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Bob McDermott and Sheila Medeiros win Hawaii legislative seats via random drawing after primary ties

Bob McDermott and Sheila Medeiros were selected as winners of two Hawaii legislative seats following a random drawing held at the state Capitol on Saturday. The drawing was necessitated by historic dead heats in the Republican primary elections for Senate District 20 and House District 43. In the Senate District 20 race, Bob McDermott and incumbent Kurt Fevella finished with 1,212 votes each after voters cured signature deficiencies on their ballots. In the House District 43 race, Sheila Medeiros and incumbent Kanani Souza also ended in a tie with 842 votes each. Under state law, the Office of Elections conducted a drawing to determine the winners. Bob McDermott will advance to the general election to face Democratic candidate Markus Owens. Because no other party competed for House District 43, Sheila Medeiros won the seat outright. The drawing process was used to resolve the ties after a 13-hour automatic recount and a five-day period for voters to correct ballot errors.

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