Three incumbent state lawmakers are on a path to being knocked out of Hawaii’s Legislature by voters, based on largely complete general election results.
Democratic Rep. Matt LoPresti, representing part of Ewa Beach, was trailing significantly after the first two vote tallies Tuesday evening representing nearly all ballots cast, according to state Office of Elections results. Leading LoPresti in House District 41 was Republican business owner David Alcos.
LoPresti, who has served three terms in the House, was seen as vulnerable in light of overcoming misdemeanor charges of drunken driving earlier this year.
The lawmaker was arrested in June after he had parked on the shoulder of Fort Weaver Road, and got his case dismissed in September on grounds that police had no probable cause to arrest him and administer a blood test that showed legal impairment from alcohol.
In a similar scenario, Rep. Sharon Har, representing parts of Kapolei and Ewa communities, was trailing Republican challenger Diamond Garcia, but only slightly.
Har, who has served in the Legislature for 17 years, was arrested in 2021 after driving the wrong way on South Beretania Street, and won an acquittal in January on procedural grounds.
Garcia, who is chief of staff to Rep. Gene Ward (R, Hawaii Kai-Kalama Valley), had a 142-vote lead, a 2 percentage point difference, over Har in the House District 42 race.
Another incumbent House member, Rep. Stacelynn Eli, a Democrat representing a redefined district that now includes part of Kapolei and Makakilo, was trailing Republican contender Kanani Souza by a modest margin.
In one close race defended by an incumbent, Sen. Gil Riviere, a Democrat, was holding off Republican challenger Brenton Awa, a former local TV news reporter, competing to represent Senate District 23, which stretches from Mokuleia into part of Kaneohe.
Riviere led by 189 votes, or by about 1 percentage point.
The incumbent upsets in Tuesday’s election followed five incumbents being knocked out in the primary, including two who had to face colleagues in the Legislature because of redistricting.
Voters on Tuesday also elected about 15 new representatives in the 51-member House and 25-member Senate to fill new seats created by redistricting, or to replace existing lawmakers who are retiring or ran for another office.
One race also took place to fill a House seat vacated in January by then-Rep. Ty J.K. Cullen, who pleaded guilty to bribery charges tied to his work as a lawmaker and was sentenced in July to 40 months in federal prison.
Replacing Cullen, after a temporary appointed replacement opted not to run for election, looks to be Republican Elijah Pierick, an Air Force Reserve officer and a pastor at Encounter Church, who was narrowly leading former state teachers union leader Corey Rosenlee, a Democrat.
In one contest to replace a retiring lawmaker, Honolulu Council member Carol Fukunaga, a Democrat, was handily beating Republican Benjamin Sakai for the Senate District 11 seat held by retiring Sen. Brian Taniguchi (D, Makiki-Tantalus-Manoa).
In another such contest, Democrat Jenna Takenouchi, office manager for retiring Rep. Takashi Ohno, was easily leading Republican Margaret Lim to replace Ohno in House District 27, which includes Nuuanu and Pacific Heights.
A few House seats are being filled to replace representatives who chose to run for another office, including Rep. Bob McDermott, who made an unsuccessful bid for a U.S. Senate seat, and Rep. Patrick Branco, who made an unsuccessful U.S. House seat bid.
Leading in the contest to replace McDermott (R, Ewa Beach-Iroquois Point) in House District 40 was Democratic candidate Rose Martinez, a former teacher and legislative aide who was modestly leading Republican contender Janie Gueso, a substitute teacher who also helps run her family’s 76- year-old grocery and liquor retail business, Silva Store.
In position to replace Branco (D, Kailua-Kaneohe) was Democratic candidate Natalia Hussey-Burdick, who was significantly leading Republican Kathy Thurston in House District 50.
A few new lawmakers are headed to the Legislature as part of redistricting, which happens once a decade to adjust for population changes.
On Oahu a new district was formed to cover Nanakuli, Maili and Honokai Hale, where Darius Kila, a Democrat and aide to Eli, was comfortably leading Republican Kimberly Kopetseg.
A few others joining this year’s freshman class of lawmakers beat incumbents in the primary election and were beating opponents in Tuesday’s general election.
One candidate in this group was Honolulu Council member Brandon Elefante, a Democrat who was beating Republican Patricia Beekman for Senate District 16, where Sen. Bennette Misalucha (D, Pearl Harbor-Pearl City-Aiea) lost to Elefante in the primary.
In all, 63 contests for Hawaii’s 76-member Legislature were decided by voters Tuesday. Thirteen incumbent lawmakers were not on the ballot because they had no challengers.
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