Another Primary Election in Hawaii is now in the history books.
As usual, most of the action is on the Democrat side, though there were some interesting developments on the Republican side too.
I'm not going to go over all of the races in the primary, just the highest profile ones that interest me.
Governor
On the Democrat side, current Lieutenant Governor Josh Green (like most lieutenant governors running to be governor) was the front-runner from the start.
Josh Green is a medical doctor and that brought major credibility during the pandemic when attention to public health was at its peak.
People loved when Green went to local talk shows to explain the latest on the coronavirus crisis.
This was a contrast to the current governor David Ige who had a reputation for not making quick decisions and isn't the best communicator out there.
Yes, Green had some competition in the primary.
There was Vicky Cayetano, an entrepreneur and wife of former governor Ben Cayetano. She had some business insights into improving Hawaii's economy.
And in the nearly last minute, Kai Kahele joined in the race. He was a one-term US representative that just didn't like being in DC. He was absent from Capitol Hill a lot (just like the previous person Tulsi Gabbard) and it was becoming obvious his heart wasn't in it. He decided to come home to run for governor.
Kai Kahele had a lot going for him. He has charisma and can speak with authority! He was a military officer who felt the military took too much advantage of Hawaii (especially when it came to Red Hill, Makua Valley and Pohakuloa). People can feel his sincerity when he speaks about the lack of affordable housing in Hawaii. He promised not to take money from special interests. And being a former UH volleyball player didn't hurt either.
But it just wasn't his time. I think he gave it his best shot considering he joined the race late. But he was up against an opponent that was just too popular.
And now on Twitter, some activists are claiming Kahele's lost was due to "racism". These are the activists who act as if modern-day Hawaii is like Mississippi in the 50s or like Soweto in the 70's. It isn't.
But here's Exhibit A from pualalea who acts as if Green's 64% win over Kahele is due to racism
https://twitter.com/pualaleapanaewa/status/1558699021840945157
My response
Josh Green wouldn't get 64% of Hawaii Dem vote if only "his own kind" voted for him! Plus, "whites" more likely to support Repubs (the party that chose Duke Aiona 3X including now!)
and
plus, most of Josh Green voter older than 34 (would've been at least 18 in 2006) probably voted Akaka for US Senate at least once in their lifetime.
And for another activist who claimed Kahele's loss is due to "racism" is Jamaica Osorio
But to claim that Kahele lost because "Hawaii hates Hawaiians"?
Nevermind that the people of Hawaii voted for John Waihee (governor) and Dan Akaka (US senator) MULTIPLE TIMES in my lifetime!
Here's what I wrote on Twitter about all this
https://twitter.com/PabloTheMdTgrWr/status/1559074137506603008
In my lifetime, Hawaii had a Japanese governor, Native Hawaiian governor, Filipino governor, Jewish governor, Anglo governor, Okinawan governor. But if a candidate who joined the race last-minute didn't win a primary, that's a sign of racism?
Even if the winner won because he's a doctor in the pandemic era, and in this era, expertise in public health is what people want in a governor?
Kai Kahele didn't lose because of racism. He gave it his best shot, his opponent was just too popular!
I can definitely see him winning political office again in the near future. It was timing, not ancestry, that's the reason for the latest result
also, not a denial racism exist in Hawaii, but it's not why Kahele lost in a state which voted Waihee governor, Akaka senator, and Aiona as LG in my lifetime.
I'll keep you updated if there's response to my tweets
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On the Republican side, there was Heidi Tsuneyoshi (currently on Honolulu City Council), BJ Penn (UFC fighter) and Duke Aiona (former lieutenant governor).
Duke Aiona, like Kai Kahele, did join in nearly the last minute.
But the difference is that in Aiona's case, he had opponents with too many red flags.
Especially BJ Penn!
Penn has a devoted fan base from his MMA days. He also sparked some attention when he loudly denounced vaccine mandates, mask mandates, and other public health measures in response to the coronavirus crisis. He was the voice for those who wanted to act as if the coronavirus doesn't exist. He also excited those who thought the average politician was too boring.
But he also had a problematic past. His violence wasn't confined to the ring. He had past allegations of domestic abuse as well as assault on police officers. He got into multiple fights outside strip clubs. He yelled out misogynist, homophobic and racist slurs when he is angry. He threatened a farmer with a machete. He also had multiple DUI arrests.
see video of all that at https://www.facebook.com/HIRA808/posts/pfbid02otmMQEhRcUuHMmuC11QAFUKvjiPfanfNuscMcV5jmQNyHa1J5TmWgUi3pnYdPy8Hl
Most Republican voters decided that BJ Penn was more trouble than he's worth, and decided to go with the experienced, level-headed Duke Aiona!
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Lieutenant Governor
Not much to say, except that the voters on the Democrat side wanted experience and therefore chose long-time state legislator Sylvia Luke. I was hoping for Keith Amemiya(former high school sports executive, currently a bank executive) to win, but it wasn't meant to be. He also lost in the 2020 race for mayor. Not sure if he wants to keep running for office or just stick with the private sector.
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Congress
Incumbents Brian Schatz (US Senate) and Ed Case (US House - D1) won easily over lesser-known opponents.
The action was on US House D-2, which was held by Kai Kahele who left to run for governor.
Jill Tokuda, a former state senator who was originally planning to run for lieutenant governor, decided to join in the race for D-2 when it was becoming obvious Kahele's heart wasn't in Congress.
Tokuda's main opponent was Patrick Branco, another former state legislator.
The problem with Branco was his very desperate tactics.
He decided to accuse Jill Tokuda of being too aligned with the National Rifle Association (NRA), which he thought would work when the Uvalde school shooting was still fresh in people's minds.
But NOBODY believes Jill Tokuda wants everyone to get an Uzi.
Tokuda's stance is your typical center-left stance of background checks for anyone interested in getting a gun.
But that wasn't good enough for Branco who wants to ban all guns.
US House D-2 includes a lot of rural communities where pig hunting is a tradition. Anti-gun hysteria isn't going to work. Sure, people there want background checks, and sure they don't want people to have AKs, ARs, and Uzis. But Branco's anti-gun hysteria went too far.
Branco relied on special interests from the continental US to run negative ads against Jill Tokuda. He even instructed them (via his website) on the definitions of common Hawaiian terms like keiki, kupuna, and ohana.
Jill Tokuda focused her campaign on the local people who already knew what those words mean.
Yes, negative ads can work in Hawaii. But you have to KNOW HOW to do it in order to be effective. Branco just didn't get it.
My prediction is that Patrick Branco's political career is over. He might try again, but at this point, nobody trusts him.
State Legislature
I'm only going to comment on my district and note that I'm satisfied that incumbent Dale Kobayashi lost to Andrew Takuya Garrett.
Kobayashi basically coasted to office in the past based on his mother's last name (Ann Kobayashi, former city councilwoman), and he turned off many people with his speeches at antivax rallies.
I think Garrett's mail ads pointing out Kobayashi's antivax statements were an effective use of negative advertising BECAUSE IT WAS TRUE! It didn't reek of desperation (unlike Patrick Branco).
Garrett also balanced it out with positive mail ads noting his service to the community and the policies he wants to implement. His positive mail ads outnumbered the negative ones.
