The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Hawaii were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 to elect the two U.S. representatives 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 elections were held on August 11, 2012.

Overview

District 1

Democrat

Colleen Hanabusa Colleen Wakako Hanabusa ( ja, 花房若子; born May 4, 1951) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2015 and again from 2016 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she ran for her party ...

, who was first elected to represent the 1st district in 2010, ran for re-election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= *

, incumbent U.S. Representative

=Eliminated in primary

= *Roy Wyttenbach II

Primary results

Republican primary

Former U.S. Representative Charles Djou, 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

= * Charles Djou, 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 t ...

, 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 fi ...

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 The mayor of Honolulu is the chief executive officer of the City and County of Honolulu. An office established in 1900 and modified in 1907, the mayor of Honolulu is elected by universal suffrage of residents of Honolulu to no more than two four ...

* Esther Kia'aina, chief advocate for the

Office of Hawaiian Affairs The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) is a self-governing corporate body of the State of Hawaii created by the 1978 Hawaii State Constitutional Convention. Background In 1893, pro-American elements in Hawaii overthrew the monarchy and formed the ...

* Bob Marx, attorney * Miles Shiratori, financial advisor

=Declined

= *

Tammy Duckworth Ladda Tammy Duckworth (born March 12, 1968) is an American politician and retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel serving as the junior United States senator from Illinois since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she represented ...

, 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 2006 * Josh Green, state senator *

Clayton Hee Clayton H. W. Hee was a Democratic Party member of the Hawaii Senate, representing the 23rd District from 2004 to 2014 and 1984 to 1988. Hee served as chairman of the state Senate's Judiciary and Labor Committee. Personal life and education ...

, state senator * Gary Hooser, director of the state Office of Environmental Quality Control and former state senator *

, 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 The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was a United States federal law passed by the 104th United States Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. It banned federal recognition of same-sex marriage by limiting the definition of marr ...

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, 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 and MauiTime.

Primary results

On August 11, Gabbard defeated Hanneman by twenty points. The ''

Honolulu Star-Advertiser The ''Honolulu Star-Advertiser'' is the largest daily newspaper in Hawaii, formed in 2010 with the merger of ''The Honolulu Advertiser'' and the ''Honolulu Star-Bulletin'' after the acquisition of the former by Black Press, which already owned the ...

'' 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 ...

, 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 and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

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 The Hawaii Republican Party ( haw, ʻAoʻao Lepupalika o Hawaiʻi) is the affiliate of the Republican Party (GOP) in Hawaii, headquartered in Honolulu. The party was initially strong during Hawaii's territorial days, but following statehood the ...

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
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 {{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 state ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

United StatesHouse of Representatives