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The 1986 Hawaii Gubernatorial election, a contest between Lieutenant Governor John Waihe'e and Businessman Andy Anderson resulted in a modest—by Hawaii Gubernatorial standards at the time—3.96% win thereby resulting in Hawaii's first Native Hawaiian elected Governor.
Seen as the best chance for the GOP to win the governorship since 1966, the General was fought along the longstanding Fautlines of Hawaii politics up to that time, with John Waihe'e suported by the Ariyoshi Political Machine, and Andy Anderson suported by Honolulu Mayor Frank Fasi.
Fasi had lost the Democratic Primary for Governor in 1974 & 1974, then lost as an independent in 1982, and had by this time swithched to the republican Party, and now suported 1982 third place finisher Andy Anderson.
But in the end, The Democratic Party's financial, and organizational edge in Hawaii proved to be too much to overcome, resulting in Waihe'e's 3.96% win
In this vain, the Democratic Primary—where Waihe'e won over Congressman Cecil Heftel, and former Representative Patsy Mink—was where most of the intrigue in this election appeared.
Congressman Heftel was seen as a political independent with a strong liberal record, a person without ties to either Ariyoshi nor Fasi, and as someone who fought for the people. Waihe'e likewise tried to keep a distance from Ariyoshi, while still benifiting from his Machine.
The results were seen as an upset, with Cecil Heftel having comanding leads in the polls as well as outspending Waihe'e.
Despite this, a prominent smeer that Heftel was gay and had AIDS along with the Ariyoshi Machine's strong support among High Propensity Japanese americans is understood to have propelled Waihe'e to victory in the primary.
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