History made: Two Hawaii legislative primary races end in ties. Here’s how the winners will now be chosen
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Resolved invalid ballots have pushed two of Hawaii’s closest legislative primary races into historic dead heats, forcing an unprecedented drawing to determine the winners.
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A 13-hour automatic recount on Tuesday initially showed no change in the narrow margins of the two contests.
In the Senate District 20 Republican primary, former lawmaker Bob McDermott held a seven-vote lead over incumbent Sen. Kurt Fevella. Senate District 20 covers Ewa Beach, Ocean Pointe, Ewa by Gentry, Iroquois Point, and part of Ewa Villages.
Meanwhile, in the House District 43 Republican primary, incumbent Rep. Kanani Souza led challenger Sheila Medeiros by just a single vote. House District 43 covers Kapolei and Makakilo.
Signature verification deadline creates ties
Voters associated with more than 1,151 Oahu ballots flagged as invalid due to signature issues had until Friday afternoon to cure their ballots by signing online, appearing in person, or responding by mail.
Following the Friday 4:30 p.m. deadline, the cured ballots were processed, resulting in exact ties in both races.
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McDermott and Fevella each finished with 1,212 votes, while Souza and Medeiros each finished with 842 votes.
Historic tiebreaker scheduled
Under Hawaii Revised Statutes Section 11-157, the Office of Elections will conduct a drawing Saturday at the Hawaii State Capitol to determine the winner of each race.
The drawing will be livestreamed for transparency and public accessibility here, officials said.
The winner of the McDermott-Fevella race will advance to face Democratic candidate Markus Owens in the general election on Nov. 3.
Because there was no Democratic primary for House District 43, the winner of the Souza-Medeiros tiebreaker will win the legislative seat outright.
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View our full Election 2026 coverage.
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