114,756 95,431 Start date November 6, 2012 | 54.6% 45.4% | |
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The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Hawaii were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 to elect the two U.S. Representatives from the state, one from each of the state's two congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election and an election for the United States Senate. Primary elections were held on August 11, 2012.
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District 1
Democrat Colleen Hanabusa, who was first elected to represent the 1st district in 2010, successfully ran for re-election. Roy Wyttenbach II unsuccessfully challenged Hanabusa in the Democratic primary.
Former U.S. Representative Charles Djou, who represented the 1st district from May 2010 until January 2011, sought and received the Republican nomination to challenge Hanabusa again. He defeated C. Kaui Amsterdam and John Giuffre in the Republican primary.
General election results
District 2
Democrat Mazie Hirono, who has represented the 2nd district since 2007, announced in May 2011 that she would run for the U.S. Senate rather than for re-election to the House.
Tulsi Gabbard, a member of the Honolulu City Council, was one of the first candidates to announce that she would seek the Democratic nomination to succeed Hirono. Her strongest opponent was Mufi Hannemann, the former Mayor of Honolulu. Other opponents included Esther Kia'aina, the chief advocate for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs; Rafael "Del" del Castillo, an attorney and patients' rights advocate; Bob Marx, an attorney; and Miles Shiratori, a financial advisor. Other potential Democratic candidates that didn't formally enter the race were state Senator Josh Green; state Senator Clayton Hee; and Gary Hooser, the director of the state's Office of Environmental Quality Control and a former state Senator.
As of February 14, 2012, early in the primary campaign, Hannemann had led the field and had 65% of the vote; in second place was Gabbard with 20%.
Gabbard received endorsements from the Sierra Club, Women Under Forty PAC, Emily's List, and MauiTime. Hannemann and Gabbard also differed on the issue of same-sex marriage. Gabbard was opposed to the Defense of Marriage Act and to a proposed Hawaii state constitutional amendment that would define marriage as between a woman and a man, while Hannemann supported DOMA. Gabbard had previously opposed same-sex marriage, but during the primary campaign, promised to work to repeal DOMA and co-sponsor the Respect for Marriage act. Voters initially doubted the sincerity of her new views on the issue.
Gabbard filed a 270-page complaint against Hannemann's spending, saying that his campaign broke campaign finance laws by failing to report 2012 travel and polling expenses and improperly dealt with Hanneman's salary from a tourism association.
Candidates Marx, Gabbard, and Kia'aina debated on June 5, and Marx, Gabbard, Kia'aina and Hannemann debated in early July.
Gabbard's ratings in the polls increased steadily and Hannemann's dropped throughout the primary campaign,; as of August 6, she was leading against Hanneman 49% to 29%. On August 11, she defeated Hanneman by twenty points, winning the primary. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser described her win as the "improbable rise from a distant underdog to victory". Gabbard credited grassroots support as the reason for her come-from-behind win in the primary. She decided to resign her seat on the City Council, stating that she wanted to prevent the cost of a separate special election, and resigned on August 16.
Kawika Crowley, a handyman, sought and received the Republican nomination. He defeated Matthew DiGeronimo, an entrepreneur, motivational and business speaker, radio talk show host and former Navy officer, in the primary. Duke Aiona, the former Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii, and Jonah Kaauwai, the former chairman of the Hawaii Republican Party, had considered seeking the Republican nomination but chose not to run.
Gabbard won the general election on Nov 6, 2012 by defeating Crowley 81% to 19%.