2002_Hawaii_gubernatorial_election
2002 Hawaii gubernatorial election
Election for the governorship of the U.S. state of Hawaii
The 2002 Hawaii gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002, to select the Governor of Hawaii. Incumbent Democratic Governor of Hawaii Ben Cayetano was term-limited and therefore could not run for re-election. Former Maui Mayor Linda Lingle, who had narrowly lost the 1998 election, was nominated once again by the Republicans while Lieutenant Governor Mazie Hirono earned the Democratic nomination in a tight race. Lingle and Hirono duked it out in a hard-fought campaign, with Hirono's campaign crippled by allegations of corruption within the Hawaii Democratic Party and many voters desiring a change.[1] Ultimately Lingle defeated Hirono in a close election, making her the first Republican Governor of Hawaii elected since 1959 and the state's first-ever female governor. She was the first white person to be elected governor of the state since 1970. Lingle and Hirono faced off again in Hawaii’s 2012 U.S. Senate election; Hirono won that race and thus became the first female U.S. Senator in Hawaii history.