Saturday’s primary election here is a sort of mini-reflection of what is happening across the country.

In short, incumbents are facing unprecedented challenges and old power bases are being threatened by upstarts.

The face of the Maui County Council is going to change anyway because two members – Gladys Baisa and Mike Victorino – can’t run again due to term limits. And there are spirited races to replace them.

Baisa’s Upcountry seat is being sought by four different candidates – Napua Greig-Nakasone, Eric Molina, Stacy Moniz and Yuki Lei Sugimura. The two top vote-getters Saturday will face off in the general election in November.

The Wailuku-Waihee-Waikapu seat that Victorino will vacate is being sought by five candidates – Alika Atay, Joseph Blackburn, Dain Kane, Keith Regan and Hana Steel. Again, the top two will square off in the general.

In South Maui, incumbent Don Couch is challenged by three primary opponents – Richard DeLeon, Kelly King and Jerome Metcalf.

Council Chair Mike White, representing Makawao-Haiku-Paia, has two opponents in the primary Saturday – Trinette Furtado and Alan Kaufman. As in the other races, the two top vote-getters in both South Maui and Makawao-Haiku-Paia advance to the general election.

In the state House, there are four primary contests where incumbents face challengers.

In District 8, the winner of the Democratic race between state House Speaker Joe Souki and challenger Richard Abbett will face Republican Gilbert Rebolledo in November.

In District 11, there has been a very spirited race between incumbent Democrat Kaniela Ing and challenger Deidre Tegarden. Whoever prevails Saturday will go up against Republican Daniel Pekus.

The winner of the Democratic primary for the District 12 seat between incumbent Kyle Yamashita and challenger Tiare Lawrence faces no opposition in November and will thus be elected.

District 13 Rep. Lynn DeCoite faces Alex Haller for the Democratic nomination Saturday. The winner will face Green Party candidate Nick Nikhilananda in the general election

So there are a lot of interesting races on our local level. Walk-in voting continues at the County Clerk’s Office through Aug. 11, or you may cast your ballot at your polling place on Saturday, Aug. 13.

* Editorials reflect the opinion of the publisher.