Incumbents Hirono, Case, Tokuda cruise to Democratic primary victories

Three-quarters of Hawaii’s Congressional delegation easily moved past their primary opponents and onto the General Election ballot in November.

U.S. Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda and U.S. Rep. Ed Case all topped their respective tickets after the first printout of results Saturday.

Hirono brought home 85% of the vote with the next candidate a distant second with a little more than six percent of the vote. Case cruised through the first printout with 82% of the vote and Tokuda took home more than 80%.

U.S. senators serve six-year terms while members of the U.S. House representatives are up for re-election every two years.

Hirono was elected to the Senate in 2012 when she replaced the retiring U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Akaka and was re-elected in 2018. Before her Senate election, she served in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Hawaii’s second congressional district after winning the election in 2006.

She will face former state legislator Republican Bob McDermott who was far ahead of his opponents after the first election results Saturday.

Tokuda, who represents the second congressional district covering the neighbor islands and the windward side of Oahu, was first elected in 2022 after serving in the state House of Representatives.

She will face Republican Steve Bond who ran unopposed.

Case, currently serving his fifth full term, was first elected to Congress by winner-take-all special elections to replace Patsy Mink in November 2002 and January 2003.

Case was re-elected to a second full term in 2004.

He served in Congress until he unsuccessfully challenged Akaka in the 2006 U.S. Senate primary. Case returned to his private law practice before running for the first congressional district seat in 2018, winning it.

Case was easily re-elected in 2020 and 2022.

In November, he will face Republican Patrick Largey who also ran unopposed.