Hawaii's two candidates for the second congressional district met in their only scheduled debate, a win for voters in a race where face-to-face matchups have been scarce.

• The Civil Beat forum was the only one Tokuda agreed to, and top-of-ticket candidates for governor have skipped debates entirely this year.
• The sharpest split was the Jones Act, the law forcing cargo from the mainland to arrive on American-built ships with American crews.
• Awa wants the law changed, saying Hawaii cannot fix its cost of living without it; Tokuda defends it as the guarantee that food keeps showing up on store shelves.
• Awa, running as a Republican, called himself an independent, said Trump lost in 2020, and backs abortion rights while opposing the Iran war and aid to Israel.
• Union money is in play: Tokuda has the ILWU dockworkers' endorsement, which shapes the shipping fight.

Outlook: Mail ballots start arriving in about nine days, so voting begins almost immediately with no second debate to shift the race.