Urban Honolulu boosted Caldwell

Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell found broader support among voters across Oahu on his way to an easier-than-expected re-election victory over former U.S. Rep. and City Councilman Charles Djou on Tuesday.

Caldwell grabbed the majority of votes in 29 of 35 of Oahu’s state House of Representatives districts, or a ratio of 6-to-1 over Djou. The final, unofficial, islandwide tally showed the incumbent with 147,885 votes (52.1 percent of the votes cast) to Djou’s 135,662 votes (47.8 per-cent), a difference of just more than 12,000 votes.

In the run-off primary election that featured a third major candidate in former Mayor Peter Carlisle and 10 other candidates, Caldwell took the top spot over Djou by 1,530 votes.

Hawaii elections are held within precincts, which then fall into state House districts, thus providing a quick, cursory glance at how candidates fare by region. (The precinct summary report is done before the final, certified count, so it will not provide the same totals.)

The six House districts where Djou captured a majority were nearly all in traditional Republican strongholds including two East Honolulu districts, an Ewa district and a Kailua-Kaneohe district. While all city races are nonpartisan, Djou is a Republican in a largely Democratic state, a fact that Caldwell’s campaign and Djou opponents kept pointing out to voters.

House District 47, which runs from Waialua to Waiahole, went to Djou. Several contentious issues in that area have put many residents there at odds with Caldwell.

The breakdown of Tuesday’s mayoral vote is vastly different from the way the House districts split during the primary election, when Caldwell carried more votes in 18 House districts while Djou won 17.

In that count, Djou managed to win significantly more votes along the Waianae Coast (including Districts 43 and 44), and Windward Oahu (Districts 48 and 51).

But perhaps more significantly, Caldwell won major chunks of urban Honolulu — nearly all of the city districts, in fact — including Districts 19, 22, 24, 26, 27, 28 and 29. All seven of those districts were won by Djou in August.

Other takeaways from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s survey:

>> Caldwell won every district along the rail line from East Kapolei to Ala Moana. Caldwell touts himself as rail’s biggest supporter while Djou has voted against rail bills in the past, but Djou acknowledged after the primary that federal officials gave the city no choice but to build to Ala Moana.

>> There were fewer closely contested districts in the general than in the primary. In those districts where the vote margin was in the 100s, most went to Caldwell.

Caldwell’s second, and last, four-year term begins the first week of January.

To compare the general election map with the primary one, go to the story analyzing the primary data at bit.ly/2fFHgDx.