Sen. Brian Schatz holds on to win Hawaii Democratic primary, after final votes are cast
Sen. Brian Schatz has emerged Friday night as the apparent winner in a hotly contested Democratic Senate primary in Hawaii where he had once been regarded as seriously vulnerable, maintaining the lead that he first gained in last Saturday's primary night against a major challenge from Rep. Colleen Hanabusa.
The final voting in two precincts, located in the Puna District on the Big Island, were delayed because of damage from Tropical Storm Iselle. And in another complication, it also emerged tonight that 800 previously uncounted absentee ballots were discovered from Maui, and would be included in the new results.
After last Saturday night, Schatz led by 1,635 votes out of a total of about 230,000 cast. Thus, going into tonight's voting Hanabusa needed to win the new ballots by an overwhelming margin. But as of Friday night, Schatz has actually increased his lead by 134 votes, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports, for a total lead of 1,769.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
On Friday night, Hanabusa told Honolulu-based Civil Beat that she might still challenge the election results, based on voter access issues caused by the storm. She had actually gone to court, seeking to further delay the votes in Puna, on the grounds that the area was still too damaged to proceed — but her effort was denied by a judge on Thursday.
Schatz was appointed to the Senate in December 2012, after having previously served as lieutenant governor, following the death of longtime Sen. Daniel Inouye, a World War II veteran and virtual political institution in the state. By appointing Schatz, however, Gov. Neil Abercrombie defied a request by Inouye himself, in a deathbed letter, asking Abercrombie to appoint Hanabusa to succeed him. These circumstances make Schatz's apparent victory all the more impressive — especially since his former running mate and the man who appointed him, Gov. Neil Abercrombie, lost his own Democratic renomination on Saturday by a landslide margin, due to his personal unpopularity on a host of local issues.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
5 artfully drawn cartoons about Donald Trump's Epstein doodle
Cartoons Artists take on a mountainous legacy, creepy art, and more
-
Violent videos of Charlie Kirk’s death are renewing debate over online censorship
Talking Points Social media ‘promises unfiltered access, but without guarantees of truth and without protection from harm’
-
What led to Poland invoking NATO’s Article 4 and where could it lead?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION After a Russian drone blitz, Warsaw’s rare move to invoke the important NATO statute has potentially moved Europe closer to continent-wide warfare
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to Trump
Speed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raids
Speed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mount
Speed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants