Kawaihae, HI Political Map | Democrat & Republican Areas in Kawaihae

By the BestNeighborhood data science team. Last updated May 2026.

Kawaihae leans Democratic by roughly 28 points: about 64% of voters vote Democratic and 36% Republican.

 

About 64% of adults in Kawaihae typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Kawaihae, ~41% vote Democratic, ~23% Republican, and ~36% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.

How Kawaihae compares

Among cities within 25 miles, Kawaihae is the most Democratic-leaning.

Kawaihae runs about 5 points more Democratic than Hawaii as a whole.

Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Kawaihae. The northwest side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+29) and the southeast side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+17), a spread of about 12 points.

Why Kawaihae leans the way it does

This analysis examined 14,881 data points per city to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Kawaihae, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.

Areas with high college attainment vote Democratic. About 53% of adults in Kawaihae hold a bachelor's degree, about 25 points above the U.S. average of 28%.

Preventive-care access and voter turnout

Places with strong routine preventive-care access tend to turn out at a higher rate; Kawaihae, HI sits in the top quarter nationally on this measure. Dental visits do not drive turnout; the rate reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access, which line up with who votes.

Why turnout in Kawaihae looks the way it does

Homeowners vote more often than renters. About 96% of households in Kawaihae own their home, about 30 points above the Hawaii average of 66%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 98% of adults in Kawaihae have completed high school, above 96% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.

Sources and methodology

Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Hawaii Office of Elections, distributed by the Voting and Election Science Team. Demographic inputs come from the U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 5-year estimates and the 2020 Decennial Census). Health and environmental inputs come from the CDC (PLACES and the Environmental Justice Index). Land cover comes from the USGS and EPA. Election-day and lead-up weather come from PRISM 4km daily grids and the NOAA Global Historical Climatology Network. Mail-voting and election-administration patterns come from the MIT Election Lab's Survey of the Performance of American Elections. Block-group crime detail comes from CrimeGrade. Internet data and modeling support provided by ISPreports.org.

Modeling and analysis by the BestNeighborhood data science team. Some land-use inputs for Hawaii, including walkability and the environmental-justice index, are estimated rather than measured, so the figures here carry added uncertainty. Full methodology and findings: political spectrum map.

Methodology reviewed by the BestNeighborhood data team. Last updated May 2026.