# 2022 Hawaii gubernatorial election
The 2022 Hawaii gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2022, to choose Hawaii's governor for a four-year term. Democratic lieutenant governor [Josh Green](https://www.edgepedia.org/josh-green-politician) defeated Republican former lieutenant governor Duke Aiona to succeed the term-limited two-term governor [David Ige](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-ige), with Green taking 261,025 votes (62.24 percent) to Aiona's 152,237 (36.30 percent) out of 419,363 total ballots cast.[1](https://www.thegreenpapers.com/G22/HI) Green's running mate, state Representative Sylvia Luke, was elected lieutenant governor on the same ballot.[1](https://www.thegreenpapers.com/G22/HI)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Dates | Filing deadline June 7, 2022; primary August 13, 2022; general election November 8, 2022[1](https://www.thegreenpapers.com/G22/HI) |
| Result | Green (D) 261,025 votes, 62.24%; Aiona (R) 152,237 votes, 36.30%; total 419,363[1](https://www.thegreenpapers.com/G22/HI) |
| Seat status | Open seat; two-term incumbent Governor David Ige was barred by term limits from running again[1](https://www.thegreenpapers.com/G22/HI) |
| Running mates | Sylvia Luke (Democratic) and Seaula Tupa'i, Jr. (Republican); Hawaii elects governor and lieutenant governor on a combined ticket but nominates them separately[1](https://www.thegreenpapers.com/G22/HI) |
| Campaign money | Green raised $4,256,969.28 in total receipts; Aiona raised $316,983.96[2](https://ags.hawaii.gov/campaign/files/2023/11/2022Governor.pdf) |
| Pre-election rating | RealClearPolitics rated the race "Safe Dem" with a projected Democratic hold[3](https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2022/governor/hi/hawaii_governor_aiona_vs_green-7928.html) |
| Voting method | Hawaii votes by mail; ballots had to be received by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day[1](https://www.thegreenpapers.com/G22/HI) |
## Background
Governor David Ige, first elected in 2014 and re-elected in 2018, was affected by Hawaii's limit of two consecutive four-year terms and could not run again, making 2022 an open-seat race.[1](https://www.thegreenpapers.com/G22/HI) The lieutenant governorship has historically served as a steppingstone to the governor's office, and both major-party nominees had held it: Green was the incumbent lieutenant governor, first elected in 2018, while Aiona had served as lieutenant governor before unsuccessful runs for governor in 2010 and 2014.[1](https://www.thegreenpapers.com/G22/HI)
Under Hawaii election law, all candidates regardless of party run on a single primary ballot, and nonpartisan candidates advance to the general election only by meeting a vote threshold.[1](https://www.thegreenpapers.com/G22/HI)
## Primaries
The primary was held on Saturday, August 13, 2022.[1](https://www.thegreenpapers.com/G22/HI) The Democratic field was large. A July 2022 Honolulu Civil Beat/Hawaii News Now poll showed Green with a commanding lead, with Congressman Kai Kahele and businesswoman Vicky Cayetano in a distant second and third place.[4](https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2022/07/06/civil-beathnn-poll-shows-green-with-commanding-lead-democratic-race-governor/) Kahele, the incumbent representative in the 2nd Congressional District, had announced his gubernatorial candidacy in April 2022, leaving his House seat open.[1](https://www.thegreenpapers.com/G22/HI) Other Democratic candidates included state Senator Richard Kim, Van Tanabe, and Clyde McClain "Mac" Lewman, who finished last with 249 votes, well behind Green and the runners-up Cayetano and Kahele.[5](https://elections.hawaii.gov/2022-candidate-election-status/) • [6](https://apnews.com/article/b0db5c6a5c3f5e1745c9b9cc646126f5) Green won the nomination and advanced to the general election.[5](https://elections.hawaii.gov/2022-candidate-election-status/)
The Republican field was also crowded, including Aiona, mixed-martial-arts fighter BJ Penn, state legislator Heidi Haunani Tsuneyoshi, and several others.[5](https://elections.hawaii.gov/2022-candidate-election-status/) The same July poll put Aiona at 27 percent among Republican primary voters with Penn at 24 percent.[4](https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2022/07/06/civil-beathnn-poll-shows-green-with-commanding-lead-democratic-race-governor/) Aiona won the nomination, with Seaula Tupa'i, Jr. as his lieutenant governor running mate.[5](https://elections.hawaii.gov/2022-candidate-election-status/) • [1](https://www.thegreenpapers.com/G22/HI)
## General election campaign
**Housing dominated the issues.** In candidate interviews during the campaign, the leading candidates agreed that Hawaii's housing crisis, with its low inventory and burdensome regulations, could not be solved overnight; Green touted getting private developers to build villages for the homeless and said the [Legislature](https://www.edgepedia.org/legislature) could go into special session.[7](https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2022/07/26/job-interview-leading-candidates-governor-housing/) In a September Civil Beat questionnaire, Green called the lack of affordable and available housing the biggest issue facing Hawaii and listed priorities including renewable energy, agricultural revitalization, and climate mitigation.[8](https://www.civilbeat.org/2022/09/candidate-qa-governor-josh-green/) An October Hawaii News Now series highlighted the candidates' differences on climate change and housing plans.[9](https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2022/10/11/candidates-governor-play-up-differences-climate-change-house/)
The money gap was wide. Under Hawaii campaign spending reports for the 2022 governor's race, Green's committee reported total receipts of $4,256,969.28 against Aiona's $316,983.96, roughly a thirteen-to-one advantage.[2](https://ags.hawaii.gov/campaign/files/2023/11/2022Governor.pdf) [RealClearPolitics](https://www.edgepedia.org/realclearpolitics) rated the contest "Safe Dem" throughout and projected a Democratic hold.[3](https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2022/governor/hi/hawaii_governor_aiona_vs_green-7928.html)
