General elections were held in

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internationa ...

on 4 November 2008 to elect a governor, members of the House of Representative, and a delegate to the

United States House of 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 ...

, as well as a referendum on a legislative override of the governor's veto. The elections were held as part of the wider 2008 United States general election. In the gubernatorial election no candidate received more than 50% of the vote in the first round, resulting in a runoff election between the top two candidates on 18 November, which was won by the incumbent governor

Togiola Tulafono Togiola Talalelei A. Tulafono (born February 28, 1947) is an American Samoan politician and lawyer who served as the 6th Governor of American Samoa. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He had previously served as lieutenant governor, taking t ...

. Incumbent U.S. House delegate

Eni Faleomavaega Eni Fa'aua'a Hunkin Faleomavaega Jr. (; August 15, 1943 – February 22, 2017) was an American Samoan politician and attorney who served as the territory's lieutenant governor (1985-1989) and non-voting delegate to the United States House of Repr ...

, who affiliates with the Democratic Party was also re-elected.

Gubernatorial election

Background

Governor

and Lieutenant Governor Ipulasi Aitofele Sunia announced their intent to seek re-election on 10 May 2008. Their formal announcement, which Tulafono called "the worst kept secret of this season," took place before a crowd of approximately three hundred supporters at the Tradewinds Hotel in

Tafuna Tafuna ( sm, Tāfuna) is a village on the east coast of Tutuila Island, American Samoa. It is home to Pago Pago International Airport (Tafuna Airport). It is one mile south of Nu'uuli, American Samoa. The Ottoville district is a part of Tafuna. Ne ...

Afoa Moega Lutu Afoafouvale Leulumoegafou Suesue Lutu (born February 24, 1947) is an American Samoan politician and attorney. Lutu has served as the former attorney general of American Samoa in two different administrations. He is also a former senator from the d ...

formally announced his own candidacy for Governor of American Samoa at a campaign rally at the same Tradewinds Hotel on 17 May. The rally consisted of about seven hundred Lutu supporters. Lutu promised to tackle a number of issues if elected governor, including corruption, rising food and energy prices and the

economy An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...

. Utu Abe Malae and his running mate, Nua Mailo Saoluaga, formally announced their candidacy on 10 June at a gathering at the Maliu Mai Beach Resort in

Pago Pago Pago Pago ( ; Samoan: )Harris, Ann G. and Esther Tuttle (2004). ''Geology of National Parks''. Kendall Hunt. Page 604. . is the territorial capital of American Samoa. It is in Maoputasi County on Tutuila, which is American Samoa's main island. ...

. This is not the first time that Tulafono and Lutu faced each other in a

gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

election. Tulafono defeated Lutu in the 2004 gubernatorial runoff election with 56 percent of the total vote to Lutu's 44 percent. Lutu also fell short in his bids for Lieutenant Governor of American Samoa in the 1996 and 2000 elections, losing both times to Tulafono. The President of the

American Samoa Senate The American Samoa Senate is the upper house of the American Samoa Fono. The Senate, like the lower House of Representatives, is a nonpartisan body. It is composed of 18 senators, serving a four-year term. History American Samoa became a Unit ...

, Lolo Moliga, also originally announced his intention to run for governor as well. However, Lolo withdrew from the race on 13 June, just two months into his campaign, citing existing commitments to his extended family clan. He also noted the need to prevent divisiveness within the families of the Manu'a islands, where many of the gubernatorial and Lt. governor candidates have ancestral ties. Four of the 2008 candidates for governor or lieutenant governor in the 2008 election either were from or had ancestral ties to the Manu'a Islands. Those with Manu'a ancestry are incumbent Lt. Governor Ipulasi Aitofele Sunia, lieutenant governor candidate Velega Savali, and both members of the gubernatorial team of Utu Abe Malae and his running mate, Nua Mailo Saoluaga. The

deadline Deadline(s) or The Deadline(s) may refer to: * Time limit, a narrow field of time by which an objective must be accomplished Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Deadline (DC Comics), a fictional villain * ''Deadline'' (magazine), a British ...

to register as a candidate for governor in the current election was 1 September at 16:30. An official list of the four teams was released by the election office the following day.

