General elections were held in

American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

on November 4, 2008, to elect a governor, members of the House of Representative, and a delegate to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, as well as a referendum on a legislative override of the governor's veto. The elections were held as part of the wider 2008 United States general election. In the gubernatorial election no candidate received more than 50% of the vote in the first round, resulting in a

runoff election The two-round system (TRS or 2RS), sometimes called ballotage, top-two runoff, or two-round plurality, is a single-winner electoral system which aims to elect a member who has support of the majority of voters. The two-round system involves one ...

between the top two candidates on November 18, which was won by the incumbent governor

Togiola Tulafono Togiola Talalelei A. Tulafono (born February 28, 1947) is an American Samoan politician and lawyer who served as the sixth governor of American Samoa. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He had previously served as the seventh lieutenant gove ...

. Incumbent U.S. House delegate

Eni Faleomavaega Eni Fa'aua'a Hunkin Faleomavaega Jr. ( ; August 15, 1943 – February 22, 2017) was an American Samoan politician and attorney who served as the territory's third lieutenant governor, from 1985 to 1989 and non-voting delegate to the United State ...

, who affiliates with the Democratic Party was also re-elected.

Gubernatorial election

Background

Governor

and

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Ipulasi Aitofele Sunia announced their intent to seek re-election on May 10, 2008. Their formal announcement, which Tulafono called "the worst kept secret of this season," took place before a crowd of approximately three hundred supporters at the Tradewinds Hotel in

Tafuna Tafuna () is a village in Tualauta County, Western District, American Samoa. It is the most populous village in American Samoa, with a population of 7,988 according to the 2020 U.S. census. Tafuna is the principal area for the development of hou ...

Afoa Moega Lutu Afoafouvale Leulumoegafou Suesue Lutu (February 24, 1947 – December 15, 2023) was an American Samoan politician and attorney. Lutu has served as the former attorney general of American Samoa in two different administrations. He was a former se ...

formally announced his own candidacy for Governor of American Samoa at a campaign rally at the same Tradewinds Hotel on May 17. The rally consisted of about seven hundred Lutu supporters. Lutu promised to tackle a number of issues if elected governor, including

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

, rising food and energy prices and the

economy An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

. Utu Abe Malae and his running mate, Nua Mailo Saoluaga, formally announced their candidacy on June 10 at a gathering at the Maliu Mai Beach Resort in

Pago Pago Pago Pago ( or ; Samoan language, Samoan: )Harris, Ann G. and Esther Tuttle (2004). ''Geology of National Parks''. Kendall Hunt. Page 604. . is the capital of American Samoa. It is in Maoputasi County, American Samoa, Maoputasi County on Tutuila ...

. This is not the first time that Tulafono and Lutu faced each other in a

gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

election. Tulafono defeated Lutu in the 2004 gubernatorial runoff election with 56 percent of the total vote to Lutu's 44 percent. Lutu also fell short in his bids for Lieutenant Governor of American Samoa in the 1996 and 2000 elections, losing both times to Tulafono. The President of the

American Samoa Senate The American Samoa Senate is the upper house of the American Samoa Fono. The Senate, like the lower House of Representatives, is a nonpartisan body. It is composed of 18 senators, serving a four-year term. The first name for the upper house of ...

Lolo Moliga Lolo Letalu Matalasi (born August 12, 1947) is an American Samoan politician, educator, and businessman. He served as the seventh governor of American Samoa, from 2013 to 2021. Early life and education Moliga was born in Taʻū, Manu'a, America ...

, also originally announced his intention to run for governor as well. However, Lolo withdrew from the race on June 13, just two months into his campaign, citing existing commitments to his extended family

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...

. He also noted the need to prevent divisiveness within the families of the Manu'a islands, where many of the gubernatorial and Lt. governor candidates have ancestral ties. Four of the 2008 candidates for governor or lieutenant governor in the 2008 election either were from or had ancestral ties to the Manu'a Islands. Those with Manu'a ancestry are incumbent Lt. Governor Ipulasi Aitofele Sunia, lieutenant governor candidate

Velega Savali Velega Savali Savali Jr. (born January 11, 1943) is an American Samoan politician. Savali was a candidate for Lieutenant Governor of American Samoa in the American Samoan gubernatorial election in 2008. He served as the American Samoa Treasurer f ...

