Skip to content

Hawaii’s Odd Special Election History

By their very name, special elections are unusual occurrences. But to Hawaii voters they’re not all that uncommon.

Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii), who announced Friday that he’s resigning early to concentrate on his 2010 gubernatorial campaign, initially came to the House by way of a 1986 special election that produced a bizarre outcome.

Then-Rep. Cecil Heftel (D) resigned his 1st district House seat in mid-July to run for governor, as Hawaii law then required. That spawned a special election on the same date as the regular September primary.

Recent Stories

High-speed routes biggest winners in latest rail funding round

Appeals court upholds most of Trump gag order in DC case

Kevin Up — Congressional Hits and Misses

House GOP cites new Hunter Biden charges in impeachment push

Congress must protect our servicemembers by reauthorizing Section 702 

Photos of the week ending December 8, 2023