The difference between victory and defeat is even tighter for the House Republican primary to represent Kapolei-Makakilo. In many legislative districts across the islands, it only takes as few as 2,000 Democratic or Republican votes to become a state senator or state representative. For both Democratic and Republican candidates, “Every vote counts,” said Colin Moore, who teaches public policy at the University of Hawaii. Whether they’re Democratic or Republican races, Moore said, “It seems like pretty much every election we have one race separated by single digits.” Now the margins in the two West Oahu Republican primary races are small enough to automatically trigger recounts, which are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. today at the state Capitol.