2012 United States Senate election in Hawaii

Not to be confused with 2012 Hawaii State Senate election.

The 2012 United States Senate election in Hawaii took place on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the 2012 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate and House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic senator Daniel Akaka decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth full term. Democrat Mazie Hirono defeated Republican Linda Lingle in a rematch of Hawaii’s 2002 gubernatorial election. This was the first open Senate seat in the state of Hawaii since 1976.

2012 United States Senate election in Hawaii

← 2006 November 6, 2012 2018 →
Turnout	44.2% (voting eligible)^[1]
Nominee Mazie Hirono Linda Lingle Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 269,489 160,994 Percentage 62.60% 37.40%
County results Hirono:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
U.S. senator before election Daniel Akaka Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono Democratic

Background

U.S. Representative Daniel Akaka was appointed by Governor John Waihee to the U.S. Senate to serve temporarily after the death of U.S. Senator Spark Matsunaga, and sworn into office on May 16, 1990. On November 6 of the same year, he was elected to complete the remaining four years of Matsunaga's unexpired term. He was re-elected in 1994 for a first full six-year term and again in 2000 and 2006. Despite originally saying he would seek re-election in 2012,^[2] on March 2, 2011, Akaka announced that he would not run for re-election.^[3]

Democratic primary

The primary election was held on August 11.^[4] After being locked in a tight race with Ed Case, her predecessor in Congress, incumbent Congresswoman Mazie Hirono pulled away in the final vote, handily defeating Case.

Candidates

• Ed Case, former U.S. Representative^[5]
• Michael Gillespie
• Antonio Gimbernat
• Mazie Hirono, U.S. Representative^[6]
• Arturo Reyes

Withdrew

• Daniel Akaka, incumbent U.S. Senator^[3]

Declined

• Tammy Duckworth, Assistant Secretary of Public/Intergovernmental Affairs (ran for Congress in Illinois)^[7]
• Colleen Hanabusa, U.S. Representative^[8][9][10]
• Mufi Hannemann, former Mayor of Honolulu (ran for Congress)^[11]

Campaign

In December 2011, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairwoman and U.S. Senator Patty Murray for Washington endorsed Hirono.^[12] U.S. Senator and President Pro Tempore Daniel Inouye for Hawaii also endorsed her. Case criticized "D.C. insiders." He also argued that he is a fiscal moderate, while Hirono was rated the 6th most liberal member of the U.S. House.^[13][14] The Daily Kos blog described Ed Case a "Democratic villain."^[15]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Ed Case	Mazie Hirono	Undecided
Public Policy Polling	October 13–16, 2011	368	±5.1%	40%	45%	15%
Civil Beat Poll	January 18–19, 2012	1,358	±2.7%	41%	39%	20%
Honolulu Star-Advertiser	January 26 – February 5, 2012	599	±4.0%	36%	56%	8%
Civil Beat Poll	June 5–7, 2012	731	±3.6%	46%	46%	8%
Honolulu Star-Advertiser	July 5–9, 2012	599	±4.0%	40%	43%	9%
Honolulu Star-Advertiser	July 12–21, 2012	606	±4.0%	37%	55%	8%
Civil Beat/Merriman River	July 31 – August 2, 2012	1,227	±2.8%	47%	46%	9%

Results

 

Results by county:

  Hirono—60–70%

  Hirono—50–60%

Democratic primary results^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mazie Hirono	134,745	57%
	Democratic	Ed Case	95,553	40%
		Blank Votes	3,331	1%
	Democratic	Arturo Reyes	1,720	1%
	Democratic	Michael Gillespie	1,104	1%
	Democratic	Antonio Gimbernat	517	0.2%
		Over Votes	110	0%
Total votes			237,080	100%

Republican primary

The primary election was held on August 11.

