Jill Tokuda led Brenton Awa 67.2% to 27.2% in early results for Hawaiʻi’s 2nd Congressional District on Tuesday. The numbers came from the Hawaiʻi Office of Elections and included all mail-in ballots processed statewide through Saturday plus ballots from some voter centers on Maui and Oʻahu.
Tokuda’s wider margin
The result put Tokuda well ahead in a race that drew attention because Awa used social media to raise his profile and served as Senate minority leader. Tokuda was running for reelection, and the early tally pointed to a result that was not close once the first statewide count was in.
Awa had said he would serve only a single two-year term if elected. He also said housing Native Hawaiians would be his top priority, and he would have been just the third Native Hawaiian to represent the islands in Congress since statehood if he had won.
Money and campaign contrast
The two campaigns entered Election Day with different levels of spending. Tokuda’s campaign spent about $1 million during the election cycle, while Awa’s campaign spent about $120,000.
Both candidates made affordability a centerpiece of their campaigns. Tokuda leaned on her record of congressional work, including her response to natural disasters and her efforts to pass legislation that reduces the tax burden on disaster survivors, including victims of the 2023 Maui wildfires.
House and Senate
The race carried added weight because Democrats had already won 219 seats in the House and 53 in the Senate after the polls closed in Hawaiʻi, putting control of both chambers beyond reach for the other side. That left the district’s result to shape who would represent Hawaiʻi’s 2nd Congressional District during President Donald Trump’s final two years in office.
For voters in the district, the contest now turns on the final count behind an early lead that was wide from the start. Awa entered the race with attention and title, but the early results showed Tokuda had already opened enough space to make the outcome look settled before every ballot was in.
