Primary voters in Hawaii Saturday gave long-time congressman Neil Abercrombie the Democratic nomination for governor.
Abercrombie received more than 60% of the vote in his high-profile race against recent Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann, and moved on to face Hawaii’s current lieutenant governor, Republican Duke Aiona, in November.
Abercrombie served for almost 20 years in the House before resigning earlier this year to campaign in the governor’s race.
The governor’s seat is open because term limits require Gov. Linda Lingle, a Republican, to leave.
Hawaii law required Hannemann to resign as Honolulu mayor to enter the governor’s race, and voters Saturday elected Peter Carlisle to replace him.
Carlisle served as Oahu’s elected prosecutor for more than 13 years before stepping down to run for mayor. He narrowly beat Kirk Caldwell, the acting mayor and Hannemann’s former managing director. Panos Prevedouros, a Republican whose main issue was opposition to Honolulu’s planned rail transit system, finished a distant third.
