HONOLULU — Tapping into voters’ frustration with the status quo, Donald Trump cruised to an easy victory in Hawaii, in an election that drew in new Republican voters in a highly Democratic state.
Wind, rain and long lines didn’t keep the state’s passionate voters from the polls Tuesday to decide how the Republican candidates would split the state’s 19 delegate votes.
“Our votes here might be a small vote, but nevertheless, we’re here to do our duty,” said Al Carvalho, 49, who co-owns a contracting business with his wife. “I’m voting for Donald Trump because I’m tired of the career politicians, and I’m willing to give somebody else a chance.”
Trump won with 42 percent of the vote, while Texas Sen. Ted Cruz captured 33 percent. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio came in third with 13 percent of the vote, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich came in fourth with 11 percent.
There are more than 2,000 provisional votes to be counted this week, and the Hawaii Republican Party will allocate delegates after that count is completed.
More than 15,000 voters turned out, surpassing the 10,000 that turned out in the 2012 Republican presidential caucus.
Hours before polls opened the Hawaii Republican Party headquarters was buzzing with phone calls about where people could vote, said Marcia Tagavilla, the executive director of the Republican Party of Hawaii.
“We’re getting a lot of those calls saying, ‘You know this is my first time doing this, I support this candidate, what can I do?'” Tagavilla said.
Honolulu police were called to a polling place Tuesday evening when Nathan Paikai, a minister who is leading Trump’s campaign efforts in Hawaii, got into an argument with a Ted Cruz supporter. No one was arrested.
Paikai said Mark Bell’s shirt, which had Cruz’s name on the back, violated election rules about campaigning around a polling place. Bell, who said he was there to vote, insisted that as long as he was 50 feet away from the ballot box, he could stay.
Republican state Rep. Bob McDermott said he’s supporting Cruz, in part because “in the debates, he has behaved himself and acted like a statesman.” But he credits Trump with helping to attract more voters into the party.
“Trump, for all the criticism, he’s expanding the base, and I think the Democrats are worried about that,” McDermott said.
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