An election was held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016, to elect the non-voting

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 (United ...

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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from

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 International ...

's at-large congressional district. The election coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including the larger American Samoa general election, as well as the nationwide

2016 United States House of Representatives elections The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections were held on November 8, 2016, to elect representatives for all 435 congressional districts across each of the 50 U.S. states. Non-voting members for the District of Columbia and Territori ...

and the 2016 United States general elections. Incumbent

Amata Coleman Radewagen Amata Catherine Coleman Radewagen (born December 29, 1947), commonly called Aumua Amata , is an American Samoan politician who is the current delegate for the United States House of Representatives from American Samoa. Radewagen, a Republican, w ...

, a

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 ...

who had held the seat since 2015, successfully sought re-election to a second term. Aumua Amata won re-election with 75.4% of votes cast, the highest number of votes for any elective office in the history of American Samoa.

Background

In November 2014, Radewagen defeated 10-term incumbent Democratic Rep.

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 ...

in a crowded race for the seat.

Candidates

Five candidates filed to run for election to American Samoa's lone seat in the United States House of Representatives: three women and two men. All elections in American Samoa were officially

non-partisan Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party. While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers sp ...

, though candidates have identified with a particular

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

Democratic

*Vaitinasa Dr.

Salu Hunkin-Finau Salu Hunkin-Finau (born ?) is an American Samoan educator, politician, and academic administrator. She is the former president of American Samoa Community College. In February 2012, Hunkin announced her candidacy for Governor of American Samoa in th ...

, educator, former President of

American Samoa Community College American Samoa Community College (ASCC) is a public land-grant community college in the village of Mapusaga, American Samoa. Only legal residents of American Samoa who have graduated from high school or obtained a General Equivalency Diploma ...

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 gather ...

candidate for

Governor of American Samoa This is a list of governors, etc. of the part of the Samoan Islands (now comprising American Samoa) under United States administration since 1900. From 1900 to 1978 governors were appointed by the Federal government of the United States. Since ...

, sister of former Delegate

. *Paepaetele Mapu Saei Jamias, retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel, President of the American Samoa National Olympic Committee *Meleagi Suitonu-Chapman, retired U.S. federal government employee

Republican

, 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 (United ...

for the

Independents

*Tim Jones, engineer and 2012 candidate for

Withdrew

*Tua'au Kereti Mata'utia, withdrew from race on in July 2016

Campaign

A congressional campaign forum, attended by all five candidates, was held at

(ASCC) on October 6, 2016.

Results

The general election took place on November 8, 2016, and Radewagen won with over 75% of the vote, according to official results.

References

External links

American Samoa Election Office: Official Certification of Candidate for the November 8, 2016, General Election
{{2016 United States elections 2016 American Samoa elections

Non-partisan elections

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...