KAHULUI — Hundreds of supporters danced and chanted “Four more years!” as incumbent Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen surged past challenger Yuki Lei Sugimura Tuesday night in a hard-fought reelection bid.

Bissen held a 10-point lead as of the second printout shortly after 9 p.m. Tuesday with 23,109 votes (53.8%) to Sugimura’s 18,779 votes (43.7%). No more updates had been released as of 3 a.m. Wednesday. 

“This was a long campaign, you guys, and this wasn’t an easy one,” Bissen told the crowd gathered for his election night watch party at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center’s Yokouchi Pavilion. “This was a difficult one, and it tested everything we had. And the thing I’m most proud of is that we stayed positive and (ran a) clean campaign.”

At Sugimura’s headquarters in Kahului, the crowd was quiet as the results from the first printout flashed on two big-screen TVs, showing Bissen ahead by 2,827 votes.

But they cheered heartily for Sugimura, the vice chair of the Maui County Council, as she thanked them for their support and told them her campaign “was a journey to represent you as your mayor, and it was so important for me to make that decision.”

“I said I need to take this role. I need to do this for the people,” she said. “And the more I got to live in the community with you in a deeper way through many meetings … I realized how important it was for me to take a step because your voice was not being heard.”

She hadn’t thrown in the towel just yet, saying she planned to wait for the second printout. 

“I really, really feel the win is ours,” she told an audience that included former Maui County Mayor Mike Victorino, who also stopped by Bissen’s party, and former Maui County Council Chair Mike White.

Tuesday’s election concluded a hotly contested race that saw both candidates rake in over half a million in campaign contributions while a superPAC backed by the carpenters union spent nearly $2 million on advertising in support of Sugimura. 

Both candidates described themselves as the David to each other’s Goliath — from Sugimura’s perspective, it was because she was challenging an incumbent; in Bissen’s view, it was because he was up against major superPAC money.

“What happens when you’ve got big money coming in is that they muddy it, or they say things that aren’t necessarily true,” Bissen said. “But I think we have smart voters on our island. I think we have citizens who care about their community. And I think they can see through some things.”

If Bissen’s lead holds in the final printouts, he’ll likely be working with a council that appeared to have flipped progressive as of the latest results Tuesday night. Progressive candidates Shane Sinenci, Tamara Paltin, Kelly Takaya King and Bobby Pahia all were leading.

Pahia, who ran for the Upcountry seat being vacated by Sugimura, collected 25,462 votes (59.3%) to Jon Yokouchi’s 11,383 votes (26.5%).

“I feel ecstatic, of course. I feel honored,” Pahia said in the Wow-Wee Maui’s Kava Bar and Grill after an appearance on nearby Akakū’s live election broadcast. “Also, I feel that I have a great … kuleana (responsibility) of representing the people that put their trust in me.”

In 2024, the faceoff between King and incumbent Council Member Tom Cook for the South Maui seat was the closest council race at the time, with Cook prevailing by 97 votes. This time, King held the lead, with 19,857 votes (46.2%) to Cook’s 18,375 votes (42.8%).

In his rematch with Claire Kamalu Carroll for the East Maui seat, Sinenci earned 21,342 votes (49.7%) to Carroll’s 14,126 votes (32.9%). 

Paltin, who holds the council’s West Maui seat, was holding off challenger Mark Tillman with 25,990 votes (60.5%) to Tillman’s 10,556 votes (24.6%). 

Progressive Council Members Keani Rawlins-Fernandez, who holds the Moloka‘i residency seat, and Gabe Johnson, who holds the Lāna‘i residency seat, ran uncontested this year. 

Meanwhile, Marvin Moniz, who is running to replace retiring Council Chair Alice Lee in the Wailuku-Waihe‘e-Waikapū area, secured 22,607 votes (52.6%), while Ashley Awakea Lindsey had 13,445 votes (31.3%). 

Nohe U‘u-Hodgins, who holds the Makawao-Ha‘ikū-Pā‘ia seat, had 22,509 votes (52.4%) to Stevie Kathryn Chung’s 12,972 votes (30.2%). 

Kauanoe Batangan, who was appointed by Bissen to replace the late Tasha Kama in the Kahului district after her death last year, was leading Carol Lee Kamekona with 19,462 votes (45.3%) to Kamekona’s 16,977 votes (39.5%). 

King said late Tuesday evening that she felt hopeful about working with Bissen as a council. 

“I think I’ve heard every mayor in my past 30 years talk about how they plan to work with the council, and as soon as they get seated, it’s not. It hasn’t been a team,” King told the Hawai‘i Journalism Initiative at Akakū’s election watch party in Kahului. “So we’re not going to agree on everything, and even the council members won’t agree on everything. But our main goal is to represent the people.”