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The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Hawaii occurred on November 8, 2016. The electorate chose two candidates to act in the U.S. House, one from each of the state's two districts. Hawaii is one of 14 states that employ an open primary system, meaning voters do not have to state a party affiliation in the election. The primaries were held on August 13.
Contents
Candidates
The following candidates received the most votes in the primary election on August 13, 2016 and will represent their respective parties in the general election.
District 1
District 2
District 1
The 1st district is located entirely on the island of Oahu, encompassing the urban areas of the City and County of Honolulu, a consolidated city-county that includes Oahu's central plains and southern shores, including the towns of Aiea, Mililani, Pearl City, Waipahu and Waimalu. It is the only majority-Asian district in the United States. The district was vacant leading into the election. It was represented by Democrat Mark Takai from 2015 until his death in July 2016. He was elected with 51% of the vote in 2014 and the district has a PVI of D+18.
Special election
Mark Takai, the Incumbent for District 1, announced in May 2016 that he would not seek re-election due to ill health; he died two months later. This created a vacancy that required a special election to fill the vacancy which was also held concurrently with the General Election.
District 2
The 2nd district encompasses the rest of the island of Oahu, including the Windward, North Shore, Central and Leeward regions, as well as the entire state outside of Oahu. This includes the areas located in the counties of Kauai (which includes the islands of Kauaʻi, Niʻihau, Lehua and Kaʻula), Maui (which consists of the islands of Maui, Kahoolawe, Lānai, Molokai except for a portion of Molokai that comprises Kalawao County and Molokini) and Hawaii County coextensive with the Island of Hawaii, often called "the Big Island". The incumbent is Democrat Tulsi Gabbard, who has represented the district since 2013. She was elected with 79% of the vote in 2014 and the district has a PVI of D+21.
Results from 2014
There were 6,057 seats in 87 chambers with elections in 2014. According to Ballotpedia's three aspects of competitiveness index, the numbers of open seats, incumbents facing primary opposition and general elections between partisan candidates showed poor results compared to the prior election.