The Republican candidate for Congress, Kimberlyn King-Hinds, 3rd left, with Sen. Karl Rosario King-Nabors, Rep. Patrick San Nicolas and Tinian Municipal Council members Joseph Santos, Esteban Cabrera and Ana San Nicolas at the Commonwealth Election Commission on Aug. 2, 2024. All won on Election Day, Nov. 5, 2024.
KIMBERLYN King-Hinds of Tinian, a Republican, won a stunning upset in the U.S. delegate race by defeating a Saipan Democrat endorsed by the governor, the lt. governor, the incumbent delegate, the island’s mayor, several members of the House leadership, and other government officials.
Based on unofficial results, King-Hinds received 4,931 votes or 40.34% of the total votes cast while House Floor Leader Edwin Propst garnered 4,067 or 33.27%.
Finishing third, fourth and fifth were independent Saipan candidates John O. Gonzales, 2,282; James Rayphand, 665; and Liana S. Hofschneider, 280.
An attorney who served as board chair of the Commonwealth Ports Authority, King-Hinds will be the CNMI first female delegate. She will succeed U.S. Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, the islands’ first delegate. He has decided not to seek a ninth term.
“I want to thank the people of the Commonwealth for coming out to exercise their right to vote,” King-Hinds said in an interview Wednesday. “This is our opportunity to write a new chapter. I’m looking forward to engaging with the stakeholders in our community to discuss their priorities to formulate a whole of government approach to provide relief to the people who desperately need it. The road to economic recovery is long and hard but nothing is impossible and I’m ready to get to the business of amplifying the voice of the CNMI in the halls of Congress,” she added.
King-Hinds also congratulated the other candidates, “who stepped up to the plate to give our community options.”
Propst conceded after the Commonwealth Election Commission announced the unofficial partial results at around past midnight.
He congratulated King-Hinds and wished her the very best. “To my amazing committee, I cannot thank you enough for your hard work and support. To our supporters, thank for your votes, messages of support, donations, and kindness. To Daisy and Kiana, Devin, Kaden, and Logan, I love more than anything in this world. Thank you for always being there for me,” Propst posted on Facebook.
King-Hinds took the lead against Propst once the early voting results were announced by the CEC, just a few hours after polling centers closed at 7 p.m.
King-Hinds received 1,980 early votes against Propst’s 1,609. CEC said these numbers were from Saipan only.
Propst edged King-Hinds in most of the precinct vote results on Saipan to cut her lead, but she beat him in Precinct 4B (San Roque), and on Tinian as well as Rota. It was also later announced that she received the most early votes, CNMI-wide, with 2,524, while Propst could only muster 1,824.
Absentee ballots were also tabulated, further solidifying King-Hinds’ lead with 431 votes compared to Propst’s 280.
