Mayor Billy Kenoi’s campaign headquarters in Kona was the gathering place for his supporters Saturday evening. (Baron Sekiya | Hawaii 24/7)

Karin Stanton | Hawaii 24/7 Editor

Once all 41,247 votes were counted Saturday evening, several County Council and state legislator races were settled, while others are heading for a run-off in the November General Election.

According to the state Elections Office, 40.5 percent of the 101,728 registered voters on the Big Island cast ballots in the Primary Election. That included 20,246 people who voted Saturday in polling places and another 21,001 who elected to vote absentee or at the island’s three early walk-in sites.

Statewide, 286,644, or 41.7 percent, of eligible voters cast ballots. A total of 138,405 voted early through absentee or walk-in ballots.

The highest turnout in recent years was in the 2008 General Election, which featured Barack Obama’s run for president. At that time, 66 percent of the 691,356 registered voters completed ballots.

Despite some trepidation that the county Elections Division was not ready for the election, the results were not radically delayed.

However, at the start of the day, numerous polls did not open at the 7 a.m. appointed time. The County Clerk, Jamae Kawauchi, indicated one polling place had a “supply issue” that delayed the opening past 8:30 a.m.

Early voters were turned away from at least five polling places in West Hawaii and Gov. Neil Abercrombie eventually ordered polls to stay open 90 extra minutes, until 7:30 p.m. Abercrombie’s order indicated more than half of the island’s 40 locations did not open on time.

Waiting for results outside the county building Saturday in Hilo. (Baron Sekiya | Hawaii 24/7)

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Results by Race

U.S. Senator

In the marquee race of the year, 11 candidates sought to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, who is retiring after serving in that position since 1990.

The race was widely seen as coming down to Republican former Gov. Linda Lingle facing off against one of two Democrats – either Ed Case or U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono.

While Lingle won nearly 90 percent vote to easily secure the Republican nomination, most were watching the race between Case and Hirono, which various polls had called either statistically tied or gave Hirono a 20-point lead.

By the time the final print-out was released after 3 a.m. Sunday, Hirono was up by nearly 17 percent, 134,724 to 95,543.

That means Lingle and Hirono will again face off either. They previously were pitted against each other in Lingle’s two winning gubernatorial efforts.

Independent candidate Heath Beasley needed 10 percent of all the votes cast in order to be included in the General Election, but fell well short of that.

Following the results, Hirono released the following statement:

“So whatever you may think of Linda Lingle – know that this is what her election would represent – one of the four seats the national Republicans need to take control of the U.S. Senate.”

Following the results, Lingle issued the following statement:

“The people of Hawaii have a clear choice between an independent leader with experience making tough decisions and getting things done for the people of Hawaii, or an extremely partisan Washington insider with no record of accomplishments.

“My opponent has been, and continues to be a rubber stamp for a national agenda that takes positions that are not in Hawaii’s best interest. She voted against improving trade with South Korea, when she voted against the Free Trade Agreement. She also voted against Hawaii when she voted against the Hawaii Air National Guard having new airplanes – the F-22s.

“We’ve all heard a lot in the past year about the ‘99-percenters’ and the ‘1-percenters.’ I think there’s a new percentage that we need to focus on, and that’s the ‘12-percenters.’ That’s the number of American people who approve of the job that Congress is doing, and my opponent is one of the ‘12-percenters.'”

Case released the following statement:

“The toughest part of losing is feeling you let your supporters down. Folks that signwaved and canvassed through rain and shine, phone banked till their voices were hoarse, contributed what they could and more, missed their chance to attend the Olympics to see us through. Voters who cast their vote because they believed.

“We ran a great campaign. Truly a people’s campaign. We were and are an ohana in every sense of the word, united in a passion for a more open, honest and inclusive government.

“But, in the ways of democracy, all of that does not always equal a win. Yesterday the hill just proved too steep, and I deeply regret and apologize that we could not achieve our goal together. This morning, though, I am also filled with such deep gratitude to each and all of you.”

Mayor Billy Kenoi and supporters wait for result announcements Saturday evening. (Baron Sekiya | Hawaii 24/7)

U.S. Representative, District 2

This seat, which represents rural Oahu and the neighbor island, is being vacated by Hirono.

Much of the focus had been on the Democrat race, which featured former Honolulu mayor Mufi Hannemann and Tulsi Gabbard, a Hawaii National Guard veteran of two Middle East tours and a Honolulu City Councilor.

While Hannemann was considered to have a massive early lead, Gabbard raised more money than Hannemann and launched an extensive media campaign that raised her profile and her poll numbers.

In the final print-out, Gabbard ran away from Hannemann, 62,869 to 39,169.

