1959 Hawaii gubernatorial election

The governorship was considered the most important office in the election because the winner would direct the establishment of the new state government. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin described the governorship as the "prize plum" among the elective offices and stated that the winner would have unprecedented power in organizing the state administration. Quinn entered the race as Hawaii's last appointed territorial governor, while Burns entered as Hawaii's last delegate to Congress, during whose term statehood had been achieved.^[1] The field of possible candidates had been unsettled in the months before the election. The Pacific Commercial Advertiser reported in April 1959 that Honolulu mayor Neal S. Blaisdell could have become Hawaii's last appointed governor but had passed up the opportunity out of loyalty to the late governor Samuel Wilder King. The same article reported that Blaisdell had recently taken himself out of the first gubernatorial election and that loyalty to King was also believed to have influenced that decision.^[4]

Quinn also faced questions over whether he would resign as territorial governor before running for office. At a television press conference, Quinn said that he might not resign before becoming a candidate in the coming state elections. He also said that a public official had the right to review a previous decision, after earlier indicating that he would resign before running for state office. Quinn criticized a proposed bill that would have required some officeholders to resign before running and said that Hawaii should "start acting like a state".^[5]

The general election campaign was described as the most exciting contest among the major races. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported on July 27 that observers rated the governor's race a toss-up, although Quinn was reported to be ahead in an independent poll conducted on Oahu. The same article stated that Burns had entered the general election campaign as the favorite after receiving more than 69,000 votes in the primary, giving him a 20,000-vote head start over Quinn. As the campaign progressed, Quinn gained ground rapidly, and polls about a week and a half before election day showed him substantially ahead of Burns. Quinn's campaign emphasized the continuation of the Republican administration and its projected government programs. One of Quinn's major proposals was the "Second Mahele", which called for selling public land at raw land values, beginning at $50 an acre.^[1] Quinn said that his land proposal would help make middle- and low-income fee-simple house lots available and stimulate growth on the Neighbor Islands. At a Wahiawa forum, Quinn said that the main problem was how to spread Oahu's prosperity to the Neighbor Islands and that the key issue was land.^[10]

Burns campaigned on economic diversification, tax reduction, education expansion, and land reform. In the closing days, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported that Burns had shifted from a general statehood theme to a series of proposals on taxes, education, and land. Burns proposed annual tax reductions of $17 million and a six-point program for education expansion in the new state. He also advanced land reform proposals intended to counter Quinn's Second Mahele plan and his proposals for the Neighbor Island economies.^[11] At a July 1959 Wahiawa Community Association meeting, Burns proposed establishing a foreign trade zone on Sand Island. Burns said that the zone would be connected with an international house and trade center and would help establish Hawaii as a Pacific showcase. He argued that the project was needed because Hawaii lacked diversified industry and because young people needed more opportunities. Burns also proposed creating a Department of Commerce within the state government to implement new economic projects.^[10]

The July Wahiawa meeting was described as polite and carefully controlled. Each candidate was given 20 minutes to speak on his program as governor, and no questions were allowed from the floor. Quinn yielded the first speaking position to Burns because Burns had a television engagement later that evening. The report stated that the audience response was evenly divided and that Democrats and Republicans greeted one another warmly after the event before continuing their campaigns.^[10] The International Longshore and Warehouse Union was a recurring issue in the campaign. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported that the ILWU supported Burns with both manpower and financial resources. Burns was criticized as being beholden to the union, but he responded that he was "beholden to no man or any pressure group", including the ILWU.^[11] A post-election analysis by University of Hawaii government professor Dan W. Tuttle said that ILWU support both helped and hurt Burns because it prevented a decisive defeat but also frightened some voters who might otherwise have supported him.^[12] The closing phase of the campaign was intense. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported on July 24 that both candidates were increasing their campaign efforts and that the parties were using every vote-getting technique available. The same article stated that observers were finding it increasingly difficult to predict the race and that even some strong Democrats were calling it close. The article estimated that a candidate would need about 82,000 votes to win if turnout reached 90 percent of the 183,000 registered voters.^[11]

On election day, Quinn declined to predict the result. He compared the end of the campaign to waiting for a jury verdict after completing an argument in court. Quinn and his wife voted at Koko Head School and later listened to election returns by radio with friends and staff at a Waikiki hotel. Interior Secretary Fred A. Seaton, who was present that evening, said that people in Asia were watching Hawaii's election and were aware of Hawaii's multi-racial makeup.^[13] The Quinn-Burns contest remained close into the early morning hours.The Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported that Burns took the lead as early returns came in but later lost it as more precincts reported.The report stated that the lead moved back and forth through the night, sometimes by only a few hundred votes.^[7] Burns conceded at about 1:50 a.m., while he was still behind and strong Republican precincts remained unreported.The same election also produced Republican victories in both executive offices.The Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported that Quinn and Kealoha won the governorship and lieutenant governorship and that their victory gave Republicans the prize offices at stake in the election.The article said that Quinn would be the 15th Republican state governor in the United States, compared with 35 Democratic governors at the time.^[3]

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin attributed Burns's defeat in part to the failure of the Neighbor Islands to provide the level of Democratic support expected by his campaign.The report stated that Burns's combined margin over Quinn on Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai was only a little more than 2,000 votes.It further reported that Burns led Quinn by about 1,000 votes on Kauai, about 700 votes on Maui, and less than 300 votes on the Big Island.Observers quoted by the paper said that Burns had done better on Oahu than expected.^[3]

Tuttle said after the election that his earlier poll had predicted a Quinn victory with 57.1 percent of the vote, but that the poll had been taken when Quinn's popularity was at its height.He said that the Republican campaign had fallen off badly after that poll and that he had expected Quinn to do better on Oahu.Tuttle also said that his poll had been within its four-percent margin of error in four of the five major races but had missed the margin in the gubernatorial contest.Tuttle argued that a general Republican trend had damaged several vulnerable Democratic candidates, including Burns, Kido, and Frank Fasi.He also said that Burns may have been hurt by the nationally publicized connection between James Hoffa and the ILWU.Tuttle suggested that Democrats may have made a mistake by vocally attacking Quinn's Second Mahele proposal rather than adopting a more positive approach earlier.^[12]

Kealoha defeated Kido in the lieutenant gubernatorial election. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported that the race had been expected to be close before the election but that Kealoha's overall strength had been underestimated.^[3] Tuttle also said that the Kealoha-Kido contest was affected by Kealoha's strength on the Neighbor Islands.^[12] Kealoha said in Hilo after the election that he was thrilled by his success and promised to support economic development programs for the Neighbor Islands.^[7] The election was also treated as a setback for the ILWU. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported that Burns's loss was a severe setback not only for Democrats but also for the ILWU, which had supported the Burns-Kido ticket early in the campaign. ILWU official Jack W. Hall said that the election results would compel the union to reappraise its political activity, including how it conducted that activity and where emphasis should be placed.^[3]

The Pacific Commercial Advertiser, which had endorsed Quinn, praised Quinn's victory in a post-election editorial. The editorial also praised Burns's campaign and stated that Burns had conducted himself with dignity. It stated that Hawaii had, for the first time in its history, a chief executive chosen directly by the public and directly responsible to the public. The editorial urged the Republican governor and Democratic legislative leaders to place public welfare above partisanship during the transition to statehood.^[2]