General elections were held in the Northern Mariana Islands on November 7, 2009. Voters in the Northern Mariana Islands voted for the Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands, 6 seats in the Northern Mariana Islands Senate, all twenty seats in the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives, 4 mayors, seats for the municipal council, and seats for the board of education. Additionally, a referendum was held.

This was the last general election to be held on an odd year. This election also saw the extension all office holding officials by one year to move the elections to even-years, corresponding with the elections of other federal and state offices, including the nationwide United States House of Representatives elections and the United States general elections. This election also oversaw the first run-off to be held in the Northern Mariana Islands, which were held on November 23, 2009. Benigno Repeki Fitial became the first governor to win a second term since 1985 and the first time a candidate won a majority since 1993 thanks to the newly implemented run-off voting system.

Background A total of 16,146 voters registered to vote with the Commonwealth Election Commission for the 2009 election. That is a 15% increase in voters compared to the 15,118 people who registered to vote in the 2005 general election. Precinct 1 on Saipan, which includes the villages of San Antonio, San Vicente and Koblerville, had the most number of registered voters at 4,331. Voter registration ended on September 18, 2009.

A total of 109 candidates vied for the 43 elected positions in the Northern Mariana Islands in the 2009 election. The contested offices included the offices of governor & lieutenant governor, the twenty seats in the House of Representative, six (of nine) seats in the Senate as well as mayoral posts and various local offices.

At least 18,000 ballots designed to be read by counting machines were printed in Alabama for the 2009 election, according to the executive director of the Election Commission, Robert Guerrero.

In early 2009, Benigno Fitial, known as Uncle Ben, was under extreme pressure from his rivals and the general populace, being known as the unpopular incumbent who broke all his major campaign promises. He had stopped paying Retirement Fund contributions. The Commonwealth Utilities Corporation was on the verge of collapse. The Commonwealth had lost a major part of its self-determination through the lost control over minimum wage and immigration to the United States Federal Government. His Lieutenant Governor Timothy Pangelinan Villagomez and Commerce Secretary James A. Santos were in federal prison for corruption.

Campaign Major election issues included the Commonwealth's faltering economy and the federalization of the Northern Mariana Islands' immigration by the United States government.

Republican Hofschneider and his running mate, Palacios, challenged incumbent governor Benigno Fitial and his running mate, Lieutenant Governor Eloy Inos, in the general election. Former legislator Juan "Pan" Tenorio Guerrero ran as an independent, with sitting CNMI Rep. Joe Camacho as his running mate. Another former legislator, Ramon "Kumoi" Deleon Guerrero, campaigned as an independent, with former Education Commissioner David M. Borja as his running mate. The race was widely viewed as a rematch between Fitial and Hofschneider, who was narrowly defeated in 2005.

The gubernatorial candidates focused heavily on the estimated 3,000 Northern Mariana Islanders residing on the United States mainland, many of whom were eligible to vote be absentee ballot. Three of the four gubernatorial candidates - Governor Fitial, Hofschneider and Juan Pan Guerrero - attended a Labor Day festival for Northern Mariana Islanders in San Diego, California, in September 2009. Independent candidate Juan "Pan" Tenorio Guerrero and his running mate, Joe Camacho, campaigned throughout the western United States in August and September. Guerrero and Camacho began campaigning in Salem and Portland, Oregon, before travelling to Seattle, Boise, Idaho, San Francisco, Las Vegas, San Diego and Honolulu.

Thanks to all the broken campaign promises and the major corruption scandals his administration face, Benigno Fitial couldn't run on his record. Instead, he told the electorate to "Let it BE!" as he skillfully exploited the still simmering rift between the two GOP factions and handed out promises of government jobs and contracts to key Republicans.

The Democratic Party of the Northern Mariana Islands did not nominate a candidate for governor in 2009. The only offices which were contested by the Democrats in 2009 were certain seats in the legislature and the mayorship of Saipan.

Gubernatorial election The incumbent Governor, Benigno Fitial of the Covenant Party, successfully ran for a second term; his running mate, Lt. Governor Eloy Inos, was elected to his first full term. Fitial faced three challengers in the November 7 general election: Republican nominee Heinz Hofschneider, independent Juan "Pan" Tenorio Guerrero, and independent Ramon "Kumoi" Deleon Guerrero.

Because of a law signed by Governor Fitial on July 24, 2009, a runoff election between the candidates who received the highest and second-highest vote totals would be required if no candidate obtained more than 50% of the overall vote. Under this 2009 law, a runoff would occur 14 days after the results of the general election are certified by the Commonwealth Election Commission. This election indeed required a runoff, as neither Fitial nor Hofschneider garnered more than 50% of the vote in the November 7 election.

On election day, Republican challenger Hofschneider received 4,900 votes and incumbent governor Fitial received 4,892 votes, therefore advancing to the runoff election held on November 23, 2009. Of the 13,784 total votes cast in the first round on November 7, Hofschneider led Fitial by just 8 votes, the closest gubernatorial election in the history of the Northern Mariana Islands. In the November 23 runoff election, Governor Fital was reelected by a 370-vote margin. With a margin of 2.8%, this election was the closest race of the 2009 gubernatorial election cycle.

