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.
-
The best music tours to book in 2026The Week Recommends Must-see live shows to catch this year from Lily Allen to Florence + The Machine
-
Gisèle Pelicot’s ‘extraordinarily courageous’ memoir is a ‘compelling’ readIn the Spotlight A Hymn to Life is a ‘riveting’ account of Pelicot’s ordeal and a ‘rousing feminist manifesto’
-
The EU’s war on fast fashionIn the Spotlight Bloc launches investigation into Shein over sale of weapons and ‘childlike’ sex dolls, alongside efforts to tax e-commerce giants and combat textile waste
-
Judge orders Washington slavery exhibit restoredSpeed Read The Trump administration took down displays about slavery at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia
-
Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
-
Bondi, Democrats clash over Epstein in hearingSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi ignored survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump
-
El Paso airspace closure tied to FAA-Pentagon standoffSpeed Read The closure in the Texas border city stemmed from disagreements between the Federal Aviation Administration and Pentagon officials over drone-related tests
-
Judge blocks Trump suit for Michigan voter rollsSpeed Read A Trump-appointed federal judge rejected the administration’s demand for voters’ personal data
