The 2014 Northern Mariana Islands general election were held on Tuesday, 4 November, 2014. The election coincided with the 2014 United States midterm elections. Voters in the Northern Mariana Islands voted for the Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands, the non-voting delegate to the United States House of Representatives, attorney general, 6 seats in the Northern Mariana Islands Senate, all twenty seats in the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives, 4 mayors, seats for the municipal council, and seats for the board of education. Additionally, a referendum involving changes to the constitution was held.[1]
2014 Northern Mariana Islands general election
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Gubernatorial election |
| ← 2009 | 4 November 2014 (first round)
21 November 2014 (runoff) | 2018 → |
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Results by voting district:
Eloy Inos: 50–55% 55–60% 60–65% 65–70% >95%
Heinz Hofschneider: 50–55% |
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Delegate election |
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Results by voting district:
Gregorio Sablan: 50–55% 55–60% 60–65% 65–70% 80–85%
Andrew Salas: 60–65% |
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Senate election |
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6 of the 9 seats in the Senate
5 seats needed for a majority |
| This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. |
House election |
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All 20 seats in the House of Representatives
11 seats needed for a majority |
| This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. |
Mayoral elections |
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4 Mayors |
| This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. |
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Incumbent Republican Governor Eloy Inos was re-elected, facing two independent challengers and one Democratic challenger. The next lieutenant governor was elected on the same ticket, with incumbent Jude Hofschneider not running for re-election. As no candidate got a majority, a runoff was held on 21 November, 2014.[2] This election was the first time since 2001 that the Covenant Party, which dissolved in 2013, was not on the ballot. It also marked the first time since 1999 that only two political parties would compete in the elections, marking a return to a two-party system similar to that of the United States rather than the multi-party system, which began back in 1999 when the now dissolved Reform Party was first formed and went on to win a stunning victory by managing to elect Senator Ramon Deleon Guerrero to the senate,[3] that had defined the CNMI for nearly 15 years. The Democratic Party would not win a single seat in the legislature until 2020 and would not compete for the governorship until 2022.
Background edit
The previous election was held in 2009 for a 5-year term,[4] in order to move all elections to even years. Covenant Party candidate Benigno Repeki Fitial was re-elected; his running mate Eloy Inos was elected to his first full term as lieutenant governor. Fitial resigned as governor in February 2013 in the face of impeachment hearings.[5] Inos thus became governor. In September 2013, he took steps to merge the Covenant Party with the territorial Republican Party, and ran for re-election as a Republican.[6]
Gubernatorial election edit
Eloy Inos, the incumbent republican governor was re-elected.[2] He was challenged by the speaker of the house and 2009 candidate, Heinz Sablan Hofschneider, former governor Juan Babauta (both running as independents), and democratic candidate Edward Masga Deleon Guerrero, former ports authority executive director.[7]
Candidates edit
- Juan Babauta, former Governor (2002–2006), running as an independent[8]
- Running mate: Juan Torres, former senator
- Edward "Tofila" Masga Deleon Guerrero, former Ports Authority executive director, running as a Democrat[9]
- Running mate: Danny Quitugua, former representative
- Heinz Sablan Hofschneider, 2009 candidate and Speaker of the House, running as an independent[8]
- Running mate: Ray Naraja Yumul, senator (I-Saipan)
- Eloy Songao Inos, incumbent governor, running as a Republican[6]
Results edit
Delegate to the US House of Representatives edit
Incumbent Delegate Gregorio Sablan was re-elected. He caucuses with the Democratic Party, but ran as an Independent. Sablan was challenged by democrat Andrew Salas, a former territorial representative and Commerce Secretary.[2] While not quite as massive as his 2012 victory, Sablan managed to win yet another landslide with nearly two-thirds of the vote over his Democratic competitor.[10]
Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth Legislature edit
Mayors edit
All four mayoral posts were up for election across the Commonwealth.
On June 2, 2014, incumbent Saipan Mayor Donald Flores, then in his second term, died in office following a stroke.[12] Governor Eloy Inos appointed Marian Deleon Guerrero Tudela as acting Mayor of Saipan on June 3, 2014, to serve for the remainder of Flores' unexpired term, which would end in January 2015.[13][12] Ramon B. Camacho, the chairman of the Saipan and Northern Islands Municipal Council, served as acting mayor until Tudela could return from Arizona to take the oath of office.[13][14] Tudela had been living in Arizona at the time of her appointment in order to take care of her great-granddaughter.[14] Inos cited her second place finish in the 2009 mayoral election as a reason for her appointment.[12] She promised to retain all of Flores' existing staff during her term.[12] Marian Tudela was sworn into office on June 8, 2014, by Governor Eloy Inos during a ceremony at the Coral Ocean Point Resort.[14] She became the first female mayor of Saipan, as well as the first female mayor of any municipality in the Northern Mariana Islands in history.[14][15] Tudela declined to run for a full term.
