Back in September 2000, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported how Jeremy Harris won it all in the primary.

That was the last time that a Honolulu candidate for mayor won with more than 50 percent of the vote in a primary election.

Getting a majority means no general election; the primary win makes you the winner.

“The final printout from the Honolulu mayoral race shows Jeremy Harris with 94,067 votes, or 50.71 percent of the valid votes cast,” the newspaper reported at 6:22 a.m.

Can the same thing happen again? Could Mayor Kirk Caldwell, Charles Djou or Peter Carlisle win this Saturday night?

Possible, but tough.

Two years ago, 202,728 votes were cast on Oahu. So if the same number of voters show up this year, it would take 101,365 votes to win the race in the primary. That’s a tough number to reach.

Glen Takahashi, Honolulu city clerk, reports that voting at the two city walk-in voting sites is a duplicate of 2014. Two years ago at this time, 4,762 had voted; this year it is 4,760.

The major difference, Takahashi said, is that absentee balloting is growing. Two years ago, 117,000 ballots had been mailed out this year; that number has grown to 128,000. Through this past Saturday, 57,000 ballots have been returned.

The major difference in two years is that a state law allowing online voter registration has kicked in, so it is easier to register, Takahashi said.

Former Gov Ben Cayetano, who won the primary election for mayor four years ago but lost to Caldwell in the general election, is watching Djou on Saturday.

“I think it will be close, but Djou has an outside chance of winning the primary,” said Cayetano, who has already endorsed the former GOP congressman.

Four years ago, Cayetano ran for mayor on a platform of stopping the city’s rail plan and substituting a bus rapid transit system.

Cayetano in an interview now says that the city has seen the project become its own crisis, with a budget needing an extra $1.5 billion, the federal government demanding answers for how the city will finish the project, and even Caldwell admitting the city doesn’t have the money to build past Middle Street.

“Voters experienced the impact of rail construction on small businesses and traffic congestion in Leeward Oahu. (The late U.S. Sen.) Dan Inouye was a big factor for Caldwell in 2012; I doubt Kirk can capitalize on Dan’s coattails today,” Cayetano said.

Also four years ago, there was a large sentiment to just not build rail at all. Today the largest cry is to “just finish the job” — but neither Djou nor Caldwell nor Carlisle can say how they would do that.

Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at rborreca@staradvertiser.com.