Nitta Jr., radio personality Art P. Reyes, perennial candidate Joe Fernandez, school bus driver Mazie Hirono was Hawai'i's lieutenant governor from 1994 to 2002 under Ben Cayetano. Cayetano had loss democratic support due to links to a bad economy and bad relationships with labor groups. Hirono had to separate her image from Cayetano. She originally was not in the race for governor, but the race for mayor. Mayor Jeremy Harris was highly expected to win the Democratic gubernatorial primary but didn't run. Hirono then switched to the gubernatorial race, but with a late start she didn't have much time to campaign and raise money.Blair Chad 2011-10-19 When Mazie Met Linda ... and Ed https://www.civilbeat.org/2011/10/when-mazie-met-linda-and-ed/ 2024-12-02 Honolulu Civil Beat en Ed Case was focused on statewide campaigns to win the primary. He was a fresh face in the election. However, he didn't have full support of Native Hawaiians due to a bill he introduced that would combine the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. Andy D.G. Anderson had run for governor before. He was a Republican turned Democrat but also a Native Hawaiian. He effectively took points away from both Hirono and Case. Results Hirono beat Case by less than 2% of the votes. However, the Case campaign was ruled a success due to the number of voters he was able to take from a known Democratic face. Democratic primary results2002 Primary election results https://files.hawaii.gov/elections/files/results/2002/primary/histatewide.pdf Mazie Hirono Democratic Party (United States) 76,709 41.24 Ed Case Democratic Party (United States) 74,096 39.84 D. G. Anderson Democratic Party (United States) 33,384 17.95 George Nitta, Jr. Democratic Party (United States) 747 0.40 Art P. Reyes Democratic Party (United States) 568 0.31 Joe Fernandez Democratic Party (United States) 491 0.26 185,995 100.00 Republican primary Candidates Linda Lingle, former Mayor of Maui, 1998 Republican nominee for Governor of Hawaii John Carroll, former Hawaii state representative Crystal Young John Carroll was running on experience from military and business; he believed Hawaii's citizens needed a governor with both military and political experience.2002-01-20 Article clipped from Honolulu Star-Advertiser https://www.newspapers.com/article/honolulu-star-advertiser/41328949/ 2024-12-02 Honolulu Star-Advertiser 38 Carroll attempted to use Lingle's non Republican views against her. His campaign appealed to Lingle's opponents in the GOP as Lingle was not a typical Republican with her support for abortion and opposition of the death penalty.Blair Chad 2022-10-09 Chad Blair: How Did Republican Linda Lingle Become Governor Of Hawaii? https://www.civilbeat.org/2022/10/chad-blair-how-did-republican-linda-lingle-become-governor-of-hawaii/ 2024-12-02 Honolulu Civil Beat en A campaign brochure of Carroll states “John Carroll stands with the social conservatives that Lingle has alienated.” Carroll's campaign was unsuccessful due to lack of funding and inability to win over Native Hawaiians and their activists due to suing the Office of Hawaiian Affairs for being “racially discriminatory”.It's Hirono vs. Lingle The Honolulu Advertiser Hawaii's Newspaper http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2002/Sep/22/ln/ln01a.html 2024-12-02 the.honoluluadvertiser.com Results Republican primary results Linda Lingle Republican Party (United States) 70,808 89.77 John Carroll Republican Party (United States) 7,616 9.66 Crystal Young Republican Party (United States) 454 0.58 78,878 100.00 General election Campaign Lingle was critical of the way that Hirono had handled education and economic issues as lieutenant governor; in a TV spot premiered by the Lingle campaign in September, the Republican noted that "Reading scores are now among the worst in the nation. We rank last in jobs creation and first in poverty increase" and argued that Hirono bore part of the blame.Lingle Unveils New Political Ad Blasting Mazie Hirono's Record https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/949960/lingle-unveils-new-political-ad-blasting-mazie-hironos-record/ Hawaii News Now Gray Television June 14, 2021 September 26, 2002 Hirono responded that low reading scores could be attributed to the fact that many Hawaiian students — such as Hirono, herself an immigrant from Japan — were learning English as a second language. She also pointed to legislation which she had supported to "improve teacher quality" and boost test scores, and commented that "I'd like to know what Linda has done" to further the cause. Native Hawaiians’ vote became a deciding factor. Ben Cayetano stopped Public Land Trust (PLT) funds from being transferred to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA). Many programs that supported Native Hawaiians could no longer operate without these funds. The OHA held a gubernatorial debate where PLT funds were the main focus. Hirono didn't make any commitments but Lingle promised to restart PLT funds. Lingle's stance on Native Hawaiian affairs was a strong part of her campaign.Wong Sterling 2018-08-02 History shows power of the Hawaiian vote https://kawaiola.news/ea/history-shows-power-of-the-hawaiian-vote/ 2024-12-02 Ka Wai Ola en-US Predictions SourceRankingAs ofThe Cook Political Reporthttp://www.cookpolitical.com:80/display.cfm?section=political&edit_id=225 https://web.archive.org/web/20021208065752/http://www.cookpolitical.com/display.cfm?section=political&edit_id=225 December 8, 2002 Governor Updated October 31, 2002 The Cook Political Report en October 31, 2002 September 18, 2018 dead mdy-all TossupOctober 31, 2002Sabato's Crystal Ballhttp://www.centerforpolitics.org:80/crystalball/governor_all.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20021212142349/http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/governor_all.htm December 12, 2002 Governors Races www.centerforpolitics.org en-US November 4, 2002 September 18, 2018 dead mdy-all Lean R FlipNovember 4, 2002 Results Hawaii gubernatorial election, 20022002 General election results https://files.hawaii.gov/elections/files/results/2002/general/histatewide.pdf Republican Party (United States) Linda Lingle 197,009 51.56% +2.74% Democratic Party (United States) Mazie Hirono 179,647 47.01% -3.09% Natural Law Party (United States) Bu Laʻia Hill 2,561 0.67% Libertarian Party (United States) Tracy Ryan 1,364 0.36% -0.72% Independent politician Jim Brewer 1,147 0.30% Independent politician Daniel Cunningham 382 0.10% 17,362 4.54% +3.25% 382,110 Republican Party (United States) Democratic Party (United States) By county By county yes #B0CEFF;line-height:135%; none CountyLinda LingleRepublicanMazie HironoDemocraticAll Others#%#%#%Hawaii25,53051.09%23,60247.23%8361.67%Honolulu141,31552.75%123,18045.98%3,3991.28%Kauaʻi9,42640.8%13,35257.79%3261.4%Maui20,73850.4%19,51347.43%8932.18% Totals197,00951.56%179,64747.01%5,4541.43% Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Honolulu Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Kalawao (largest community: Kalaupapa) References External links Official campaign websites (Archived) Linda Lingle for Governor Mazie Hirono for Governor 2002 Gubernatorial Category:2002 United States gubernatorial elections Category:November 2002 in Oceania Category:November 2002 in the United States Category:2002 in Hawaii