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2018 Northern Mariana Islands gubernatorial election
	Results by voting district: ; Ralph Torres: 55–60% 60–65% 65–70% 70–75%
Governor before election; Ralph Torres; Republican	Elected Governor ; Ralph Torres; Republican

The 2018 Northern Mariana gubernatorial election took place on Tuesday, November 13, 2018, to elect the Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands and the Lieutenant Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands to a four-year term in office. Incumbent Republican governor Ralph Torres, who ascended to governorship in December 2015 following the death of Governor Eloy Inos, sought election to a full term.^[2]^[3]

The election, which corresponds to the larger Northern Mariana general election and the United States midterms, was originally scheduled to be held on Tuesday, November 6, 2018.^[1] However, Governor Ralph Torres postponed all elections in the territory until November 13 due to the impact of Typhoon Yutu, which struck the Northern Mariana Islands as a Category 5 storm in October 2018, shortly before the planned elections.^[1]

Unlike past gubernatorial elections, there was no runoff election in 2018, since there are only two candidates contesting the gubernatorial contest, incumbent Ralph Torres and former governor Juan Babauta.^[4] On November 13, 2018, Governor Torres won his first full term as Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands.^[5]

Election background

In the 2014 gubernatorial race, Republican governor Eloy Inos and his running mate, Ralph Torres, were elected to a full four-year term. The Inos-Torres ticket defeated independent candidate, Heinz Hofschneider, in the gubernatorial runoff on November 18, 2014.

Governor Eloy Inos died in office at a hospital in Seattle, Washington, on Monday, December 28, 2015 (local time in Seattle).^[6] Because of the time difference between Seattle, it was already Tuesday morning, December 29, in the Northern Mariana Islands at the time of Governor Inos' death.^[6] Lieutenant Governor Ralph Torres became the new Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands on Tuesday, December 29, to serve the remainder of Inos' unexpired term.^[6]^[7] Victor Hocog, the then-President of the Northern Mariana Islands Senate, was sworn in as the new Lieutenant Governor later that day on December 29.^[7]

On November 8, 2017, Lt. Governor Victor Hocog announced that he would not run for re-election as lieutenant governor in 2018.^[8] Instead, Hocog would seek election for one of the two Senate seats representing the island of Rota in the 2018 general election.^[8]^[9]

Governor Ralph Torres declared his candidacy for a full term in a press conference on November 19, 2017, at his home in As Teo.^[2]^[3] Torres chose Senate President Arnold Palacios as his new running mate for lieutenant governor in 2018 gubernatorial contest.^[2]^[3]

Juan Babauta, the former Governor from 2002 to 2006, announced his candidacy on April 12, 2018, as an independent.^[10] He selected Dr. Rita Sablan, the former commissioner of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Public School System, as his running mate for lieutenant governor.^[10] His candidacy was supported by territorial delegate Gregorio Sablan, an independent who caucuses with the national Democratic Party in Congress.^[11]

Election postponement

The Northern Mariana Islands' general and gubernatorial elections were originally scheduled for Tuesday, November 6, 2018, to correspond with the nationwide 2018 United States midterm elections. However, Typhoon Yutu made landfall in the Northern Mariana Islands as a Category 5 super typhoon, devastating the main islands of Saipan and Tinian. In response, Governor Torres postponed all elections in the Northern Mariana Islands until Tuesday, November 13, 2018, including the gubernatorial race.^[1]

Early voting was held from Tuesday, November 6, 2018, until Monday, November 12, 2018.^[12]

Candidates

Ralph Torres (Republican), incumbent Governor (since December 29, 2015)^[3]
- Running mate: Arnold Palacios, President of the Northern Mariana Islands Senate (since January 9, 2017). Palacios was announced as Torres's running mate on November 19, 2017^[3]^[13]
Juan Babauta (Independent), former Governor (2002–2006) and 2014 gubernatorial candidate; candidacy announced on April 12, 2018^[10]
- Running mate: Rita Sablan, former Education Commissioner of the Northern Mariana Islands Public School System (2009–2016)^[10]^[14]^[15] Sablan was previously one of three individuals shortlisted by the Democratic Party to serve as the running mate for Joe Inos during his short time as an active candidate.^[16]

Withdrew

Joseph Songao Inos (Democratic), former mayor of Rota, former member of the Northern Mariana Islands Senate, and brother of the late Governor Eloy Inos.^[17] Inos announced his candidacy on January 19, 2018, but withdrew from the race on February 7, 2018, citing a lack of unified support from his family.^[16]^[18] Prior to dropping out, Inos was expected to name his running mate on February 15, 2018.^[19]

