40-year-old Ukrainian native Kirill Basin, who ran as a Democratic candidate for the US House of Representatives, received 1.5% of the vote in the primaries (primary elections) in Hawaii's 2nd congressional district. 1,522 people voted for the candidate, who was recently detained for a fight on the beach on the island of Maui, according to the Associated Press (AP) based on the results of processing 98% of the ballots.
In the 2nd District, which covers all of the state outside Oahu as well as rural and suburban areas of Oahu itself, four candidates vied for the Democratic nomination—incumbent congresswoman Jill Tokuda, Stephen King (the writer's namesake), Greg Ghithus and Basin.
Tokuda, seeking re-election to a third term, confidently beat out all her rivals and received the Democratic Party nomination. She will face Republican Brenton Ava, who was unopposed in the party primary, in the November general election.
As Fox News notes, none of the candidates on the list could seriously compete with her: about 91% of voters voted for Tokuda, while the remaining votes were distributed among her three opponents. Basin showed the worst result.
A few days before the vote, the Ukrainian-born candidate was charged with first-degree terroristic threats. As RTVI previously reported, the conflict began when a 61-year-old man asked Basin to turn down the music on the beach. In response, he allegedly began to threaten the vacationer, hinting that he had a firearm and would shoot his wife. After that, he started a fight with another vacationer, whom Basin tried to hit with a deck chair.
Elections in the first district
The Democratic struggle for a seat in the House of Representatives from the first congressional district turned out to be more intense. There, 73-year-old incumbent Congressman Ed Case was challenged by 42-year-old state Senator Jarrett Keohokalole, who represents the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. According to The Washington Post, he became Case's first serious rival since his election to Congress from Hawaii's 1st District in 2018.
According to the results of the primaries, Case received 58.5% of the vote to Keohokalole's 37.4%.
Keohokalole advocated generational change in politics and criticized Case for voting with Republicans on a number of issues. He cited approval of military aid to Israel and votes in support of an earlier version of President Donald Trump's SAVE America Act to require identification at the polls.
In the November general election, Case will face Republican Adriel Lam, who, like the 2nd District candidate, was unopposed in Saturday's primary. As CBS News emphasizes, given the steady support of Democrats in Hawaii, the current congressman can be considered the favorite in the November race.
Hawaii Governor Josh Green also clinched the Democratic nomination, defeating three opponents in the primary. He will compete for re-election in November against Republican Gary Cordery.
