Republican Party of Hawaii ʻAoʻao Lepupalika o Hawaiʻi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chairperson | Tamara McKay [wd] |
| Senate | Brenton Awa |
| House Minority Leader | Lauren Matsumoto |
| Founded | May 2, 1900 (1900-05-02) |
| Merger of | Reform Party Home Rule Party |
| Preceded by | Reform Party |
| Headquarters | Honolulu |
| Ideology | Conservatism |
| National affiliation | Republican Party |
| Colors | Red |
| State House | 9 / 51 |
| State Senate | 3 / 25 |
| Statewide Executive Offices | 0 / 2 |
| U.S. House of Representatives | 0 / 2 |
| U.S. Senate | 0 / 2 |
| Election symbol | |
.svg) | |
| Website | |
| thehawaiirepublicanparty | |
TheHawaii Republican Party (HRP;Hawaiian:ʻAoʻao Lepupalika o Hawaiʻi) is the affiliate of theRepublican Party (GOP) inHawaii, headquartered inHonolulu. The party was strong during Hawaii'sterritorial days, but following theHawaii Democratic Revolution of 1954 theDemocratic Party came to dominate Hawaii. The party currently has little power and is the weakest state affiliate of the national Republican Party; it controls none of Hawaii's statewide or federal elected offices and has the least presence in the state legislature of any state Republican party.
Following theoverthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom and the creation of theRepublic of Hawaii, the American Union Party was created and as the Republic of Hawaii was ade factoone-party state, it faced virtually no opposition. On October 13, 1894, the American Union Party held its first convention, where it established the party's organization, created a platform, and nominated candidates for the 1894 elections.[1] The party's official stance was in favor of annexation by the United States, although as the only legal party, anti-annexation factions were present within the party.
After Hawaii was annexed on July 12, 1898, the majority of the American Union Party's members created the Hawaii Republican Party. On March 10, 1899, members of the American Union Party and former leaders of the Republic held a meeting where they decided to postpone the organization of a Republican Party and the creation of an auxiliary party organization.[2]
On May 2, 1900, around one hundred men organized the Republican Party affiliate in Hawaii. The first Republican Convention was held on May 30, 1900. Temporary officers were selected, a platform was created, and delegates were chosen to send to theRepublican National Convention in June.[3][4]
Although a Democratic affiliate existed in the territory, it held little influence, while the pro-Native HawaiianHome Rule Party emerged as the main opposition. In 1900, the Home Rule Party took control of the territorial legislature and its leader,Robert William Wilcox, was elected as Hawaii's non-voting delegate to theHouse of Representatives. Prior to the 1902 election, theReform Party merged into the Hawaii Republican Party. The Home Rule Party split when PrinceJonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole left its convention on July 10 to form the Hui Kuokoa Party. Shortly afterward he joined the Republicans.[5] In the following elections, the Republicans defeated Wilcox by running Prince Kalanianaʻole, taking control of the legislature with 26 of the 36 seats. Following this defeat, the Home Rule Party existed in a weakened form until 1912, when it fused with the Republicans. The Republican Party led the so-called "Haole-Hawaiian Alliance," with uninterrupted Legislative majorities until Democrats took control of the Legislature in1954.
TheDemocratic Party of Hawaii was reorganized in 1902, but did not become influential until the 1920s, when it won multiple Honolulu mayoral elections and electedWilliam Paul Jarrett as delegate to the House of Representatives. However, the Republican party retook the delegation to the House through the 1930s and 1940s, due to support from theBig Five sugar producers. A seminal moment in Hawaiian history, the power of the Big Five was weakened by theNational Labor Relations Act of 1935, which lead to unionization on Hawaii's sugar plantations and ultimately theDemocratic Revolution of 1954.[6] In elections that year, the Republicans lost control of the territorial legislature for the first time since 1900, as the Democratic affiliate won nine of the fifteen territorial senate seats and twenty two of the thirty territorial house seats. The Democrats retained control of the legislature in the 1956 elections, before the Republicans retook control of the senate in 1958.
On May 16, 1959, the affiliate held its first state convention where most of the officer positions went uncontested except for national committeewoman and where the candidates for the upcoming federal and state special elections.[7] In thegubernatorial election incumbent Territorial Governor and RepublicanWilliam F. Quinn won by 4,139 votes; in the Senate special elections RepublicanHiram Fong won by 9,514 votes whileWilfred Tsukiyama was narrowly defeated by 4,577 votes; and Republicans lost the House in a landslide.