Gabbard said:

“You’re going to hear me say this many times in the future, and it is about serving the people.”

Hannemann said:

“You win some, you lose some. With each experience, you learn from it. All of our hard work over these months, all of the endless hours on the campaign trail, have led to this conclusion. While we wish the results could have been different, each of you can look back with great pride and satisfaction in your contributions to this endeavor. The support you showed throughout the last several months — signwaving, calling your friends and family members, knocking on your neighbors’ doors, contributing to our positive, grassroots, campaign, writing postcards to voters across the state — will never be forgotten.”

Gabbard now faces Republican nominee Kawika Crowley.

State Senate District 1

First appointed to the seat by Gov. Neil Abercrombie, Gilbert Kahele won his first election to the Hilo seat, fending off long-time County Councilman Donald Ikeda, 7,026 to 5,011.

Kahele wins the seat, as no Republicans or other party challengers entered the race.

Kahele said:

“This was a tough, hard fought race, but we stuck to our message, ran a clean, positive campaign and it resulted in a SOLID victory last night. We should all be extremely proud of our efforts. At the same time, let us also remember when there is a winning campaign there is also a losing campaign. Our opponent ran a hard race and his supporters worked hard too. Many of his supporters are friends and acquaintances of ours, when we see them, lets let them know we can all work together to achieve the same goal.”

State Senator, District 2

Russell Ruderman, owner of Island Naturals Markets, pulled off a major upset, overthrowing longtime Rep. Bob Herkes to win the Democratic nomination for the seat that represents Puna and Pahala.

Herkes elected not to run again for the House seat, instead moving up to the Senate race as the Big Island was awarded a fourth state Senate seat.

According to the 3 a.m. print-out, Ruderman pipped Herkes, 3,105 to 2,755.

Daryl Lee Smith was the sole Republican, and will face Ruderman in the General Election.

State Senator, District 3

Incumbent Josh Green, running unopposed, will face Republican Jeff LaFrance in the General Election to represent Ka‘u and Kona.

LaFrance squeaked past John Totten, 825 to 690.

Nonpartisan candidate Mike Last did not have enough votes to advance

State Senator, District 4

Two familiar names – Sen. Malama Solomon and Lorraine Inouye – faced of in the Democrat primary.

In the 3 a.m. print-out, Solomon edged Inouye, 4,068 to 3,999, or 0.8 percent.

Inouye, however, is not ready to concede. She informed state elections chief Scott Nago that she would investigate potential irregularities at the county Elections Division.

Inouye wrote:

“Under normal circumstances, I would have conceded the Senate District 4 race to Senator Malama Solomon last night. However, due to the closeness of my race, I am in the process of fact finding to determine if your Office of Elections adhered to proper and legal election procedures and whether or not our voters were denied their right to vote. I will also be looking into any other irregularities by The Office of Elections that may have impacted the outcome, not only of my race but other races as well. Please be advised that I am seeking legal counsel in conjunction of filing a formal complaint with the Office of Elections.”

Solomon said:

“Hoomaikaiana – congratulations to ALL candidates in yesterday’s exciting and hard-fought primaries. I am proud to stand with fellow Hawaii Democratic Party members in support of our winning nominees, but there are no losers here. Such competitive races only demonstrate the passion, commitment and determination our Party has been known for, for generations.

“I would like to also like to recognize and credit the dedicated poll workers on Hawaii Island, many of whom worked 15-hour days, in order to keep the polling places open and help make sure that as many people as possible had the opportunity to exercise their right to vote.

“Once again, my personal thanks and aloha to everyone who has supported us in our campaign–with a special mahalo nui to Lorraine Rodero Inouye for helping us bring home a critically important point: every single vote counts.

“We can’t take the election process for granted, or leave it up to ‘somebody else’ to make the decisions for us.”

Solomon is favored in the General Election against former County Councilman Kelly Greenwell, who got 21 votes as a member of the Green Party.

State Representative, District 1

Incumbent Mark Nakashima easily held off challenger Noralynn Bolodan Pajimola, 4,834 to 1,709.

The Democrat has no other challengers and has won re-election outright to continue representing North Hawaii.

Hawaiian Paradise Park polling place on Saturday. (Baron Sekiya | Hawaii 24/7)

State Representative, District 2

Incumbent Clift Tsuji was the sole candidate for the South Hilo district and go through with 5,814 votes.

State Representative, District 3

Vacated by Herkes, this district will get a new representative for South Hilo, Volcano and Kurtistown.

Richard Onishi knocked out County Councilwoman Brittany Smart, 3,298 to 2,259.

Onishi will face Republican Marlene Hapane and Libertarian Frederick Fogel in the General Election.