Attorney General edit
This was the first election in which the Attorney General was an elected position.[16] Edward Manibusan, the former presiding judge of the Superior Court, defeated attorney Michael N. Evangelista handily. Manibusan won all but Tanapag and Rota in the general election.[17]
Municipal Council edit
Board of Education edit
Referendum edit
The general elections included three referendum questions, two of which involved legislative initiative amendments to the constitution. The constitutional amendments were to:
- article XV, subsection 1(e) of the constitution to increase the minimum proportion of the Commonwealth general-revenue budget spent on primary and secondary education from 15% to 25%. H.L.I. 18-12.[18]
- amend article XII, section 4 to redefine "persons of Northern Mariana Islands descent" as being someone who has "some degree of Northern Mariana Chamorro or Northern Mariana Carolinan blood", as opposed to the current requirement of at least 25% bloodline. H.L.I. 18-1.[1]
An amendment proposed by legislative initiative shall become effective if approved by a majority of the votes cast. N.M.I. Const. art. XVIII, § 5(b).
The other referendum asked voters whether a Constitutional Convention should be convened to propose amendments to the constitution. H.B. 18-5.[1]
The Constitutional Convention proposal would have required two-thirds of the votes cast to be approved. N.M.I. Const. art. XVIII, § 2(c).
| Referendum Questions[2] | For | Against |
| Votes | % | Votes | % |
| Calling a Constitutional Convention (required two-thirds of votes cast) | 7,859 | 66.01% | 4,046 | 33.99% |
| Constitutional amendment on education spending (required majority of votes cast) | 8,082 | 66.56% | 4,060 | 33.44% |
| Constitutional amendment on the definition of descent (required majority of votes cast) | 6,177 | 52.34% | 5,624 | 47.66% |
Notes edit
- ^ Ray Naraja Yumul resigned to run with Juan Nekai Babauta as his lieutenant governor in the 2014 Northern Mariana Islands general election. This seat was filled in a special election that coincides with the 2014 general election.
- ^ Ramon Muna Dela Cruz switched his affiliation from Republican to Independent before the elections
References edit
- ^ a b c . Archived from the original on October 22, 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa . Archived from the original on November 30, 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Analysis: What went wrong , what went right". Saipan Tribune. 1999-11-08. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
- ^ Eugenio, Haidee V. (2009-11-23). . Saipan Tribune. Archived from the original on 2012-01-12.
- ^ Erediano, Emmanuel T (20 February 2013). . Marianas Variety. Archived from the original on 24 February 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
- ^ a b Eugenio, Haidee (September 19, 2013). . Saipan Tribune. Archived from the original on April 8, 2014.
- ^ Eugenio, Haidee (March 14, 2014). . Saipan Tribune. Archived from the original on 8 April 2014. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
- ^ a b Eugenio, Haidee (April 8, 2014). "Independent bid for Babauta, Torres". Saipan Tribune. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
- ^ Eugenio, Haidee V. (March 14, 2014). . Saipan Tribune. Archived from the original on September 7, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
- ^ Rabago, Mark (2014-11-06). "Kilili wins 4th term in another landslide". Saipan Tribune. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
- ^ Eugenio, Haidee (October 2014). "CNMI heads for 3 elections in November". Islands Business. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
- ^ a b c d Camacho, Jayson (2014-06-11). "Hundreds attend funeral of late mayor Donald Flores". Saipan Tribune. from the original on 2022-01-20. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
- ^ a b "Tudela named Saipan mayor". Office of the Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands. Saipan Tribune. 2014-06-04. from the original on 2015-04-06. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
- ^ a b c d Rabago, Mark (2014-06-09). "Saipan's First Female Mayor: Marian Tudela sworn in". Saipan Tribune. from the original on 2017-12-20. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
- ^ "Saipan's First Female Mayor, Marian Tudela, Sworn Into Office". Pacific News Center. 2014-06-08. from the original on 2021-03-07. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
- ^ Eugenio, Haidee (August 5, 2014). . Saipan Tribune. Archived from the original on January 17, 2017. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
- ^ De La Torre, Ferdie (November 6, 2014). . Saipan Tribune. Archived from the original on September 25, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
- ^ House Legislative Initiative 18-12 Vote CNMI
External links edit
- Juan Babauta
- Gregorio Sablan
- Andrew Salas
