Incumbents Har, LoPresti trailing in state legislative races
JAMM AQUINO / 2020
The Hawaii State Capitol rotunda is seen in downtown Honolulu.
Three incumbent state lawmakers are on a path to getting knocked out of Hawaii’s Legislature by voters today based on largely complete general election results.
Democrat Rep. Matt LoPresti representing part of Ewa Beach is trailing significantly by more than 900 votes following the first two vote tallies representing nearly all ballots cast, according to results reported by the state Office of Elections.
Leading LoPresti in House District 41 is Republican business owner David Alcos.
LoPresti, who has served three terms in the House, was seen as vulnerable in light of overcoming misdemeanor charges of drunken driving earlier this year.
The lawmaker was arrested in June after he had parked on the shoulder of Fort Weaver Road, and got his case dismissed in September on grounds that police had no probable cause to arrest him and administer a blood test that showed legal impairment from alcohol.
In a similar scenario, Rep. Sharon Har representing parts of Kapolei and Ewa communities is narrowly trailing Republican challenger Diamond Garcia.
Har, who has served in the Legislature for 17 years, was arrested last year after driving the wrong way on South Beretania Street, and won an acquittal in January on procedural grounds.
Garcia, who is chief of staff to Rep. Gene Ward (R, Hawaii Kai-Kalama Valley), has a 142 vote lead, a 2 percentage point difference, over Har.
Another incumbent House member, Rep. Stacelynn Eli, a Democrat representing a redefined district that now includes part of Kapolei and Makakilo, was trailing by a small margin to Republican contender Kanani Souza.
In one close race defended by an incumbent, Sen. Gil Riviere, a Democrat, was holding off Republican challenger Brenton Awa, a former local TV news reporter, competing to represent Senate District 23, which stretches from Mokuleia into part of Kaneohe.
Riviere was ahead by 189 votes, or by about 1 percentage point.
The one incumbent upset in the general election followed five incumbents being knocked out in the primary election, including two who had to face colleagues in the Legislature because of redistricting.
Go to https://staradvertiser.com/election for updates, resources and live results from today’s Hawaii General Election.
