Hawaii Gov. David Ige (D) has won a second term in office after cruising past his Republican challenger on Tuesday.
Ige easily defeated Andria Tupola (R), the minority leader in the Hawaii state House.
Ige’s win completed a remarkable comeback in which he fought back a challenge from Rep. Colleen Hanabusa (D) in the Democratic primary. Hanabusa led several polls — some by double digits — after Ige came under criticism for his response to a false missile alert earlier this year.
{mosads}But Ige spent the following months rebuilding his credibility and responding quickly to other natural disasters that have hit the islands. He led response efforts to heavy rains and flooding in Kauai in April and to a slow-moving eruption on the Big Island that began earlier this summer.
Ige avoided the ignominious fate of becoming Hawaii’s second straight governor to lose his re-election bid. Ige ousted Gov. Neil Abercrombie (D) four years ago to become Hawaii’s eighth governor.