Endorsements

Juan Babauta and Rita Sablan

Delegates

Gregorio Sablan (Independent), incumbent Delegate from the Northern Mariana Islands's at-large congressional district^[20]

Organizations

Democratic Party^[21]^[22]

Ralph Torres and Arnold Palacios

Commonwealth-wide officeholders

Diego T. Benavente, former Lieutenant Governor^[20]
Froilan Tenorio (Democratic), former Governor^[20]

Legislators

Maria Frica Pangelinan (Democratic), former Senator^[20]

Results

The gubernatorial contest was held on Tuesday, November 13, 2018, having been delayed one week due to recovery efforts from Typhoon Yutu. Early voting began on November 6.^[1] Incumbent Ralph Torres won re-election to his first full term.^[23]

Northern Mariana Islands gubernatorial election, 2018
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ralph Torres and Arnold Palacios	8,922	62.2%
	Independent	Juan Babauta and Rita Sablan	5,420	37.8%
Total votes			14,342	100%

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Sinco Kelleher, Jennifer (October 29, 2018). "Northern Mariana Islands elections delayed as community recovers from devastating super typhoon". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Associated Press. Archived from the original on October 30, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c Villahermosa, Cherrie Anne E. (November 21, 2017). "Torres announces Palacios as running mate for 2018". The Guam Daily Post. Archived from the original on November 4, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Encinares, Erwin (November 20, 2017). "Torres-Palacios ticket affirmed". Saipan Tribune. Archived from the original on February 10, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
^ De La Torre, Ferdie (August 9, 2017). "No runoff election". Saipan Tribune. Archived from the original on November 13, 2018. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
^ Torres wins in landslide CNMI election
^ ^a ^b ^c Miculka, Cameron (December 29, 2015). "CNMI Gov. Eloy Inos dies". Pacific Daily News. Archived from the original on January 5, 2016. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
^ ^a ^b Chan, Dennis B. (December 30, 2018). "Torres becomes governor; Hocog is lt. gov". Saipan Tribune. Archived from the original on June 28, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
^ ^a ^b Encinares, Erwin (November 14, 2017). "Hocog announces Senate bid". Saipan Tribune. Archived from the original on November 4, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
^ De La Torre, Ferdie (July 12, 2018). "Lt. Gov. Hocog, Rota Mayor Atalig file candidacies". Saipan Tribune. Archived from the original on November 4, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d De La Torre, Ferdie (April 13, 2018). "Babauta, Sablan announce candidacies". Saipan Tribune. Archived from the original on June 16, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
^ "Kilili endorses Babauta-Sablan team". Saipan Tribune. July 2, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
^ De La Torre, Ferdie (November 12, 2018). "Early voting ends today, Monday". Saipan Tribune. Archived from the original on November 13, 2018. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
^ De la Torre, Ferdie (January 9, 2017). "20th legislature to convene today". The Guam Daily Post. Archived from the original on November 4, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
^ Perez, Jon (July 28, 2016). "Rita Sablan to retire as Education commissioner". Saipan Tribune. Archived from the original on May 17, 2017. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
^ Perez, Jon (August 9, 2016). "Pangelinan is acting PSS commissioner". Saipan Tribune. Archived from the original on August 18, 2017. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
^ ^a ^b De La Torre, Ferdie (January 22, 2018). "Joseph S. Inos is Dems' gubernatorial bet". Saipan Tribune. Archived from the original on November 4, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
^ Dandan, Zaldy (2019). "Micronesia in Review: Issues and Events (1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018)". Contemporary Pacific. 31 (1): 184. Retrieved April 22, 2024 – via eVols.
^ "Joseph Inos withdraws from gubernatorial race". Marianas Variety. February 8, 2018. Archived from the original on November 4, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
^ "Inos to announce running mate on Feb. 15". Saipan Tribune. February 4, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Dandan, Zaldy (2020). "Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands". The Contemporary Pacific. Vol. 32, no. 1. University of Hawaiʻi Press. pp. 225–231. Retrieved April 18, 2024 – via eVols.
^ Perez, Jon (July 11, 2018). "Democrats support Babauta-Sablan ticket". Saipan Tribune. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
^ Erediano, Emmanuel T. (July 11, 2018). "Democrats endorse Babauta-Sablan". Marianas Variety. Archived from the original on July 13, 2018. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
^ "2018 Election Results". Commonwealth Election Commission. November 2018. Archived from the original on June 16, 2019. Retrieved December 20, 2019.