2018 Hawaii National Party leadership election

The **2018 Hawaii National Party leadership election** was triggered after David Chang announced his intention to resign as chairperson of the Hawaii National Party following the party's poor performance in the 2018 general election. It was won by Kenzie Kanazawa who received 37.1 percent of the vote.

To qualify for the ballot, candidates needed nominations from 20 percent (14) of the party's members of the House of Representatives. Three candidates (Kenzie Kanazawa, Jack Mori, and Peter Sutherland) received sufficient nominations to proceed to the party vote.

The results were announced on 30 August 2018, with Kanazawa winning the election with 37.1 percent of the vote, beating Mori and Sutherland and taking over from Chang. She later negotiated a coalition agreement with Hui Pū ʻAna and took office as prime minister of Hawaii.

## Background

David Chang was elected Hawaii National Party chairperson in the 2010 Hawaii National Party leadership election. While the party gained seats in the 2014 general election, it lost tremendously in the 2018 general election. Following the results of the 2018 election, Chang opted to resign and called for an emergency leadership contest.

## Procedure

The election was conducted using a one member, one vote (OMOV) system. Votes were cast using postal ballots and online forms, and candidates were elected by registered party members, who received one vote each; all votes were weighted equally. Members who registered before 30 July 2018 were eligible to vote.

To stand in the election, candidates needed to be nominated by at least 20 percent of the parliamentary membership of the HNP. As this was an emergency election held in a transitional phase of parliament, only incoming members of parliament whose mandate began on 30 July 2018 were eligible to nominate, not outgoing members whose mandate was to expire without reelection on 30 July. As a result of this requirement, a maximum of five candidates may stand in the election.

Nominations opened on 23 July and closed on 30 July 2018. Voting in the membership ballot opened on 31 July and closed on 23 August 2018. The result of the election was later announced on 30 August 2018.

## Candidates

### Nominated

The following individuals were nominated by the necessary amount of Hawaii National Party members of parliament, and thus proceeded to the general ballot.

 Jack Mori | (1969-07-25)July 25, 1969(age 49)Honolulu, Oahu | Minister of Finance (2014–2018)MP for Oahu (2002–present)
 Peter Sutherland | (1967-02-12)February 12, 1967(age 51)Lihue, Kauai | Minister of Foreign Affairs (2016–2018)Minister of Transport and Communications (2014–2016)MP for Kauai (2002–present)

### Eliminated

Johnny Kagami failed to receive the backing from the necessary amount of HNP members of parliament, and was thus eliminated prior to advancing to the general ballot.

### Withdrawn

Linus Mack withdrew from the leadership election during the nominating process.

### Declined

The following individuals were discussed in the media as potential leadership candidates, but ultimately opted not to stand:

* Betty Akizuki, MP for Oahu *(endorsed Kanazawa)*
* Connie Chen, MP for Oahu *(endorsed Kanazawa)*
* Nicholas Demings, MP for Oahu *(endorsed Kanazawa)*
* Susie Kimura, minister of education and culture *(endorsed Mori)*
* Cristine Hyodo Larson, former minister of social affairs and labour *(endorsed Kanazawa)*
* Dylan Ogiwara, MP for Oahu *(endorsed Mori)*
* Benjamin Qiu, MP for Lanai *(endorsed Sutherland)*
* Stella Stanaslauskas, minister of justice *(endorsed Mori)*
* Elisa Tupuola, minister of defense *(endorsed Kanazawa)*
* Frank Yanagimoto, minister of innovation and technology *(endorsed Mori)*

## Nominations

*Main article: Nominations in the 2018 Hawaii National Party leadership election*
Candidates needed to be nominated by at least 20 percent (14) of current HNP MPs, who comprise the Parliamentary HNP Group. Candidates who passed this threshold advanced to the general ballot.

The table below shows the number of nominations received by each candidate. A green background indicates that the candidate met the nomination requirements. A pink background indicates that the candidate withdrew from the contest, or did not receive enough nominations and was eliminated.

## Results

The results of the election were revealed on 30 August 2018 at noon, during a special conference held at the Hawaii National Party headquarters in Honolulu.

Kenzie Kanazawa was declared the winner after receiving 37.1% of the vote, a plurality. In total, 20,410 ballots were cast, leading to voter turnout being 76.3%.

 Peter Sutherland | 5,552

## Debates

Four televised debates took place throughout the campaign for leadership candidates.