Candidates

• John Carroll, former state senator, former state representative and perennial candidate^[17]
• Charles Collins^[18]
• Linda Lingle, former governor^[19]
• Eddie Pirkowski, businessman and perennial candidate^[20]
• John Roco

Declined

• Duke Aiona, former lieutenant governor^[21]
• Charles Djou, former U.S. representative (running for U.S. House)^[22][23]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	John Carroll	Linda Lingle	Undecided
Public Policy Polling	October 13–16, 2011	293	±5.7%	9%	85%	6%

Results

Republican primary results^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Linda Lingle	44,252	90%
	Republican	John Carroll	2,900	6%
		Blank Votes	749	2%
	Republican	John Roco	545	1%
	Republican	Charles Collins	366	1%
	Republican	Eddie Pirkowski	232	0.5%
		Over Votes	25	0.1%
Total votes			49,069	100%

General election

Candidates

• Mazie Hirono (Democratic), U.S. Representative
• Linda Lingle (Republican), former governor
• Heath Beasley (independent)^[24]

Debates

• September 6, 2012 – Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce and various other hosts^[25][26]
• October 8, 2012 – AARP Hawaii
• October 16, 2012 – Honolulu Civil Beat, Complete video of debate at C-SPAN
• October 18, 2012 – PBS Hawaii
• October 22, 2012 – Hawaii Star Advertiser^[27][28]

Fundraising

Candidate (party)	Receipts	Disbursements	Cash on hand	Debt
Mazie Hirono (D)	$5,518,572	$5,657,753	$77,323	$241,951
Linda Lingle (R)	$5,865,323	$5,839,282	$26,042	$194,534
Source: Federal Election Commission^[29]^[30]

Top contributors

Mazie Hirono	Contribution	Linda Lingle	Contribution
EMILY's List	$215,640	Goldman Sachs	$39,900
University of Hawaii	$29,900	Elliott Management Corporation	$39,500
Kobayashi, Sugita & Goda	$24,618	Humanscale Corporation	$34,000
Alexander & Baldwin	$23,100	Bank of America	$21,240
RM Towill Corp	$23,000	Richie's Specialty Pharmacy	$20,000
Weitz & Luxenberg	$22,400	Marriott International	$19,500
Council for a Livable World	$20,914	Murray Energy	$19,205
Nan, Inc.	$20,000	State of Hawaii	$18,350
Thornton & Naumes	$20,000	Devon Energy	$15,500
BNP Paribas	$17,250	Crown Associates Realty	$15,000
Source: OpenSecrets^[31]

Top industries

Mazie Hirono	Contribution	Linda Lingle	Contribution
Lawyers/Law Firms	$524,619	Retired	$640,433
Women's Issues	$336,772	Financial Institutions	$368,837
Retired	$194,307	Leadership PACs	$291,500
Leadership PACs	$186,500	Real Estate	$249,216
Real Estate	$123,598	Pro-Israel	$185,500
Transportation Unions	$110,400	Health Professionals	$154,550
Lobbyists	$109,344	Petroleum Industry	$137,950
Public Sector Unions	$108,000	Misc Finance	$137,500
Democratic/Liberal	$85,788	Lawyers/Law Firms	$135,086
Shipping Industry	$85,385	Republican/Conservative	$101,664
Source: OpenSecrets^[32]

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report^[33]	Lean D	November 1, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball^[34]	Likely D	November 5, 2012
Rothenberg Political Report^[35]	Likely D	November 2, 2012
Real Clear Politics^[36]	Likely D	November 5, 2012

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Mazie Hirono (D)	Linda Lingle (R)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling	March 24–27, 2011	898	±3.3%	52%	40%	9%
Honolulu Star-Advertiser	May 4–10, 2011	614	±4.0%	57%	35%	8%
Public Policy Polling	October 13–16, 2011	568	±4.1%	48%	42%	10%
Civil Beat/Merriman River	January 18–19, 2012	1,358	±2.7%	46%	39%	16%
Honolulu Star-Advertiser	January 26 – February 5, 2012	771	±3.5%	57%	37%	5%
	May 16–17, 2012	600	±4.0%	50%	41%	9%
Civil Beat/Merriman River	June 5–7, 2012	1,105	±2.9%	49%	44%	5%
Honolulu Star-Advertiser	July 12–21, 2012	756	±3.6%	58%	39%	4%
Civil Beat/Merriman River	September 26–28, 2012	1,684	±2.4%	55%	39%	6%
Honolulu Star-Advertiser	October 15–22, 2012	786	±3.5%	57%	35%	8%
Civil Beat/Merriman River	October 24–26, 2012	1,218	±2.8%	55%	40%	5%

