West Hawaii kinder to Trump

HILO — President-elect Donald Trump didn’t win any Hawaii County precincts, but voters were much kinder to him on the west side of the island than on the east side.

That’s according to a West Hawaii Today analysis of precinct reports released early Wednesday by the state Office of Elections.

In all, 58.4 percent of the island’s 113,083 registered voters voted, with 26.9 percent casting votes for Trump. That compares with a 58.3 percent statewide turnout out of 749,917 registered voters, with 29.4 percent voting for Trump.

Topping the list of polling places with more than 30 percent favoring Trump were Kona Vistas Recreation Center, Ocean View Community Center, Kekuaokalani Gym, Kahakai Elementary, Kealakehe Intermediate, Waikoloa Elementary, Kealakehe High, Kona Palisades Community Center and Holualoa Elementary.

“This definitely bodes well for the future of Republicans on Hawaii Island. Donald Trump’s performance in several Kona precincts is impressive and heartening, especially in 05-08 with 40 percent of the vote,” said Hawaii Republican Party Chairman Fritz Rohlfing. “The Hawaii Republican Party organized and executed a statewide get-out-the vote campaign to identify new voters and encourage our members to support our Republican as well as nonpartisan candidates we endorsed. We will continue to identify and register new Republican voters across Hawaii County and statewide.”

A 41.6 percent Trump vote for the tiny Pahoa pocket precinct — a mail-in only precinct — is a statistical anomaly because of its small size.

At the other end of the spectrum, East Hawaii’s Waiakea High, Hookena Elementary, Ka’u High, Keaukaha Elementary and Papaaloa Gym all showed less than 20 percent Trump votes.

The results are no surprise to area Republicans and Democrats, who see Kona as having the second-largest Republican concentration behind Hawaii Kai on Oahu. Still, Democrats hold all the island’s seats in the Legislature, and all three West Hawaii Democratic incumbents in the state House won re-election Tuesday with commanding leads.

David Ross, West Hawaii county chairman for the state Republican Party, said there wasn’t an organized get-out-the-vote effort, although individuals and groups engaged in sign-waving to support Trump.

“It was ad hoc,” he said. “It wasn’t a highly organized thing.”

Ross attributes Trump’s popularity to a renewed fervor among area Republicans, even if they’re small in number.

Local Republicans more than doubled their caucus participation last spring, with 720 people crowding into Kealakehe High, compared to 350 four years ago.

He’s hopeful the enthusiasm can trickle down to the state Legislature, which hasn’t had a West Hawaii GOP lawmaker since Paul Whalen left the state Senate in 2008. Maybe there will be one in 2018, he said.

Phil Barnes, chairman, and Barbara Dalton, West Hawaii vice chairwoman, of the Hawaii County Democratic Party, also saw the results coming.

“It seems like demographics to me,” Barnes said. “I’m not surprised.”

Dalton recounted how Kona voters almost surprised Democratic Gov. Ben Cayetano in his 1998 re-election bid against Republican Linda Lingle.

“He made a victory speech thinking he had won by a 12,000-plus vote margin statewide, then learned that not all Kona’s votes had been counted,” Dalton said. “When they were, his winning margin was reduced to only 5,000-plus. West Hawaii has a solid history of Republican support.”

Precinct Polling Place Reg. voters Turnout Trump %

03-03 Pocket Precinct-Pahoa 201 45.8% 41.6%

05-08 Kona Vistas Rec Ctr 4,182 61.1% 39.7%

05-02 Ocean View Comm Ctr 2,181 54.3% 38.0%

06-03 Kekuaokalani Gym 3,089 61.3% 37.8%

06-02 Kahakai Elem Sch 4,512 53.1% 37.0%

07-01 Kealakehe Intermediate 1,601 61.2% 36.8%

07-02 Waikoloa Elem Sch 4,462 62.9% 35.9%

06-04 Kealakehe High Sch 4,173 57.3% 35.5%

06-05 Kona Palisades Comm Ctr 3,193 58.8% 34.6%

06-01 Holualoa Elem Sch 1,075 65.8% 34.2%

04-01 Hawaiian Paradise Park Com 6,566 56.8% 30.8%

03-05 Mountain View Elem Sch 2,869 53.6% 28.0%

04-02 Keonepoko Elem Sch 2,584 51.3% 27.0%

05-07 Konawaena High Sch 2,307 59.5% 26.6%

01-09 Kaumana Elem Sch 1,897 63.7% 25.7%

05-01 Naalehu Elem Sch 1,453 55.1% 25.3%

01-02 Paauilo Elem Sch 934 60.1% 24.8%

07-05 Waimea New Hope Church 1,812 56.2% 24.7%

03-04 Keaau High School 5,237 54.6% 24.6%

05-05 St Benedict Catholic Church 804 57.3% 24.4%

05-03 Milolii Halau 603 55.9% 24.3%

03-01 AJA Memorial Hall 3,961 64.3% 24.1%

01-06 Kalanainaole Elem/Inter Sch 1,422 63.8% 24.0%

07-03 Kohala High and Elem Sch 4,038 59.9% 23.7%

07-04 Waimea Civic Ctr 4,358 62.5% 23.4%

05-06 Konawaena Elem Sch 3,108 60.9% 23.4%

01-05 Kulaimano Comm Ctr 1,850 59.4% 22.9%

01-08 Ernest B DeSilva Elem Sch 4,757 63.5% 22.7%

02-04 Waiakea Elem Sch 5,477 61.7% 22.7%

01-04 Honohina Hongwanji 331 65.9% 22.6%

04-04 Pahoa High/Inter School 3,223 53.4% 22.3%

01-07 Puueo Multi-Culture Ctr 1,788 52.4% 22.0%

01-01 Honokaa High Sch 2,930 55.5% 22.0%

03-02 Pocket Precinct-Keaau 522 56.7% 21.4%

02-02 Edith Kanakaole Tennis Stad 2,048 45.3% 21.1%

04-03 Pahoa Comm Ctr 3,805 49.2% 21.1%

03-06 Cooper Ctr 1,961 67.3% 21.0%

02-01 Hilo High Sch 4,215 55.6% 20.7%

01-03 Papaaloa Gym 1,046 59.3% 19.5%

02-03 Keaukaha Elem Sch 1,577 54.2% 19.5%

03-07 Ka’u High Sch 869 53.4% 18.8%

05-04 Hookena Elem Sch 707 62.8% 18.6%

02-05 Waiakea High Sch 3,355 68.3% 18.5%

Countywide 113,083 58.4% 26.9%

Source: West Hawaii Today analysis of state Office of Elections precinct data