In the1998 gubernatorial election,Maui MayorLinda Lingle won the Republican nomination and used dissatisfaction with GovernorBen Cayetano's handling of the economy to propel her campaign. She polled above Cayetano. However, allegations that Lingle was a lesbian and her decision as mayor to require state employees to work on Christmas Eve hurt her. In the general election she lost by 5,254 votes. However, her gubernatorial campaign was the most successful sinceRandolph Crossley in1966.
In 1999, Lingle and many of her supporters took over leadership positions in the party. Lingle defeated James Kuroiwa Jr., who was aligned with the party's conservative wing and was pro-life, to become chairwoman with 325 to 63 votes.[8]
In the2002 gubernatorial election, the Democratic party had a contentious primary whereMazie Hirono defeatedEd Case by 2,000 votes. Hirono's campaign was later hurt by corruption allegations that allowed Lingle to narrowly win the election, becoming the first Republican governor since 1962. She won reelection in 2006 and became the only multi-term popularly elected Republican governor in Hawaii history.
Leading into the2004 presidential election, multiple polls showedGeorge W. Bush performing well in Hawaii and the party made a push to win a House majority or at least enough to prevent veto overrides.[9] However, the Bush campaign later decreased its efforts in Hawaii and Republicans instead lost five seats, despite Bush taking 45% of the votes, the closet the Republicans had come to winning the state in a presidential election sinceRonald Reagan's victory in1984.[10]
In 2010, RepresentativeNeil Abercrombie resigned to focus on his gubernatorial campaign. Aspecial election was held to fill that vacancy. Because special elections did not have primaries, two Democrats candidates ended up splitting Democratic votes, allowingCharles Djou to win with a plurality of 40% to became the first Republican representative from Hawaii sincePat Saiki in 1991. He was defeated in the nextgeneral election byColleen Hanabusa.
FollowingDonald Trump's election as president, many Republicans defected: Charles Djou became anindependent and state House Minority LeaderBeth Fukumoto became a Democrat.[11] On December 11, 2019, the party cancelled itspresidential preference poll and committed all of its primary delegates to Trump.[12] In January 2021, party chair Shirlene Ostrov and vice-chair Edwin Boyette resigned after Boyette used the party'sTwitter account to post a series of tweets praising theQAnon conspiracy theory and describing its adherents as patriots.[13][14][15]
A notable recent convert to the party isTulsi Gabbard, who previously served in theHawaii House of Representatives from 2002 to 2004 and asU.S. representative forHawaii's 2nd congressional district from 2013 to 2021 as a member of theDemocratic Party. She left the party to become an independent in 2022, and joined theRepublicans in 2024.[16] She currently serves as thedirector of national intelligence (DNI) in theSecond Trump Administration.
Hawaiʻi Republicans advocate for limited government, lower taxes, decentralized control of public schools, and improving the state's business climate.[17] Republicans generally support business plans and efforts to assist companies in the state in competing against businesses in other states. They typically support interstate and international commerce. For example, former Lieutenant GovernorDuke Aiona pushed to keep theNational Football League'sPro Bowl in Hawaii, and former GovernorLinda Lingle proposed tax reduction incentives to businesses to encourage job creation, such as hotel renovations.
In theReform Party, a pre-statehood group that after annexation was largely sympathetic toward the Republican Party,Lorrin Thurston was a strong supporter of the formation ofHawaii Volcanoes National Park. In the 21st century, Governor Lingle proposed a Clean Energy Initiative to promote renewable energy, with the goal of making the state 70% energy self-sustainable by 2030. The initiative planned to usesolar,wind,ocean,geothermal, andbiomass as energy resources with a phased reduction infossil fuel use.
Despite the influence of the early missionaries and despite recent national trends, the Republican party in Hawaiʻi steadily lost itsChristian overtone over time. After annexation, Christiansproselytized immigrants contracted to work in Hawaii's growing sugar industry. This change was, in large part, brought on byFarrington v. Tokushige (1927), aU.S. Supreme Court case brought by approximately 100 Japanese, Korean, and Chineselanguage schools, a number of which wereBuddhistreligious schools, against Republican GovernorWallace R. Farrington and the Republican government. It sought to overturn laws limiting the material taught inprivate schools, including Buddhist philosophy.[18] The court found the laws unconstitutional and in violation of parents'Fifth Amendment right to choose the education of their children.[19][20]Duke Aiona, a Republican, presented a proclamation to the president of the JuniorYoung Buddhist Association in 2004[21] and attended the 2010lantern festival.[22]
The Party became hesitant to associate itself with religion, with members citing the negative effects of the party's association with theChristian Coalition. The Coalition swelled Republican membership by 50%, but gave rise to infighting; by 1993 the party had lost legislative seats.[23]
| Name | Position |
|---|---|
| Tamara McKay | State Chairman |
| N/A | Executive Director |
| Name | County |
|---|---|
| Steve Lipscomb | Honolulu County |
| Tammy Perkins | Maui County |
| Daelene McCormick | West Hawaii County |
| Mark Jones | East Hawaii County |
| Ana Mo Des | Kauai County |
| Election | Presidential ticket | Votes | Vote % | Electoral votes | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Richard Nixon/Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. | 92,295 | 49.97% | 0 / 3 | Lost |
| 1964 | Barry Goldwater/William E. Miller | 44,022 | 21.24% | 0 / 4 | Lost |
| 1968 | Richard Nixon/Spiro Agnew | 91,425 | 38.70% | 0 / 4 | Won |
| 1972 | Richard Nixon/Spiro Agnew | 168,865 | 62.48% | 4 / 4 | Won |
| 1976 | Gerald Ford/Bob Dole | 140,003 | 48.06% | 0 / 4 | Lost |
| 1980 | Ronald Reagan/George H. W. Bush | 130,112 | 42.90% | 0 / 4 | Won |
| 1984 | Ronald Reagan/George H. W. Bush | 185,050 | 55.10% | 4 / 4 | Won |
| 1988 | George H. W. Bush/Dan Quayle | 158,625 | 44.75% | 0 / 4 | Won |
| 1992 | George H. W. Bush/Dan Quayle | 136,822 | 36.70% | 0 / 4 | Lost |
| 1996 | Bob Dole/Jack Kemp | 113,943 | 31.64% | 0 / 4 | Lost |
| 2000 | George W. Bush/Dick Cheney | 137,845 | 37.46% | 0 / 4 | Won |
| 2004 | George W. Bush/Dick Cheney | 194,191 | 45.26% | 0 / 4 | Won |
| 2008 | John McCain/Sarah Palin | 120,566 | 26.58% | 0 / 4 | Lost |
| 2012 | Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan | 121,015 | 27.84% | 0 / 4 | Lost |
| 2016 | Donald Trump/Mike Pence | 128,847 | 30.36% | 0 / 4 | Won |
| 2020 | Donald Trump/Mike Pence | 196,864 | 34.27% | 0 / 4 | Lost |
| 2024 | Donald Trump/JD Vance | 193,661 | 37.48% | 0 / 4 | Won |
| Election | Gubernatorial ticket | Votes | Vote % | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | William F. Quinn/James Kealoha | 86,213 | 51.12% | Won Y |
| 1962 | William F. Quinn/Calvin McGregor | 81,707 | 41.68% | Lost N |
| 1966 | Randolph Crossley/George H. Mills | 104,324 | 48.94% | LostN |
| 1970 | Samuel King/Ralph Kiyosaki | 101,249 | 42.35% | LostN |
| 1974 | Randolph Crossley/Benjamin F. Dillingham II | 113,388 | 45.42% | LostN |
| 1978 | John R. Leopold/Virginia Isbell | 124,610 | 44.25% | LostN |
| 1982 | D. G. Anderson/Pat Saiki | 81,507 | 26.14% | LostN |
| 1986 | D. G. Anderson/John Henry Felix | 160,460 | 48.02% | LostN |
| 1990 | Fred Hemmings/Billie Beamer | 131,310 | 38.61% | LostN |
| 1994 | Pat Saiki/Fred Hemmings | 107,908 | 29.24% | LostN |
| 1998 | Linda Lingle/Stan Koki | 198,952 | 48.82% | LostN |
| 2002 | Linda Lingle/Duke Aiona | 197,009 | 51.56% | WonY |
| 2006 | Linda Lingle/Duke Aiona | 215,313 | 62.53% | WonY |
| 2010 | Duke Aiona/Lynn Finnegan | 157,311 | 41.12% | LostN |
| 2014 | Duke Aiona/Elwin Ahu | 135,775 | 37.08% | LostN |
| 2018 | Andria Tupola/Marissa Kerns | 131,719 | 33.70% | LostN |
| 2022 | Duke Aiona/Seaula Tupa'i Jr. | 152,237 | 36.84% | LostN |
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