Who is favored in Hawaii’s governor primary?

Gov. Josh Green is strongly favored to win the Democratic primary. He has a large fundraising lead and a 56% approval rating.

Who is challenging Rep. Ed Case?

State Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole is running against Case in the Democratic primary for Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District. He has support from Sen. Bernie Sanders’ group Our Revolution.

What issues is Keohokalole emphasizing?

Keohokalole is campaigning on Medicare for All, opposition to ICE, and opposition to President Donald Trump’s tariffs. He has also criticized Case’s vote on the SAVE America Act.

When do Hawaii polls close?

Polls close at 7 p.m. local time. The results will determine which candidates advance to the November general election.

Hawaii primary tests Green, Case Saturday

The Hawaii primary puts Gov. Josh Green in a commanding position and sets up a progressive challenge to Rep. Ed Case in the 1st District.

Hawaii primary voting is set to decide Saturday which candidates move on to November, with Gov. Josh Green expected to cruise in the Democratic race and Rep. Ed Case facing a sharper fight in the state’s 1st Congressional District. The contests come as Democrats remain dominant in Hawaii politics, but a progressive challenge in Honolulu and a Republican governor’s bid are giving the ballot more edge than usual.

Green, first elected in 2022, is running against three little-known Democratic opponents: George “Teva” Lucas-Tadeo, David “Duke” Bourgoin, and Lauren Kapoliahiʻiaka Shim. Lucas-Tadeo has described himself as a Democratic socialist and has promoted plans online to create a government-run grocery store and legalize recreational marijuana. Bourgoin is trying again after losing to Green in 2022, when he got 590 votes compared with Green’s 158,161, and he has also lost two Honolulu mayoral races. Shim is the CEO and founder of Aloha AI Incorporated, according to her LinkedIn profile. Honolulu Civil Beat reported that none of Green’s challengers had raised money as of June 30, and neither Lucas-Tadeo nor Shim had campaign websites.

Green enters the race with a clear financial and political edge. He has raised about $3.5 million, far ahead of Republican Gary Cordery, who has brought in roughly $313,000, according to Honolulu Civil Beat. Cordery, who owns the contracting company Kingdom Builders, is competing with entrepreneur and investor Ken Fujiyama for the Republican nomination. Their task is ambitious: win the governor’s office in a state that has been under Democratic control for nearly two decades. Linda Lingle was the last Republican to serve as governor, holding the office from 2002 to 2010.

Cordery has made the cost of living his central pitch, along with housing growth and a tougher stance on waste and corruption in state government. He has proposed 15,000 homes for working families, using state-owned land for housing, and eliminating Hawaii’s general excise tax on food and medicine. Fujiyama is also running on housing affordability, with a plan that would develop 100,000 residential lots and work with large landowners to encourage growth. Those proposals are aimed at a state where housing prices and daily expenses have long been a central political issue for working families.

The political math still favors Green if he clears the Democratic primary. He has a 56% approval rating, the Cook Political Report rates the governor’s race as “Likely Democrat,” and it gives Democrats a 13-point advantage. That means the Republican nominee would face an uphill climb even before the general election campaign begins. For Hawaii voters, the governor’s race is less about whether Democrats stay in control than which version of the party and which priorities move forward next.

Outside the governor’s contest, national attention is likely to settle on the Democratic primary in Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District. State Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole is challenging Case, who is seeking a seventh term and has represented the district since 2019. Case argues that his seniority and his seat on the Appropriations Committee help Hawaii carry more weight in Washington. Keohokalole, meanwhile, has the backing of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ group Our Revolution and is running on Medicare for All as well as opposition to ICE and President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Keohokalole has also tried to frame Case as detached from Democratic voters, pointing to the congressman’s vote with House Republicans for Trump’s SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship when registering to vote. With Hawaii’s strong Democratic lean, the primary winner in that district will likely enter November as the favorite. Polls close at 7 p.m. local time, and the outcome will show whether Hawaii Democrats are sticking with established leadership or giving progressives a bigger opening. For American voters, the Hawaii primary is a reminder that even in safe states, primary fights can reveal where a party is headed next.

Hawaii primary tests Green, Case on Saturday

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