Hawaii voters picking nominees in race to succeed Gov. Ige

HONOLULU (AP) — The candidates running in Saturday's primary election to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. David Ige include a former first lady, a retired mixed martial arts champion and a congressman who moonlights as a Hawaiian Airlines pilot.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Kaiali‘i Kahele's decision to run for governor has opened up his congressional seat representing rural Oahu and the Neighbor Islands. In the U.S. Senate, incumbent Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz is also up for reelection and is facing a primary challenge from a little-known candidate.

Hawaii is a vote-by-mail state so voters have been mailing their ballots and placing them in drop boxes across the islands since late last month. Election clerks in each county have made a few voter service centers available for people registering to vote at the last minute or voting in person.

In the governor's race, the leading Democratic candidates are Kahele, former Hawaii first lady Vicki Cayetano and Lt. Gov. Josh Green. On the Republican side, former Lt. Gov. James R. “Duke” Aiona, retired MMA fighter BJ Penn and Honolulu City Councilperson Heidi Tsuneyoshi are in the running.

Ige has served two four-year terms and is ineligible to run again. The winner of the Democratic primary would be the favorite to win the general election in the liberal state.

Many voters say Hawaii's high housing costs are a top issue for them. The median price of a single-family home is over $1 million in Honolulu, Maui and Kauai counties.

Cayetano said she would build rent-to-own housing and work with the counties to streamline requirements impeding affordable housing construction. Green said he would issue an executive order to eliminate red tape and streamline approvals and enforce existing laws to shut down illegal vacation rentals....