Hawaii Democrats Expand Lead in Federal and State Races

Preliminary third-read results from the 2026 Hawaii general election show Democratic candidates leading in every federal and state gubernatorial race. The data, compiled from four county reports released on November 4, reflects 365,899 ballots counted. This figure marks a substantial increase from the 308,786 ballots recorded in the second read.

Josh Green and Ben Kawakami lead the gubernatorial race with 72.0 percent of the vote. The pair has received 263,274 votes. Their opponents, Michael Cordery and Kelihiho Anthony, have 26.1 percent and 95,519 votes. The 45.9 percentage point gap represents the lowest share of the vote ever recorded for a Republican gubernatorial candidate in Hawaii.

Democrats also lead both congressional districts. In District 1, Case holds 69.0 percent of the vote against Lam’s 20.9 percent. In District 2, Tokuda leads Awa by 32.4 percentage points. The margin in District 1 shifted by 28 points compared to the 2024 election. The margin in District 2 shifted by 16 points.

Several legislative races remain too close to call based on the current data. In House District 40, Reyes Oda leads Martinez by 16 votes. In House District 42, Garcia leads Paris by 72 votes. House District 14 is the tightest race, with Kiakona leading Patel by 107 votes. A third candidate, Cochran, holds 17.0 percent of the vote in that district.

In the State Senate, McDermott leads Owens in District 20 by 389 votes. This lead reversed an earlier deficit in the second read. In the other four Senate races, Democratic candidates hold wide leads. Chang leads Croswell in District 9 by 45.5 percentage points. Nakamatsu leads Christian in District 13 by 51.4 percentage points.

Local races also show Democratic or Green candidates ahead in most contests. On Maui, Bissen leads Sugimura for mayor by 12.2 percentage points. On Kauai, Rapozo leads Carvalho for mayor by 19.1 percentage points. In the South Maui Council race, King leads Cook by 5.5 percentage points.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee race shows a close competition for three at-large seats. Ikaika Anderson leads the field with 116,186 votes. Keoni Souza is second with 115,626 votes. Brickwood Galuteria is third with 111,197 votes. John Waihee IV is fourth with 110,740 votes. Galuteria holds a 457-vote lead over Waihee for the final seat.

County-level reports were released at different times on the morning of November 4. The Maui report was issued at 2:35 a.m. The Hawaii County report followed at 5:05 a.m. The Kauai report was released at 7:36 a.m. The Honolulu report was issued last at 9:09 a.m. These figures remain preliminary and have not yet been certified as final results.