Candidates

– Incumbent Governor of American Samoa, affiliated with the Democratic Party **

Running mate A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate running with a pr ...

: Ipulasi Aitofele Sunia, Incumbent Lieutenant Governor of American Samoa *

– Former Attorney General of American Samoa, candidate for governor in 2004, affiliated with the Republican Party **Running mate: Velega Savali, former American Samoan

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury ...

(2005–2008) * Utu Abe Malae – Former President of the Development Bank of American Samoa, affiliated with the Republican Party **Running mate: Nua Mailo Saoluaga, former

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

of the American Samoa House of Representatives (1997–2002) *

Tuika Tuika Tuika Tuika is an American Samoan politician and former member of the American Samoa Fono. Tuika has worked as an accountant in the Territorial Audit Office and Tax office, as a teacher at the American Samoa Community College, and as a political s ...

– Accountant, affiliated with the Republican Party **Running mate:

Tee Masaniai Te’e Masaniai Jr. is an American Samoan politician and United States military retiree, Vietnam War veteran and Purple Heart recipient. Masaniai was a candidate for Lieutenant Governor of American Samoa in the 2008 gubernatorial election, as the ...

United States military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is th ...

retiree All elections in American Samoa are officially non-partisan, but Tulafono and Sunia identify with the Democratic Party.

House of Representatives

There were 54 candidates vying for the 20 elected seats in the American Samoa House of Representatives. All seats in the House are up for election in 2008. Every incumbent member of the House sought re-election, except for Gaoteote P. Gaoteote who is retiring. The only member who ran unopposed was Rep. Agaoleatu Charlie Tautolo.

U.S. House of Representatives

Ten term incumbent

Delegate Delegate or delegates may refer to: * Delegate, New South Wales, a town in Australia * Delegate (CLI), a computer programming technique * Delegate (American politics), a representative in any of various political organizations * Delegate (Unit ...

, a Democrat, sought an 11th term. He was challenged by

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Aumua Amata Coleman and Independent Rosie F. Tago Lancaster.

Referendum

A referendum to allow the legislative override of the

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...

es was also on the

ballot A ballot is a device used to cast votes in an election and may be found as a piece of paper or a small ball used in secret voting. It was originally a small ball (see blackballing) used to record decisions made by voters in Italy around the 16 ...

. The

American Samoa Fono The American Samoa Fono is the territorial legislature of American Samoa. Like most states and territorial legislatures of the United States, it is a bicameral legislature with a House of Representatives and a Senate. The legislature is lo ...

passed the proposal giving itself the authority to override a veto by the Governor of American Samoa. The proposal was then submitted to the Governor's office to be forwarded to the American Samoa election office as a referendum. The referendum will ask voters to agree to amend the

Constitution of American Samoa The Constitution of American Samoa is the constitution that defines the government of American Samoa. Unlike constitutions of a state, it is subject to unilateral change by the federal government. Constitutional documents of the territory include th ...

to give the Fono, rather than the

United States Secretary of the Interior The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natur ...

, the power to override a veto by the Governor. Currently, a veto can only be overridden by the

, who is based in

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

Any veto powers bestowed on the Fono would require a two-thirds majority in both the American Samoa House of Representatives and the

before becoming law.

Results

Governor

U.S. House of Representatives

Referendum

The legislative over-ride proposal was defeated narrowly in the referendum, thereby maintaining the veto powers to the United States Secretary of the Interior.

References

External links

American Samoa Election Office
{{2008 U.S. elections Referendums in American Samoa 2008 ballot measures Elections in American Samoa

2008 in American politics American Samoa gubernatorial elections

United States House of Representatives elections in American Samoa Non-partisan elections