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2014 Northern Mariana Islands general election

Gubernatorial election

← 2009 4 November 2014 (first round) 21 November 2014 (runoff) 2018 →

Nominee Eloy Inos Heinz Hofschneider Party Republican Independent Running mate Ralph Torres Ray Naraja Yumul Popular vote 6,547 4,948 Percentage 56.96% 43.04%

Results by voting district: Eloy Inos:      50–55%      55–60%      60–65%      65–70%      >95% Heinz Hofschneider:      50–55%

Governor before election Eloy Inos Republican Elected Governor Eloy Inos Republican

Delegate election

← 2012 4 November 2014 2016 →

Nominee Gregorio Sablan Andrew Sablan Salas Party Independent Democratic Popular vote 8,549 4,547 Percentage 65.28% 34.72%

Results by voting district: Gregorio Sablan:      50–55%      55–60%      60–65%      65–70%      80–85% Andrew Salas:      60–65%

Delegate before election Gregorio Sablan Independent Elected Delegate Gregorio Sablan Independent

Senate election

← 20122016 →

6 of the 9 seats in the Senate 5 seats needed for a majority

Party Vote % Seats +/– Republican 46.01 7 +2 Independents 50.20 2 −2 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

House election

← 20122016 →

All 20 seats in the House of Representatives 11 seats needed for a majority

Party Vote % Seats +/– Republican 33.38 7 +3 Independents 61.88 13 +1 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

Politics of the Northern Mariana Islands
Constitution and law United States Constitution Northern Mariana Islands Constitution Law of the Northern Mariana Islands
Executive Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands Arnold Palacios (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands David M. Apatang (Independent)
Legislature Northern Mariana Islands Senate President Edith DeLeon Guerrero (Democratic) Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives Speaker Edmund Villagomez (Independent)
Elections Northern Mariana Islands general elections: 2009, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024 U.S. Congressional elections: 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024
Political parties Political party strength Democratic Party Republican Party
Federal delegation United States House Delegate Gregorio Sablan (Democratic)
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v t e

General elections were held in the Northern Mariana Islands on Tuesday, 4 November 2014. The elections coincided with the 2014 United States midterm elections. Voters in the Northern Mariana Islands voted for the governor of the Northern Mariana Islands, the non-voting delegate to the United States House of Representatives, attorney general, 6 seats in the Northern Mariana Islands Senate, all twenty seats in the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives, 4 mayors, seats for the municipal council, and seats for the board of education. Additionally, a referendum involving changes to the constitution was held.

Incumbent Republican governor Eloy Inos was re-elected, facing two independent challengers and one Democratic challenger. The next lieutenant governor was elected on the same ticket, with incumbent Jude Hofschneider not running for re-election. As no candidate got a majority, a runoff was held on 21 November 2014. This election was the first time since 2001 that the Covenant Party, which dissolved in 2013, was not on the ballot. It also marked the first time since 1999 that only two political parties would compete in the elections, marking a return to a two-party system similar to that of the United States rather than the multi-party system, which began back in 1999 when the now dissolved Reform Party was first formed and went on to win a stunning victory by managing to elect Senator Ramon Deleon Guerrero to the senate, that had defined the CNMI for nearly 15 years. The Democratic Party would not win a single seat in the legislature until 2020 and would not compete for the governorship until 2022.

Background

The previous election was held in 2009 for a 5-year term, in order to move all elections to even years. Covenant Party candidate Benigno Repeki Fitial was re-elected; his running mate Eloy Inos was elected to his first full term as lieutenant governor. Fitial resigned as governor in February 2013 in the face of impeachment hearings. Inos thus became governor. In September 2013, he took steps to merge the Covenant Party with the territorial Republican Party, and ran for re-election as a Republican.

