Guam Election Results: Ada-Calvo Lead Governor's Race in Final Unofficial Count as Terlaje Concedes

Guam, where “America’s day begins,” was among the first U.S. places to finish counting on Election Day. Because the island is 15 hours ahead of Eastern Time, its polls closed and ballots were tallied while most of the mainland was still voting.

According to final unofficial results from the Guam Election Commission (GEC), released at about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday local time, the Republican team of Vice Speaker Tony Ada and E.J. Calvo leads the governor’s race. The Pacific Daily News reported that Democratic Sen. Therese Terlaje told supporters she had called Ada to concede on behalf of her ticket.

The results are unofficial and remain subject to GEC certification. The commission plans to convene Nov. 19 to count off-island ballots, per the Pacific Daily News.

Guam governor race results (unofficial)

With all 59 precincts counted, the GEC’s unofficial tally showed, as reported by The Guam Daily Post and Pacific Daily News:

The margin was 1,020 votes. The count swung during the night. Just before midnight local time, with 21 of 59 precincts in, Terlaje-Perez led by only 80 votes, before Ada-Calvo pulled ahead, the Pacific Daily News reported.

Turnout was 53.11%, with 31,414 ballots cast out of 59,146 registered voters, according to the GEC figures cited by the Daily Post.

Other Guam election results

• Delegate to Congress: Democrat Alicia Limtiaco, a former attorney general, led Republican incumbent Del. James Moylan 15,645 (51%) to 14,983 (48.84%), a 662-vote margin. Guam’s delegate is a nonvoting member of the U.S. House.
• Attorney general: Phillip Tydingco led incumbent Attorney General Douglas Moylan in a five-way race, 11,583 votes (38.29%) to 10,008 (33.08%).
• Legislature: Republicans held eight of the top 15 spots in the race for the 15-member 39th Guam Legislature, which would give them a narrow majority if the order holds. Only 147 votes separated the 15th- and 16th-place finishers, the Daily Post reported.

What the governor’s race was about

Current Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero, a Democrat, is term-limited. Before the vote, the Marianas Press described the stakes: the U.S. military is building an estimated $8 billion missile defense system on the island, tourism is still recovering (visitor arrivals at 42% of pre-pandemic levels), and voters raised concerns about corruption, the cost of living and planned deep-sea mining in nearby waters.

Ada, 59, stressed keeping Guam’s relationship with the federal government and military strong and cited his experience as a lawmaker and businessman. Terlaje, 62, an attorney, said Guam needs “an equal seat at those tables” on the military buildup and deep-sea mining, and pledged to fight corruption with transparency in procurement and hiring.

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