Ige wins Democratic governor primary

HONOLULU» Despite a challenging first term marked by both natural and man-made disasters, Hawaii Gov. David Ige won the Democratic primary in his bid for a second term in office Saturday, defeating U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa.

Ige’s administration fumbled through a false missile alert that sent the state into a panic in January, a major embarrassment for his administration. But the governor’s handling of Kilauea volcano’s latest eruption, which destroyed more than 700 homes and displaced thousands, as well as devastating flooding on Kauai got him back on track and he came out ahead of Hanabusa.

“It’s been a grueling campaign,” Ige said. “It’s truly a heart-warming finish to a very, very challenging and exciting time.”

Ige said he’s not going to take his challenger for granted.

“I will not take anything for granted, we are going to

Vote counting in Kansas GOP primary race enters final stage.

County election officials across Kansas on Monday will begin deciding which provisional ballots from last week’s primary election will count toward the final official vote totals, with possibility that they could create a new leader in the hotly contested Republican race for governor.

Secretary of State Kris Kobach led Gov. Jeff Colyer by a mere 110 votes out more than 313,000 cast as of Friday evening. That was after late mail-in ballots were added to totals from absentee voting and gear up for another tough campaign, but we do believe that we have a vision and that the people have spoken,” Ige said.

The governor said Hanabusa called him and pledged her support, and that he looks forward to working with her and her supporters over the next ballots cast at the polls Tuesday.

County officials will review nearly 9,000 provisional ballots, given to voters at the polls when their eligibility is in question. Most counties start their canvass meetings Monday, but some will meet later this week and next. The counties have until Aug. 20 to finish.

With a slim margin separating the candidates, the canvass will be closely watched. Colyer’s campaign said it would have representatives in all 105 counties when provisional ballots are reviewed. several months.

He’ll face Cam Cavasso, a former state representative who previously ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate. Cavasso won the GOP primary. The winner of the Democratic primary is almost guaranteed to win in the general election in Hawaii.