Electoral system

The Northern Mariana Islands Senate is the upper house of the Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth Legislature, consisting of nine senators representing three senatorial districts (Saipan & the Northern Islands, Tinian & Aguijan, and Rota), each a multi-member district with three senators. Each district had two seats open for the 2014 elections. The third district also hosted a special election for one seat.

The Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives is the lower house of the Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth Legislature. The house has seven districts and five of the seven are Multi-member district.

Candidates

Gubernatorial election

Eloy Inos, the incumbent republican governor was re-elected. He was challenged by the speaker of the house and 2009 candidate, Heinz Sablan Hofschneider, former governor Juan Babauta (both running as independents), and democratic candidate Edward Masga Deleon Guerrero, former ports authority executive director.

• Juan Babauta, former governor (2002–2006), running as an independent
  • Running mate: Juan Torres, former senator
• Edward "Tofila" Masga Deleon Guerrero, former Ports Authority executive director, running as a Democrat
  • Running mate: Danny Quitugua, former representative
• Heinz Sablan Hofschneider, 2009 candidate and Speaker of the House, running as an independent
  • Running mate: Ray Naraja Yumul, senator (I-Saipan)
• Eloy Songao Inos, incumbent governor, running as a Republican
  • Running mate: Senate President Ralph DLG. Torres (R-Saipan)

US delegate

Incumbent Delegate Gregorio Sablan filed for re-election. Sablan caucuses with the Democratic Party, but ran as an independent. He was first elected in 2008, upon the creation of the Northern Mariana Islands' delegate seat for the U.S. House of Representatives.

Sablan was challenged by Democrat Andrew Sablan Salas.

Campaign

Endorsements

Delegate Gregorio Sablan was endorsed by House Minority Whip Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland) in October 2014.

Results

Governor

Delegate to the US House of Representatives

Incumbent Delegate Gregorio Sablan was re-elected. He caucuses with the Democratic Party, but ran as an Independent. Sablan was challenged by democrat Andrew Salas, a former territorial representative and Commerce Secretary. While not quite as massive as his 2012 victory, Sablan managed to win yet another landslide with nearly two-thirds of the vote over his Democratic competitor.

House of Representatives

By district

Senate

By district

Mayors

All four mayoral posts were up for election across the Commonwealth.

On June 2, 2014, incumbent Saipan mayor Donald Flores, then in his second term, died in office following a stroke. Governor Eloy Inos appointed Marian Deleon Guerrero Tudela as acting Mayor of Saipan on June 3, 2014, to serve for the remainder of Flores' unexpired term, which would end in January 2015. Ramon B. Camacho, the chairman of the Saipan and Northern Islands Municipal Council, served as acting mayor until Tudela could return from Arizona to take the oath of office. Tudela had been living in Arizona at the time of her appointment in order to take care of her great-granddaughter. Inos cited her second place finish in the 2009 mayoral election as a reason for her appointment. She promised to retain all of Flores' existing staff during her term. Marian Tudela was sworn into office on June 8, 2014, by Governor Eloy Inos during a ceremony at the Coral Ocean Point Resort. She became the first female mayor of Saipan, as well as the first female mayor of any municipality in the Northern Mariana Islands in history. Tudela declined to run for a full term.

Attorney General

This was the first election in which the Attorney General was an elected position. Edward Manibusan, the former presiding judge of the Superior Court, defeated attorney Michael N. Evangelista handily. Manibusan won all but Tanapag and Rota in the general election.

Municipal councils

Board of Education

Referendum

The general elections included three referendum questions, two of which involved legislative initiative amendments to the constitution. The constitutional amendments were to:

• article XV, subsection 1(e) of the constitution to increase the minimum proportion of the Commonwealth general-revenue budget spent on primary and secondary education from 15% to 25%. H.L.I. 18-12.
• amend article XII, section 4 to redefine "persons of Northern Mariana Islands descent" as being someone who has "some degree of Northern Mariana Chamorro or Northern Mariana Carolinan blood", as opposed to the current requirement of at least 25% bloodline. H.L.I. 18-1.

