26 candidates vie for 7 Kauai County Council seats in 2026 race

Twenty-six candidates are running for seven Kauai County Council seats, and the August 8 primary will cut that field to the top 14 vote-getters before the November 3 general election. For voters, the arithmetic matters: where a candidate lands on primary night can decide who stays alive long enough to compete for one of the county’s seven seats.

The Kauai County Council is the county’s legislative branch, and all seven members are elected at the same time to two-year terms. That gives the race direct consequences for housing, land use, water, roads and public services, the issues that shape daily life from Līhue to Kapaa and across the island.

Candidate filing closed on June 2 after nomination services began on February 1, which left the ballot field set as the campaign moved into its final stretch. Kauai County says primary ballots must be received by 7:00 p.m., making the return deadline as important as the candidate count itself.

The race has already shown how crowded it is. A May 16 political forum in Kapaa gave voters a chance to hear from candidates for mayor, county council and state House, and 23 registered candidates presented at the event. As of May 18, the state Office of Elections listed 32 candidates for the seven Kauai County Council seats, including two incumbents, before the filing deadline narrowed the final field to 26.

That smaller number still leaves a crowded primary, and the math is what makes the contest hard to read. With 26 names chasing 14 spots, a candidate does not need to finish first in August to stay in the race, but slipping out of the top tier ends the campaign before the general election. The middle of the pack is where the competition is likely to turn, because even modest changes in vote totals can move a candidate from safety to elimination.

For Kauai voters, that makes the August 8 ballot a test of both name recognition and turnout. The seven council winners will help set county priorities on the issues residents feel most directly, from the cost of housing to the condition of roads and the pressure on water and other public services.