By Edwin Boyette | November 25, 2020
In 2020 Donald J. Trump received the most total votes – 198,864, of any Republican candidate for President in Hawaii’s history. The only Republican candidate for any office to exceed Trump’s vote is Linda Lingle. Lingle had several advantages – both of her successful runs for Hawaii’s Governor were against opponents with relatively low charisma (subjective), Linda Lingle was perhaps Hawaii’s most effective Republican organizer. Each Precinct and District was well organized and Lingle was able to effectively reach and mobilize voters. While some conservative may debate the point Lingle was rhetorically moderate and able to persuade Democrats to cross party lines and vote for her.
Review the Statistical Trends here.
Hawaii had the most number of voters mark their ballots “Republican” in the Primary since 2002. Trump voter were highly enthusiastic in 2020.
The ratio of Democrat voters to Republican voters in a Presidential Election was the best since 2004.
A distinct pattern has emerged over the last 6 election that demonstrates 80% to 85% of Democrats who will vote in the General Election, vote in the Primary Election. Over the past 20 years only about 1/3 of the voters cast their ballot for the Republican Candidate for Governor or President in the General Election, vote Republican in the Primary Election.
Democrats still significantly outnumber Republicans in Hawaii. Registered Democrats significantly outnumber Registered Republicans in Hawaii. Some voters are confused on this issue, particularly transplants to Hawaii. The State of Hawaii does not record your political affiliation. The only way to be a Registered Republican in Hawaii is to register directly with the Republican Party of Hawaii. Registration with the Republican Party is a prerequisite to serving as a Precinct or District Committee, or to becoming a voting delegate to the County and State Conventions. We can observe the difference in registration via the Presidential Preference Polls, Democratic participation is typically 2 to 3 times higher than Republican participation. In 2020 the Democratic Party of Hawaii conducted its first preference poll by mail – 79,000 ballots were mailed out to registered Democrats in Hawaii and 35,000 were voted and returned. 2016 was the most recent Republican Presidential Preference Poll in Hawaii and approximately 15,000 Republicans participated.
In order for the Republican Party to continue to grow from 2020 to 2022 Republicans must engage at the Precinct and District level. Republicans voters in Hawaii who have never participated in the Party – too frequently assume that the State level of the party if a large organization. It is not. The heart of the Hawaii Republican Party is the Precinct and District committees working in conjunction with the County Chairs. The State Committee can provided training, coordination, and overall messaging – but each District in Hawaii is completely unique and distinct, and the work must be done at the District and neighborhood level.