Benigno Fitial was elected to serve a five-year term in office as governor instead of the normal four-year term, due to the Senate Legislative Initiative 16–11, which was one of the four ballot initiatives ratified in the November 7 election. Under the Senate Legislative Initiative 16–11, future general (including gubernatorial) elections will be held only in even-numbered years instead of odd-numbered years, such as 2009. Therefore, the next gubernatorial election took place in 2014 rather than 2013.

Candidates

Covenant Party

Benigno R. Fitial, incumbent governor of the Northern Mariana Islands (serving since 2006) and former Northern Mariana Islands Representatives (including tenure as Speaker of the House) Eloy Inos is Fitial's running mate. Inos was appointed and confirmed as Lt. Governor on May 1, 2009, following the resignation of Timothy Villagomez.

Independents

Juan "Pan" Tenorio Guerrero Joe Camacho is Guerrero's running mate. Camacho is currently a Republican Representative and Floor Leader of the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives. Ramon "Kumoi" Deleon Guerrero, former Northern Mariana Islands Senator (serving 2000–2004) David Borja, a former Education Commissioner, is Guerrero's running mate.

Republican Party

Former Northern Mariana Governor Juan N. Babauta, a Republican, declared his intention to run for governor and challenge Fitial in January 2009. His running mate was Galvin Deleon Guerrero, a member of the CNMI Board of Education. Babauta was then defeated in the Republican primary by sitting CNMI Rep. Heinz Sablan Hofschneider, a former Speaker of the House, for the Republican Party nomination. Hofschneider's running mate is CNMI Rep. Arnold Indalecio Palacios, the current Speaker of the House.

Before the Republican primary, which was held on June 27, 2009, Hofschneider and Babauta signed a unity pledge, with each candidate pledging to support the winner of the primary. Hofschneider won the primary on June 27 with about 53% of the votes cast. Hofschneider won at six of the eight precincts. After the results were announced, the candidates convened and embraced; Babauta threw his support to Hofschneider and said that he would accept the people's decision. After Babauta had asked his supporters to vote for Hofschneider in the general election, Hofschneider called Babauta and his supporters "a crucial part of the campaign toward November."

Polling Source Dates Administered Fitial (C) Hofschneider (R) Juan Guerrero (I) Ramon Guerrero (I) UndecidedUniversity of GuamUniversity of Guam October 27, 2009 27% 27% 19% 12% 16%Marianas ConsultingMarianas Consulting October 29 - Nov. 4, 2009 15% 29% 20% 7% 22%

Election day Polls on election day opened at 7 a.m. on November 7, 2009. Three of the four gubernatorial candidates cast their ballots in the morning at Garapan Elementary School in Garapan, Saipan. Incumbent governor Benigno Fitial and First Lady Josie Fitial voted at 7:10 a.m., Ramon "Kumoi" Deleon Guerrero arrived at the school at 7:20 a.m. and independent candidate Juan Pan Guerrero voted after 9 a.m. Republican candidate Heinz Hofschneider also voted at Garapan Elementary School at 6 p.m. later that day. An estimated 84% of registered voters participated in the election.

In the November 7 general election, Republican challenger Heinz Hofschneider received 4,900 votes and incumbent governor Benigno Fitial received 4,892 votes, therefore both advanced to the runoff election slated for November 23, 2009. A total of 13,784 votes were cast in the first round. Hofschneider led Fitial by just eight votes, the closest gubernatorial election in the history of the Northern Mariana Islands. Independent candidates Juan Pan Guerrero and Ramon "Kumoi" Deleon Guerrero came in 3rd and 4th place respectively and, therefore, did not qualify for the second runoff election.

Under a 2009 law signed by Governor Benigno Fitial, a runoff election is required within fourteen days of the if no candidate obtained 50% of the popular vote plus 1. Since neither Fitial nor Hofschneider garnered more than 50% of the vote, a runoff date was set for November 23, 2009.

Runoff The Commonwealth Election Commission certified the results of the general election on November 9 and set the date of the runoff election between Fitial and Hofschneider for Monday, November 23. In a November 17 memorandum, Governor Fitial declared November 23 a legal holiday in the Northern Mariana Islands to encourage voter turnout.

The candidates qualifying for the runoff on November 23, 2009, were incumbent Covenant Party Governor Benigno Fitial and Republican candidate, Rep. Heinz Hofschneider. The incumbent ticket of Fitial-Inos campaigned for re-election on a theme of "proven leadership and proven experience," while the rival Hofscneider-Palacios campaign advocated a "change in leadership" to voters.

Both the Fitial and Hofschneider campaigns reached out to supporters of the independent candidates who did not qualify for the November 23rd runoff, Juan "Pan" Tenorio Guerrero and Ramon "Kumoi" Deleon Guerrero. The support of these independent voters was considered vital both Fitial's and Hofschneider's candidacies.