The 2002 Hawaii gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002, to select the governor of Hawaii. Incumbent Democratic Governor of Hawaii Ben Cayetano was term-limited and therefore could not run for re-election. Former Maui Mayor Linda Lingle, who had narrowly lost the 1998 election, was nominated once again by the Republicans while Lieutenant Governor Mazie Hirono earned the Democratic nomination in a tight race. Lingle and Hirono duked it out in a hard-fought campaign, with Hirono's campaign crippled by allegations of corruption within the Hawaii Democratic Party and many voters desiring a change. The influence of migrants from the mainland as well as the decease in party loyalty of ethnic groups led more voters towards Lingle. Ultimately Lingle defeated Hirono in a close election, making her the first Republican governor of Hawaii elected since 1959 and the state's first-ever female governor. She was the first white person to be elected governor of the state since 1970. Lingle and Hirono faced off again in Hawaii's 2012 U.S. Senate election; Hirono won that race and thus became the first female U.S. senator in Hawaii history.
Democratic primary.
Candidates.
Mazie Hirono was Hawai'i's lieutenant governor from 1994 to 2002 under Ben Cayetano. Cayetano had loss democratic support due to links to a bad economy and bad relationships with labor groups. Hirono had to separate her image from Cayetano. She originally was not in the race for governor, but the race for mayor. Mayor Jeremy Harris was highly expected to win the Democratic gubernatorial primary but didn't run. Hirono then switched to the gubernatorial race, but with a late start she didn't have much time to campaign and raise money.
Ed Case was focused on statewide campaigns to win the primary. He was a fresh face in the election. However, he didn't have full support of Native Hawaiians due to a bill he introduced that would combine the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.
Andy D.G. Anderson had run for governor before. He was a Republican turned Democrat but also a Native Hawaiian. He effectively took points away from both Hirono and Case.
Results.
Hirono beat Case by less than 2% of the votes. However, the Case campaign was ruled a success due to the amount of voters he was able to take from a known Democratic face.
Results.
! scope="col" colspan="2" style="width: 130px"|Party
! scope="col" style="width: 17em"|Candidate
! scope="col" style="width: 5em"|Votes
! scope="col" style="width: 3.5em"|%
! scope="col" style="width: 3.5em"| ;templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" / ;±%
! colspan="3" style="text-align: right; margin-right: 0.5em" | Majority
! colspan="3" style="text-align: right; margin-right: 0.5em" scope=row | Turnout
! style="text-align:right;" | Swing
References.
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External links.
Official campaign websites (Archived)