Kadin Mills
ICT

WASHINGTON — People living in Hawai‘i cast their ballots in the primary election on Aug. 10. The Hawai‘i primary has the second highest number of Indigenous candidates running for office this year, behind Arizona. There are 29 Native Hawaiians running for offices in Hawai‘i, from city council to the state Senate and Office of Hawaiian Affairs, according to a database managed by ICT and Advance Native Political Leadership.

The number of Indigenous candidates tracked by ICT who are running for public office has increased since the number was previously reported. Of the 29 candidates running for office in 2024, there are only two non-incumbents, Carol Lee Kamekona and John Pele, who are running for seats on the Maui County Council. Both are Native Hawaiian.

Overall, there were eight Native Hawaiians on the ballot in local elections, with another 10 running for positions at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. There were also six Indigenous candidates running for reelection to the state House of Representatives and another five members from the state Senate.

Office of Hawaiian Affairs

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs is a semi-autonomous state agency working to improve the wellbeing of Native Hawaiian peoples through programs such as scholarships and grant funding. They also provide loans for small businesses, home improvement, education, and debt consolidation.

The office is governed by a board of trustees, comprising nine seats: four reserved for at-large trustees and five for residents of Hawaii, Maui, Molokai, Oahu, and Kauai, respectively.

Former U.S. Rep. Kai Kahele, Native Hawaiian, threw in his bid for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Rep. Kahele, a Democrat, formerly represented Hawai‘i’s second congressional district. He received nearly 57 percent of the vote in the state’s primary election, winning his seat as the Hawaii Resident Trustee outright.

Luana Alapa, Native Hawaiian, seeks to join Kahele as the Moloka’i & Lāna’i Resident Trustee. Alapa narrowly won the position outright, but fell short of the majority vote required by less than two percentage points. She will face R. Kunani Nihipali, Native Hawaiian, in the general election.

Dan Ahuna and Laura Lindsey, both Native Hawaiian, will face each other at the general election for the office of the trustee for Kaua’i & Ni’ihau. Voters will also have to decide between incumbent Keli’i Akina, Native Hawaiian, and Lei Ahu Isa, Native Hawaiian, for the position of At Large Trustee. In the primary, they beat out Patty Kahanamoku-Teruya, Peter Apo, and Brendon Kalei’aina Lee, all Native Hawaiian.

State Legislature

There were 11 Native Hawaiian candidates running for office in the state legislature, with six candidates for state House, and five for Senate. Hawai‘i has 25 state senators and 51 state representatives. Only one republican ran for state legislature in the primary election, state Sen. Brenton Awa, Native Hawaiian.

All of the candidates are incumbents and advancing to the general election:

  • Kirstin Kahaloa, state House of Representatives District 6
  • Mahina Poepoe, state House of Representatives District 13
  • Jeanné Kapela, state House of Representatives District 5
  • Darius Kila, state House of Representatives District 44
  • Daniel Holt, state House of Representatives District 28
  • Micah Pookela Kim Aiu, state House of Representatives District 32
  • Michelle Kidani, state Senate District 18
  • Lynn DeCoite, state Senate District 7
  • Jarrett Keohokalole, state Senate District 24
  • Dru Kanuha, state Senate District 3
  • Brenton Awa, state Senate District 23

Local Government

Eight Native Hawaiian candidates are running for local office. All will advance to the general election in November. Five of them are in Maui County.

Shane Sinenci represents East Maui on the Maui County Council. He was automatically reelected in June 2024, as he is running unopposed. The other four candidates are running to fill two seats.

Carol Lee Kamekona is challenging incumbent Tasha Kama for a seat on the council representing Kahului. John Pele will try to overtake Keani Rawlins-Fernandez for representation of Molokai. Because there are only two candidates for each position, both of these races will go directly to the general election.

Other Native Hawaiian candidates won their primaries and will advance to the general election:

  • Holeka Goro Inaba, Hawai’i County Council District 8
  • Esther Kia’aina, Honolulu City Council District 3
  • KipuKai Kuali’i, Kaua’i County Council

On Tuesday, Aug. 13, voters in Minnesota, Vermont, Connecticut, and Wisconsin will cast their ballots, with voters in Florida and Wyoming following suit one week later on Aug. 20.

ICT is tracking 10 Indigenous candidates and their races in Minnesota, as well as one in Wyoming.

Continue to visit ictnews.org for updates on these races.

The database is not complete and ICT encourages people to email political correspondent Pauly Denetclaw at pauly@ictnews.org and political reporting intern Kadin Mills at kadin@ictnews.org to add a past or current 2024 candidate to the database.

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