An amendment proposed by legislative initiative shall become effective if approved by a majority of the votes cast. N.M.I. Const. art. XVIII, § 5(b).

The other referendum asked voters whether a Constitutional Convention should be convened to propose amendments to the constitution. H.B. 18-5.

The Constitutional Convention proposal would have required two-thirds of the votes cast to be approved. N.M.I. Const. art. XVIII, § 2(c).

Notes

1. Ramon Muna Dela Cruz switched his affiliation from Republican to Independent before the elections

References

1. ^ "Legislative Initiatives". Commonwealth Election Commission. Archived from the original on October 22, 2014. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
2. ^ "Election 2014 Results". Commonwealth Election Commission. Archived from the original on November 30, 2014. Retrieved May 3, 2015.
3. "Analysis: What went wrong , what went right". Saipan Tribune. November 8, 1999. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
4. Eugenio, Haidee V. (November 23, 2009). "CNMI holds first runoff election". Saipan Tribune. Archived from the original on January 12, 2012.
5. Erediano, Emmanuel T. (February 20, 2013). "New governor, lt. governor". Marianas Variety. Archived from the original on February 24, 2013. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
6. ^ Eugenio, Haidee (September 19, 2013). "Inos, Covenant Party members rejoining GOP". Saipan Tribune. Archived from the original on April 8, 2014.
7. Eugenio, Haidee (March 14, 2014). "Dems pick Deleon Guerrero-Quitugua". Saipan Tribune. Archived from the original on April 8, 2014. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
8. ^ Eugenio, Haidee (April 8, 2014). "Independent bid for Babauta, Torres". Saipan Tribune. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
9. Eugenio, Haidee V. (March 14, 2014). "Dems pick Deleon Guerrero-Quitugua". Saipan Tribune. Archived from the original on September 7, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
10. "Caucus Memberships". Gregorio Kilili Sablan. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
11. Todiño, Junhan B. (September 8, 2014). "NMI Democrats want to 'Save Pagan'". Marianas Variety. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
12. "Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer endorses Kilili". Saipan Tribune. October 29, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
13. Rabago, Mark (November 6, 2014). "Kilili wins 4th term in another landslide". Saipan Tribune. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
14. ^ Camacho, Jayson (June 11, 2014). "Hundreds attend funeral of late mayor Donald Flores". Saipan Tribune. Archived from the original on January 20, 2022. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
15. ^ "Tudela named Saipan mayor". Saipan Tribune. June 4, 2014. Archived from the original on April 6, 2015. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
16. ^ Rabago, Mark (June 9, 2014). "Saipan's First Female Mayor: Marian Tudela sworn in". Saipan Tribune. Archived from the original on December 20, 2017. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
17. "Saipan's First Female Mayor, Marian Tudela, Sworn Into Office". Pacific News Center. June 8, 2014. Archived from the original on March 7, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
18. Eugenio, Haidee (August 5, 2014). "Inos appoints Birnbrich as AG". Saipan Tribune. Archived from the original on January 17, 2017. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
19. De La Torre, Ferdie (November 6, 2014). "Former judge Manibusan wins over Evangelista in AG race". Saipan Tribune. Archived from the original on September 25, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
20. House Legislative Initiative 18-12 Vote CNMI

External links

• Juan Babauta
• Heinz Hofschneider
• Gregorio Sablan
• Andrew Salas

v t e Elections and referendums in the Northern Mariana Islands
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Referendums	1958 1961 1963 1969 1975 1977 1983 1985 1987 1989 1993 1995 1996 1997 1999 2005 2007 2009 2010 2012 2014
See also: Elections and referendums in the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands

• 2014 Northern Mariana Islands elections
• November 2014 events in Oceania
• 2014 in the Northern Mariana Islands
• 2014 elections in Oceania
• 2014 referendums
• Referendums in the Northern Mariana Islands