Hawaii’s two incumbent Democrat representatives are considered heavy favorites to return to Congress this November, with Republican state Sen. Brenton Awa representing the biggest challenge to U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda’s reelection bid.
In the Aug. 8 party primaries, Awa drew 26,290 Republican votes compared with 92,075 Democratic votes for Tokuda to represent rural Oahu and all of the neighbor islands.
Awa has a popular online following supporting grassroots efforts to grow sustainable crops and continues to call for limiting outside ownership of Hawaii land.
If elected, Awa hopes to limit what he calls “predatory investor buying” by “unlocking suitable federal land for federal land for local homes,” expand down payment assistance and give owner-occupants the same benefits as investors “by amending the tax code.”
He also wants to increase food security by restoring canceled U.S. Department of Agriculture grants “that were designated to provide millions of dollars towards food production in Hawaii including planting food forests, managing invasive species, and providing farmers with direct assistance,” Awa said on his campaign website.
Awa also wants to help Hawaii residents afford the cost of healthcare by expanding “federally funded community health centers across Hawaii that focus on care rather than copays.”
Tokuda has been a regular presence in Hawaii’s 2nd
Congressional District, going back to the Aug. 8, 2023, Maui wildfires that killed 102 people and destroyed an estimated 5,500 housing units, and this year on Oahu’s North Shore and the neighbor islands after the devastating Kona-low storms and hurricanes Lolo and Lowell.
She serves on the House Agriculture and Armed Services Committees and the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, and continues to focus on issues that affect both red and blue states, which includes supporting the Medicare for All Act of 2023 and reestablishing the Bipartisan Rural Health Caucus.
“This initiative is committed to creating solutions to improve healthcare access in underserved areas throughout the country,” Tokuda wrote on her campaign website. “Traveling across the district, I see time and again the difficulties faced by residents, especially in areas where it may take more than an hour to reach a healthcare facility.
“Our efforts are focused on areas like expanding the capacity of rural hospitals and increasing the number of healthcare professionals through innovative approaches, such as mobile health clinics and enhanced telehealth services.”
Tokuda also has joined Hawaii’s U.S. Sens. Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono in frequently criticizing Trump and Trump administration policies.
Her counterpart in the House, U.S. Rep. Ed Case,
is also seeking reelection to serve Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District covering urban
Honolulu.
Case, considered more politically moderate, was criticized by Trump critics in Hawaii leading up to the Aug. 8 Democratic Party primary election.
But Case, 73, easily fought back a challenge from more left-leaning state Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole (D, Kaneohe-Kailua), 42, whose Senate
seat is not up for election on Nov. 3, meaning Keohokalole automatically returns to the Legislature in January.
Likewise, Awa’s Senate seat representing a vast swath of rural Oahu from Kaneohe through Laie and on to Mokuleia also is not up for election this year. So Awa is also in a safe political position to challenge Tokuda.
In his primary race against Keohokalole, Case emphasized his seniority on the House Appropriations Committee and on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, which determines federal funding for the military, especially its role in Hawaii.
Case frequently reminds voters that the state would lose his seat on the Appropriations Committee and the seniority he already has if Democrats retake the House in November.
“If re-elected, I will move to the top 25% of House seniority, continue on the powerful Appropriations Committee, and further expand my relationships and influence,” Case wrote on his campaign website. “And I’ll keep doing what I’ve always done: speak honestly, listen carefully, represent all of Hawai‘i, and fight for real solutions, just as I did through COVID-19, Red Hill and the Maui wildfires.”
Challenging Case in Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District is Republican Adriel C. Lam, who received 18,530 votes in the primary election compared with Case’s 63,784 Democratic primary votes.
Lam’s campaign website describes him as an Army veteran and says that “Aloha is the heart of God for the people of Hawaii.”
He lists seven priorities and repeatedly used the phrase “reforming federal shipping regulations to give our businesses and consumers fair and equitable access to the mainland and global markets” to describe how he would address three of those priorities: “military spending,” “bridges &utilities,” and “trade &tariffs.”
