If Oahu voters were looking for surprises in Honolulu’s 2024 primary election for the mayoral and City Council races, there were few to be found. As predicted by many political pundits and interested observers, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi handily beat his challengers Saturday evening. In the second set of results posted after 10:30 p.
m., the 77-year-old retired media executive took nearly 79% of the vote — or 116,039 votes — to secure the city’s top elective office for another four years. Blangiardi needed just over 50% to win outright tonight and avoid a General Election runoff.
This year, the incumbent’s rivals were David L. Duke Bourgoin, a business owner and consultant; Karl O. Dicks, who’s variously worked as a farmer, journeyman carpenter and heavy equipment operator; and Choon James, a residential real estate broker.
James was a distant second, taking nearly 13.7% of the vote. Bourgoin garnered about 3.
9% and Dicks almost 3.5%, according to late-night results. Still, Blangiardi outspent his opponents as well.
To continue as mayor, an office which comes with an annual salary of $209,856, Blangiardi raised over $2.2 million, according to campaign filings — far surpassing any amounts his challengers had either raised or loaned to their respective campaigns. But the mayor stated money wasn’t the reason his campaign bested this year’s competition.
“We always felt the best campaign strategy was putting our heads down, working hard and solving the city�.