## Results
Green won every segment of the result reported by the state: in the City and County of Honolulu primary alone he had taken 94,568 votes (62.5 percent) to Aiona's 22,339 (50.9 percent) in the Republican contest.[10](https://elections.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022-primary-report-2-cch.pdf) In the general election, Green received 261,025 votes (62.24 percent) to Aiona's 152,237 (36.30 percent), with blank and over votes accounting for the remainder of the 419,363 total.[1](https://www.thegreenpapers.com/G22/HI) RealClearPolitics' final results table listed the two-candidate split as 63.2 percent to 36.8 percent, a Green margin of 26.4 points.[3](https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2022/governor/hi/hawaii_governor_aiona_vs_green-7928.html) The Office of Elections posted election-night results in three runs, beginning at 7:04 p.m. on November 8 and continuing through the following evening, reflecting the all-mail voting system's counting schedule.[11](https://elections.hawaii.gov/2022-general-election/)
## Aftermath
Green was sworn in as Hawaii's ninth governor since statehood at a December inauguration at the Blaisdell Arena, with [Sylvia Luke](https://www.edgepedia.org/sylvia-luke), a decade-long House Finance Committee chair, sworn in as lieutenant governor.[12](https://www.civilbeat.org/2022/12/josh-green-takes-over-a-state-with-chronic-problems-but-money-to-address-them/) He took office with pledges to ease the tax burden, build housing for the homeless, and act on climate change, and with an unusual fiscal cushion: a record $2.6 billion cash surplus in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2022, and a projected $2 billion surplus for the current fiscal year.[12](https://www.civilbeat.org/2022/12/josh-green-takes-over-a-state-with-chronic-problems-but-money-to-address-them/) Early policy proposals included eliminating the excise tax on food and medicine, a "climate impact fee" on arriving tourists projected to raise up to $350 million a year, use of emergency powers to speed housing construction, and a goal of cutting homelessness in the state by 50 percent by 2026.[12](https://www.civilbeat.org/2022/12/josh-green-takes-over-a-state-with-chronic-problems-but-money-to-address-them/) • [13](https://bgrdc.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/New-Governor-Slides.pdf)
## References
1. [Hawaii 2022 General Election, The Green Papers](https://www.thegreenpapers.com/G22/HI)
2. [2022 Election Governor campaign spending reports, Hawaii Attorney General](https://ags.hawaii.gov/campaign/files/2023/11/2022Governor.pdf)
3. [2022 Hawaii Governor: Aiona vs. Green, RealClearPolitics](https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2022/governor/hi/hawaii_governor_aiona_vs_green-7928.html)
4. [Civil Beat/HNN poll shows Green with commanding lead in Democratic race for governor, Hawaii News Now](https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2022/07/06/civil-beathnn-poll-shows-green-with-commanding-lead-democratic-race-governor/)
5. [2022 Candidate Election Status, Hawaii Office of Elections](https://elections.hawaii.gov/2022-candidate-election-status/)
6. [Fewer candidates filed for election in Hawaii this year than in the past 10 years, Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/b0db5c6a5c3f5e1745c9b9cc646126f5)
7. [Top candidates for governor differ on specifics, but agree housing crisis must be addressed, Hawaii News Now](https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2022/07/26/job-interview-leading-candidates-governor-housing/)
8. [Candidate Q&A: Governor — Josh Green, Honolulu Civil Beat](https://www.civilbeat.org/2022/09/candidate-qa-governor-josh-green/)
9. [In race for governor, candidates play up differences on climate change, housing plans, Hawaii News Now](https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2022/10/11/candidates-governor-play-up-differences-climate-change-house/)
10. [Primary Election 2022, City and County of Honolulu summary report, Hawaii Office of Elections](https://elections.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022-primary-report-2-cch.pdf)
11. [2022 General Election, Hawaii Office of Elections](https://elections.hawaii.gov/2022-general-election/)
12. [Josh Green Takes Over A State With Chronic Problems, But Money To Address Them, Honolulu Civil Beat](https://www.civilbeat.org/2022/12/josh-green-takes-over-a-state-with-chronic-problems-but-money-to-address-them/)
13. [New Governor Slides, BGR DC quarterly review](https://bgrdc.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/New-Governor-Slides.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Politics and government › Elections and representation › Elections and referendums › United States election events › US state and local election events › US gubernatorial election events › Western state gubernatorial election series*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license