Hypothetical polling

Democratic primary

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Ed Case	Colleen Hanabusa	Mufi Hannemann	Mazie Hirono	Brian Schatz	Don't Know/ Refused
Honolulu Star-Advertiser	May 4–10, 2011	403	±4.9%	26%	15%	17%	25%	6%	11%

with Duke Aiona

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Ed Case (D)	Duke Aiona (R)	Undecided/Other
Public Policy Polling	March 24–27, 2011	898	±3.3%	50%	35%	15%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Mazie Hirono (D)	Duke Aiona (R)	Undecided/Other
Public Policy Polling	March 24–27, 2011	898	±3.3%	49%	42%	10%

with Colleen Hanabusa

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Colleen Hanabusa (D)	Duke Aiona (R)	Undecided/Other
Public Policy Polling	March 24–27, 2011	898	±3.3%	48%	43%	9%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Colleen Hanabusa (D)	Charles Djou (R)	Undecided/Other
Public Policy Polling	March 24–27, 2011	898	±3.3%	50%	40%	10%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Colleen Hanabusa (D)	Linda Lingle (R)	Undecided/Other
Public Policy Polling	March 24–27, 2011	898	±3.3%	51%	40%	9%
Honolulu Star-Advertiser	May 4–10, 2011	614	±4.0%	54%	39%	7%

with Charles Djou

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Ed Case (D)	Charles Djou (R)	Undecided/Other
Public Policy Polling	March 24–27, 2011	898	±3.3%	53%	35%	12%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Mazie Hirono (D)	Charles Djou (R)	Undecided/Other
Public Policy Polling	March 24–27, 2011	898	±3.3%	51%	40%	9%

With Mufi Hannemann

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Mufi Hannemann (D)	Charles Djou (R)	Undecided/Other
Public Policy Polling	March 24–27, 2011	898	±3.3%	46%	40%	14%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Mufi Hannemann (D)	Duke Aiona (R)	Undecided/Other
Public Policy Polling	March 24–27, 2011	898	±3.3%	42%	42%	16%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Mufi Hannemann (D)	Linda Lingle (R)	Undecided/Other
Public Policy Polling	March 24–27, 2011	898	±3.3%	47%	40%	14%
Honolulu Star-Advertiser	May 4–10, 2011	614	±4.0%	51%	36%	13%

with Brian Schatz

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Brian Schatz (D)	Linda Lingle (R)	Undecided/Other
Honolulu Star-Advertiser	May 4–10, 2011	614	±4.0%	47%	43%	10%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Ed Case (D)	John Carroll (R)	Undecided/Other
Public Policy Polling	October 13–16, 2011	568	±4.1%	60%	21%	18%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Ed Case (D)	Linda Lingle (R)	Undecided/Other
Public Policy Polling	March 24–27, 2011	898	±3.3%	52%	35%	12%
Honolulu Star-Advertiser	May 4–10, 2011	614	±4.0%	54%	36%	10%
Public Policy Polling	October 13–16, 2011	568	±4.1%	43%	45%	12%
Civil Beat/Merriman River	January 18–19, 2012	1,358	±2.7%	46%	33%	20%
Honolulu Star-Advertiser	January 26 – February 5, 2012	771	±3.5%	56%	36%	8%
Civil Beat/Merriman River	June 5–7, 2012	1,105	±2.9%	52%	36%	12%
Honolulu Star-Advertiser	July 12–21, 2012	756	±3.6%	56%	38%	6%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Mazie Hirono (D)	John Carroll (R)	Undecided/Other
Public Policy Polling	October 13–16, 2011	568	±4.1%	56%	29%	15%

Endorsements

Mazie Hirono (D)

U.S. Representatives

• Don Young, U.S. Representative from Alaska's at-large congressional district (Republican; endorsed only in the primary)^[37]

Results

United States Senate election in Hawaii, 2012^[38]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Mazie Hirono	269,489	62.60%	+1.25%
	Republican	Linda Lingle	160,994	37.40%	+0.62%
Total votes			430,483	100.00%	N/A
	Democratic hold

Results by congressional district

Hirono won both congressional districts.^[39]

District	Hirono	Lingle	Representative
1st	59.94%	40.06%	Colleen Hanabusa
2nd	65.24%	34.76%	Tulsi Gabbard

See also

• 2012 United States Senate elections
• 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Hawaii

