The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Hawaii were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 to elect the two

U.S. representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from the state, one from each of the state's two

congressional districts Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts and legislative districts, electorates, or wards in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional bod ...

. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

and an election for the United States Senate.

Primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

s were held on August 11, 2012.

Overview

District 1

Democrat Colleen Hanabusa, who was first elected to represent the 1st district in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, ran for re-election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= * Colleen Hanabusa, incumbent U.S. Representative

=Eliminated in primary

= *Roy Wyttenbach II

Primary results

Republican primary

Former U.S. Representative

Charles Djou Charles Kong Djou (born August 9, 1970) is an American politician who served as U.S. representative for Hawaii's 1st congressional district from 2010 to 2011. Appointed by President Joe Biden, Djou currently serves as the Secretary of the Americ ...

, who represented the 1st district from

May 2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull, Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A ...

until January 2011, sought and received the Republican nomination to challenge Hanabusa again. He defeated C. Kaui Amsterdam and John Giuffre in the Republican primary.

Candidates

=Nominee

= *

, former U.S. Representative

=Eliminated in primary

= *C. Kaui Amsterdam *John Giuffre

Primary results

General election

Endorsements

Results

District 2

Democrat

Mazie Hirono Mazie Keiko Hirono (; Japanese name: , ; born November 3, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Hawaii since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Hirono previously served as a member of the ...

, who has represented the 2nd district since 2007, announced in May 2011 that she would run for the U.S. Senate rather than for re-election to the House.

Democratic primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= *

Tulsi Gabbard Tulsi Gabbard (; born April 12, 1981) is an American politician, United States Army Reserve officer and political commentator who served as the U.S. representative for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district from 2013 to 2021. Gabbard was the firs ...

Honolulu City Council Honolulu City Council is the legislature of the City and County of Honolulu, the capital and largest city in Hawai'i, the fiftieth state in the United States. The City and County of Honolulu is a municipal corporation that manages government asp ...

member

=Eliminated in primary

= * Rafael "Del" del Castillo, attorney and patients' rights advocate *

Mufi Hannemann Muliufi Francis Hannemann (born July 16, 1954) is an American politician, businessman, and non-profit executive. He was elected twice as Mayor of Honolulu in 2004 and 2008. Hannemann has served as a special assistant in Washington, D.C., with t ...

, former Mayor of Honolulu * Esther Kia'aina, chief advocate for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs * Bob Marx, attorney * Miles Shiratori, financial advisor

=Declined

= * Tammy Duckworth, Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs in the

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...

and an unsuccessful candidate for the House of Representatives in Illinois in

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* Josh Green,

state senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

* Clayton Hee,

Gary Hooser Gary L. Hooser (born January 19, 1954) is an American politician who served as a member of the Hawaii State Senate representing Kauaʻi and Niʻihau from 2002 to 2010. He also served on the Kauai County Council for four years before becoming a Se ...

, director of the state Office of Environmental Quality Control and former

, incumbent U.S. Representative

Campaign

Hannemann and Gabbard differed on the issue of same-sex marriage. Gabbard was opposed to the Defense of Marriage Act and to a proposed Hawaii state constitutional amendment that would define marriage as between a woman and a man, while Hannemann supported DOMA. Gabbard had previously opposed same-sex marriage, but during the primary campaign, promised to work to repeal DOMA and co-sponsor the Respect for Marriage act. Voters initially doubted the sincerity of her new views on the issue. Gabbard filed a 270-page complaint against Hannemann's spending, saying that his campaign broke campaign finance laws by failing to report 2012 travel and polling expenses and improperly dealt with Hanneman's salary from a tourism association. Candidates Marx, Gabbard, and Kia'aina debated on June 5, and Marx, Gabbard, Kia'aina and Hannemann debated in early July. Gabbard's ratings in the polls increased steadily and Hannemann's dropped throughout the primary campaign,; as of August 6, she was leading against Hanneman 49% to 29%.

Endorsements

Gabbard received endorsements from the

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...

, Women Under Forty PAC,

Emily's List EMILY's List is an American political action committee (PAC) that aims to help elect Democratic female candidates in favor of abortion rights to office. It was founded by Ellen Malcolm in 1985. The group's name is an acronym for "Early Money ...

VoteVets VoteVets.org is a political action committee (PAC) and 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization in the United States. The organization prioritizes American defense, national security, and veterans advocacy. It was co-founded in 2006 by Jon Soltz and J ...

and MauiTime.

Primary results

On August 11, Gabbard defeated Hanneman by twenty points. The '' Honolulu Star-Advertiser'' described her win as the "improbable rise from a distant underdog to victory". Gabbard credited grassroots support as the reason for her come-from-behind win in the primary.

Aftermath

Gabbard decided to resign her seat on the City Council, stating that she wanted to prevent the cost of a separate special election, and resigned on August 16.

Republican primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= *

Kawika Crowley David P. "Kawika" Crowley (1952 – January 4, 2023) was a Hawaiian politician who was the Republican nominee for the United States House of Representatives from Hawaii's 2nd congressional district in the November 2012 election. A colorful and o ...

, handyman

=Eliminated in primary

= * Matthew DiGeronimo, entrepreneur, motivational and business speaker, radio talk show host and former

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

officer

=Declined

= *

Duke Aiona James R. "Duke" Aiona Jr. (born June 8, 1955) is an American politician and jurist who served as the tenth lieutenant governor of Hawaii under Linda Lingle from 2002 to 2010. A Republican, he also served both as an attorney and a judge for the sta ...

, former

Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii The lieutenant governor of Hawaii ( haw, Hope kiaʻāina o Hawaiʻi) is the assistant chief executive of the U.S. state of Hawaii and its various agencies and departments, as provided in the Article V, Sections 2 though 6 of the Constitution of H ...

*Jonah Kaauwai, the former chairman of the Hawaii Republican Party,

Primary results

General election

Endorsements

Results

References

External links

State of Hawaii, Office of Elections
official site
Primary election resultsUnited States House of Representatives elections in Hawaii, 2012
at

Ballotpedia Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...

Hawaii U.S. House
at OurCampaigns.com
Campaign contributions for U.S. Congressional races in Hawaii
at

OpenSecrets OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP). ...

Outside spending
at the

Sunlight Foundation The Sunlight Foundation was an American 501(c)(3) nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that advocated for open government. The organization was founded in April 2006 with the goal of increasing transparency and accountability in the United States ...

{{2012 United States elections

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

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United StatesHouse of Representatives