To keep up with Hawaii’s Republicans, watch Kauai.
It will be the spot where Hawaii’s Republicans conclude their annual state convention next week.
Kauai has been the scene of several annual gatherings of Republicans that trace much of the power of the local GOP. Although it is hardly a bastion of GOP power, Kauai has been the location of several pivotal Republican conventions and should show exactly what the GOP has to offer the state.
It was 20 years ago, during state convention meetings on Kauai that Republicans showed off the reelection campaign for then-Gov. Linda Lingle, who was already a statewide political power. She was on her way to becoming Hawaii’s only GOP and only woman governor to so far win reelection.
When she left office in 2010, a Star-Advertiser analysis discussed why Lingle’s power did not continue.
“While Lingle had good personal relationships with state House and Senate leaders and could work well with them when they had common goals, her overall approach was insular and she and her staff rarely established the kinds of day-to-day connections necessary to survive the legislative slog,” former reporter Derrick DePledge wrote.
Still the Republican Party has seen some gains in recent elections, particularly in 2024 — but it remains a minority party in both chambers of the Hawaii State Legislature.
The caution, of course, is that you can only win elections if you have electable people to run. While that is still an open question for Hawaii’s tiny Republican Party, it was during the Lingle years that the Republicans put down some strong building blocks to shape the party — including former GOP Chairman Brennon Morioka, now dean of the University of Hawaii’s College of Engineering, and Micah Kane, now CEO of Parker Ranch and formerly CEO of the Hawaii Community Foundation.
As I write this column, there are many questions about who will be the next Hawaii Republican Party leader.
Tamara McKay is the current leader, but as of press time she has not said if she will run for reelection as party chairwoman. The only other candidate is Ana Mo Des, who is wrapping up her second term as Kauai GOP chair.
“This is the goal-oriented, no-nonsense leadership that I will bring to the HRP, which in my opinion is urgently required,” she said in a written campaign statement.
McKay in her own message to the party wrote that running the local GOP is a grind.
“The Party was burdened with debt, internal division, and a lack of operational structure. But with prayer, perseverance, and a dedicated team of supporters and volunteers, we began to rebuild,” she wrote in the Pono Report, billed as the “official newsletter of the Hawaii Republican Party.”
She complained that “the division within the Party goes back decades,” saying “year after year, documents, news reports, and meeting records reveal the same recurring theme … obstruction, infighting, and power struggles. These habits have cost us dearly.”
Not mentioned in the note was any acknowledgement of Donald Trump, president and ultimate GOP leader.
Although he may not be the most popular leader among local Republicans, a political party that doesn’t trumpet its own national leader may be in serious political trouble.
Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays. Reach him at 808onpolitics@gmail.com.