References

1. Dr. Michael McDonald (February 9, 2013). . George Mason University. Archived from the original on April 24, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
2. Mizutani, Ron (April 26, 2010). . KHON2. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved March 3, 2011.
3. DePledge, Derrick (March 2, 2011). . Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Archived from the original on March 4, 2011. Retrieved March 3, 2011.
4. . Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
5. Starkey, Melanie (April 10, 2011). "Ed Case to Mount Hawaii Senate Campaign". Roll Call. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
6. Trygstad, Kyle (May 19, 2011). "Mazie Hirono to Run for Open Senate Seat in Hawaii". Roll Call. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
7. Daranciang, Nelson (May 31, 2011). . Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Archived from the original on November 4, 2011. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
8. Catanese, David (March 3, 2011). "Hanabusa passes on Senate Bid". Politico. Retrieved August 24, 2011.
9. Blair, Chad (August 24, 2011). "No Senate Run for Hanabusa". Honolulu Civil Beat. Peer News LLC. Retrieved August 26, 2011.
10. Trygstad, Kyle (August 24, 2011). "Hanabusa Will Seek Re-Election, Not Bid for Senate". Roll Call. Retrieved August 26, 2011.
11. Joseph, Cameron (August 30, 2011). "Former Honolulu Mayor Hannemann to run for House". Ballot Box. Retrieved August 30, 2011.
12. Poll: Hirono in solid shape in Senate primary - The Hill's Ballot Box
13. Former Congressman Ed Case: If Hirono Wins U.S. Senate Democratic Primary, Former GOP Gov. Lingle Will Beat Her | Hawaii Reporter
14. Unrelenting Ed Case Says Mazie Hirono Is D.C. Insider : Roll Call Politics
15. . Archived from the original on April 26, 2012. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
16. "PRIMARY ELECTION 2012 – State of Hawaii – Statewide" (PDF). State Of Hawaii Office of Elections. Retrieved September 29, 2012.
17. "Ex-HI GOP legislator John Carroll to run for U.S. Senate". The Hawaii Independent. September 21, 2011. Retrieved September 27, 2011.
18. Bracken, Sherry (May 29, 2012). "Senate Candidate Lingle Continues to Campaign on Big Island". Archived from the original on January 21, 2013. Retrieved July 25, 2012. In the August 11 Republican primary, she will face Charles Collins of Pahoa.
19. DePledge, Derrick (October 11, 2011). "Lingle joins U.S. Senate race". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
20. "Office of Elections" (PDF).
21. . Honolulu Star-Advertiser. August 16, 2011. Archived from the original on September 25, 2011. Retrieved September 7, 2011.
22. "Djou announces run for Congress, will deploy to Afghanistan". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. August 17, 2011. Retrieved August 26, 2011.
23. Trygstad, Kyle (August 17, 2011). "Ex-Rep. Djou Announces Bid for House". Roll Call. Retrieved August 26, 2011.
24. "Hawaii – County Vote Results". Associated Press. August 12, 2012. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
25. "Hirono, Lingle square off in first Senate debate". New Vision Television – KHON2. September 6, 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
26. Sakahara, Tim (September 6, 2012). "Lingle and Hirono battle in feisty debate". Retrieved October 8, 2012.
27. "Lingle, Hirono finalize debate schedule". The Maui News. August 23, 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
28. "Lingle, Hirono finalize US Senate debate schedule". Real Clear Politics. Associated Press. August 22, 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
29. Federal Election Commission. "2012 House and Senate Campaign Finance for Hawaii HIRONO, MAZIE K". fec.gov.
30. Federal Election Commission. "2012 House and Senate Campaign Finance for Hawaii LINGLE, LINDA". fec.gov.
31. "Top Contributors 2012 Race: Hawaii Senate". OpenSecrets.
32. "Top Industries 2012 Race: Hawaii Senate". OpenSecrets.
33. "2012 Senate Race Ratings for November 1, 2012". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
34. "2012 Senate". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
35. "2012 Senate Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
36. "2012 Elections Map – Battle for the Senate 2012". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
37. "Don Young's unusual endorsement of Hawaii Democrat Mazie Hirono". Anchorage Daily News. July 25, 2012. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
38. "2012 General Election Summary Report" (PDF). State of Hawaii. November 20, 2012. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
39. "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts". Daily Kos. Retrieved August 11, 2020.

External links

• Hawaii Office of the Elections
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Outside spending at the Sunlight Foundation
• Candidate issue positions at On the Issues

Campaign sites (Archived)