, and both members of the gubernatorial team of Utu Abe Malae and his running mate, Nua Mailo Saoluaga. The

deadline Deadline(s) or The Deadline(s) may refer to: * Time limit, a narrow field of time by which an objective must be accomplished Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Deadline (DC Comics), a fictional villain * ''Deadline'' (magazine), a Britis ...

to register as a candidate for governor in the current election was September 1 at 16:30. An official list of the four teams was released by the election office the following day.

Candidates

– Incumbent

Governor of American Samoa This is a list of Governor (United States), governors, etc. of the part of the Samoan Islands (now comprising American Samoa) under United States administration since 1900. From 1900 to 1978 governors were appointed by the Federal government o ...

, affiliated with the Democratic Party **

Running mate A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate running with a pre ...

: Ipulasi Aitofele Sunia, Incumbent

Lieutenant Governor of American Samoa The government of American Samoa consists of a locally elected governor, lieutenant governor and the American Samoa Fono, which consists of an 18-member Senate and a 21-member House of Representatives. The first popular election for Governor an ...

– Former

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

of American Samoa, candidate for governor in 2004, affiliated with the Republican Party **Running mate:

, former American Samoan

Treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

(2005–2008) * Utu Abe Malae – Former President of the Development Bank of American Samoa, affiliated with the Republican Party **Running mate: Nua Mailo Saoluaga, former

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

of the

American Samoa House of Representatives The American Samoa House of Representatives is the lower house of the American Samoa Fono. The House consists of 21 members serving two-year terms, with 20 popularly elected representatives, and one delegate from Swains Island elected in a publ ...

(1997–2002) * Tuika Tuika –

Accountant An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certif ...

, affiliated with the Republican Party **Running mate: Tee Masaniai,

United States military The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...

retiree All elections in American Samoa are officially non-partisan, but Tulafono and Sunia identify with the Democratic Party.

House of Representatives

There were 54 candidates vying for the 20 elected seats in the

. All seats in the House are up for election in 2008. Every incumbent member of the House sought re-election, except for Gaoteote P. Gaoteote who is retiring. The only member who ran unopposed was Rep. Agaoleatu Charlie Tautolo.

U.S. House of Representatives

Ten term incumbent Delegate

, a Democrat, sought an 11th term. He was challenged by Republican Aumua Amata Coleman and Independent Rosie F. Tago Lancaster.

Referendum

A referendum to allow the legislative override of the

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president (government title), president or monarch vetoes a bill (law), bill to stop it from becoming statutory law, law. In many countries, veto powe ...

es was also on the

ballot A ballot is a device used to cast votes in an election and may be found as a piece of paper or a small ball used in voting. It was originally a small ball (see blackballing) used to record decisions made by voters in Italy around the 16th cent ...

. The

American Samoa Fono The American Samoa Fono is the territorial legislature of American Samoa. Like most states and territorial legislatures of the United States, it is a bicameral legislature with a House of Representatives and a Senate. The legislature is located ...

passed the proposal giving itself the authority to override a veto by the

. The proposal was then submitted to the Governor's office to be forwarded to the American Samoa election office as a referendum. The referendum will ask voters to agree to amend the

Constitution of American Samoa The Constitution of American Samoa is the constitution that defines the government of American Samoa. Unlike constitutions of a state, it is subject to unilateral change by the federal government. Constitutional documents of the territory include t ...

to give the Fono, rather than the

United States Secretary of the Interior The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natura ...

, the power to override a veto by the Governor. Currently, a veto can only be overridden by the

, who is based in

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Any veto powers bestowed on the Fono would require a two-thirds majority in both the

and the

before becoming law.

Results

Governor

House of Representatives

Delegate

Referendum

The legislative over-ride proposal was defeated narrowly in the referendum, thereby maintaining the veto powers to the United States Secretary of the Interior.

References

External links

American Samoa Election Office
{{2008 U.S. elections Referendums in American Samoa 2008 ballot measures in the United States Elections in American Samoa

2008 in American politics American Samoa gubernatorial elections

United States House of Representatives elections in American Samoa Non-partisan elections