State Representative, District 4

Incumbent Faye Hanohano was the only Democrat and will face Hope Louise Cermelj in the General Election for the Puna/Pahoa seat.

Running as independents, Cermelj topped Moke Stephens, 35-32.

State Representative, District 5

Incumbent Denny Coffman bested Democrat challenger Leolani Lagat Oyama, 2,462 to 1,164.

He’ll face Republican Dave Bateman for the right to represent the south-western region of the island.

State Representative, District 6

Nicole Lowen slid into the General Election after conquering three other Democrats for the Kona seat.

Lowen’s 1,067 votes, or 30.2 percent, was enough to take Kalei Akaka (1,022), Bucky Leslie (734) and Fred Housel (461) out of contention.

Lowen takes on Roy Ebert, who defeated Mike Breslin for the Republicans, 512 to 442.

State Representative, District 7

First elected in 2002, Democrat Cindy Evans ran unopposed and will return to the state House to represent North Kona and South Kohala.

Hawaii County Mayor

In the other marquee match up on the Big Island, Mayor Billy Kenoi led a slate of six candidates.

While some had believed Kenoi may score enough votes to win re-election outright, others had expected a run-off. It was just a question whether Kenoi would face his one-time mentor and former Mayor Harry Kim or Councilman Dominic Yagong, over whom Kenoi triumphed four years ago.

Kenoi led from the first print-out, which included absentee and early walk-in votes, and could only watch as Kim and Yagong slugged it out for the right to face him in the General Election.

According to the 3 a.m. results, Kenoi finished the night with 18,390 votes, or 42.4 percent.

Kim’s 14,801 votes were enough to carry him through to the General Election, with Yagong trailing with 8,352 votes.

The final three candidates were never in the picture: Share Christie (511), Daniel Cunningham (336) and Rand Walls (227).

Mayor Billy Kenoi checks the numbers Saturday evening in Kona. (Baron Sekiya | Hawaii 24/7)

Hawaii County Prosecutor

Corporation Counsel Lincoln Ashida and deputy prosecutor Mitch Roth will run-off as the top two vote-getters in the Primary Election.

Ashida led with 19,771 votes, while Roth secured 12,928.

Paul Dolan landed in third place, 6,860 votes.

Hawaii County Council

All nine council seats were up for grabs, including five seats with no incumbent. By night’s end, residents could be sure of who would be filling four of those seats.

Council seats are non-partisan.

Councilmember, District 1

Long held by Dominic Yagong, this seat still could go to another Yagong. The mayoral candidate’s daughter, Chelsea, is set for a run-off against Valerie Poindexter.

Poindexter led the night with 1,701 votes to Yagong’s 1,608.

Jo Kim, Larry Gering and Eric Paul D’Almeida are out.

Councilmember, District 2

Incumbent J Yoshimoto won outright, securing 3,578 votes, or 51.1 percent. He topped former County Clerk Ken Goodenow, Rachel Thompson and Steve Wilhelm.

This will be Yoshimoto’s fourth and final term, making him the senior council member.

Councilmember, District 3

Incumbent Dennis “Fresh” Onishi was unopposed and won through with 4,933 votes.

Councilmember, District 4

Incumbent Fred Blas will run-off against newcomer Greggor Ilagan.

Blas had 1,599 votes to Ilagan’s 1,462.

James Weatherford’s 1,285 votes were not enough to carry him to the General Election.

Councilmember, District 5

Zendo Kern was the decisive winner over two challengers, with 2,775 votes, or 69.2 percent.

He left Steven Araujo (578) and Liscencio Ceredon (346) in the dust.

Councilmember, District 6

Long-time Kona representative Brenda Ford saw her district shift with reapportionment and she now is running to represent South Kona and Ka‘u.

Ford will run-off against Maile (Medeiros) David, 2,098 to 1,531.

If Ford prevails, she also will be entering her fourth and final term, giving her joint seniority with Yoshimoto.

Bradley Westervelt and Lee McIntosh are out.

Councilmember, District 7

Dru Kanuha was running unopposed in the new district, which essentially comprises Kailua-Kona and Keauhou. He secured 2,688 votes.

Councilmember, District 8

Karen Eoff easily triumphed over Charles Guccione to replace retiring Angel Pilago, 2,578 to 683.

Councilmember, District 9

With Pete Hoffmann retiring, four candidates vied for the North Kohala seat.

Margaret Wille and Oliver “Sonny” Shimaoka were the top two left in the race and face each other in the run-off. Wille carried the night, 1,548 to 1,108.

William Sanborn and Robert Green are out.

— For complete results, visit: http://hawaii.gov/elections/results/2012/primary/