91直播鈥檚 most interesting 2026 election races so far include Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami鈥檚 Democratic primary challenge of incumbent Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke and opponents for the state鈥檚 two members in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Kawakami 鈥� a two-term mayor and former member of the state House and Kauai County Council 鈥� has launched a statewide campaign to get his face and name before voters across the islands as he tries to raise his political profile and spread his message that the economic hardships facing Garden Isle residents are shared statewide.
Luke, meanwhile, remains under a cloud of uncertainty over whether she is the target of an investigation by the state Department of the Attorney General.
There is no high-profile Republican running yet for either lieutenant governor or governor in the Aug. 8 primary, but all candidates have until June 2 to officially declare their candidacies for any 91直播 primary.
So, if no other well-known island politician or personality steps in to run for 91直播鈥檚 top two statewide positions, the winner of the Democratic Party primary faces all-but-certain victory in the Nov. 3 general election with incumbent Gov. Josh Green, who would be in his second and final term.
Although the job of lieutenant governor comes with few high-profile responsibilities, 91直播 voters have a history of later supporting them to become their next governor. The state鈥檚 two sitting U.S. senators, Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz, also were former lieutenant governors.
The challengers
Luke earned a reputation in the state Legislature as the well-respected chair of the House Finance Committee, where she showed her command over the state budget, along with her personal story as a South Korean immigrant who came to 91直播 as a child.
But as a state attorney general鈥檚 investigation continues with no information about the 鈥渋nfluential state legislator鈥� who allegedly accepted $35,000 in a bag, this year鈥檚 race for lieutenant governor offers Democrats a choice between a politically weakened incumbent, Luke, and Kawakami, who is on his first statewide campaign while continuing to lead the smallest of 91直播鈥檚 four main counties.
It is by far the most interesting race to watch in an election year that could see voter turnout dampened by the lack of a presidential race and as of yet, no high-profile challenger to Green.
Separate challenges against 91直播鈥檚 Democratic U.S. Reps. Ed Case and Jill Tokuda also will be closely watched for different reasons.
Tokuda, so far, faces no Democratic primary challenger to represent rural Oahu and all of the neighbor islands. But the state Senate鈥檚 Republican leader, Brenton Awa (R, Kaneohe-颅Laie-Mokuleia), offers an interesting showdown in the Nov. 3 general election.
Voters will have a choice between Tokuda 鈥� a frequent critic of President Donald Trump and his administration 鈥� and Awa, who told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that if elected he plans to remain in Congress only for Trump鈥檚 final two years to focus on helping 91直播 residents without joining the name-calling between Republicans and Democrats.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 my goal,鈥� said Awa, 91直播鈥檚 highest-ranking Republican. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to be there longer than two years. This is a one-and-done for me.鈥�
His state Senate seat is not up for election this year, so Awa faces few political risks and could elevate his profile for future campaigns, according to political analyst Neal Milner.
Name recognition
At the same time, two longtime legislative Democrats 鈥� state Rep. Della Au Belatti (D, Makiki-Punchbowl) and state Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole (D, Kaneohe-Kailua) 鈥� are challenging fellow Democrat and incumbent Case for his more-颅moderate positions representing urban Honolulu.
Like Awa, Keohokalole鈥檚 Senate seat also is not up for reelection. And Belatti said she will not run for her current House seat again after serving for 12 years. If she loses her primary race to Case or another Democrat, Belatti 鈥� a lawyer 鈥� said she has no political fallback position and is 鈥渁ll in鈥� on her congressional campaign.
For Kawakami and state lawmakers Belatti, Keohokalole and Awa, getting statewide name recognition and voter support will be their biggest challenge, said Colin Moore, who teaches public policy at the University of 91直播.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to be a household name when you鈥檙e mainly running in a single area of the state where you鈥檝e always concentrated your campaign energies,鈥� Moore said. 鈥淢ost residents don鈥檛 pay that much attention to the Legislature. So, unless you鈥檙e the speaker or Senate president 鈥� and even then they probably don鈥檛 really know who you are 鈥� your campaign is about building that name recognition. And that鈥檚 expensive.鈥�
The Democratic primary elections typically represent the real preference of 91直播 voters in a state dominated by that party, and this year鈥檚 will be no exception with Kawakami鈥檚 challenge of Luke, and Keohokalole and Belatti taking on Case.
For the lieutenant governor鈥檚 race, timing will be critical.
Kawakami has a rapidly closing window for voters across the islands to get to know him, while there鈥檚 no clear indication of when the attorney general might either clear Luke or identify her as a focus of its investigation.
Chasing Case
Keohokalole and Belatti face their own deadlines to spread their names across Case鈥檚 district.
All three challengers 鈥渃an鈥檛 present themselves because they don鈥檛 have the resources,鈥� Milner said. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 fundamentally basic. Most people don鈥檛 even know who鈥檚 running.鈥�
Asked about the two Democrats challenging him, Case said, 鈥淚 welcome a contested election. 鈥� But my focus here has been on the critical issues for 91直播 and our country and our world. I believe that if I do that job as best as I possibly can and deliver for 91直播 and for our country and world, that my reelection will take care of itself. So that鈥檚 where my focus is.鈥�
Both Moore and Milner said Keohokalole and Belatti, who both consider themselves more left-leaning than Case, could split the progressive Democratic voters in the primary, making it easier for Case to win a plurality on Aug. 8.
鈥淭he anti-Case voters are going to be split between Keohokalole and Della Au Belatti, and that almost guarantees that Case wins reelection,鈥� Milner said.
Case said, 鈥淚 really don鈥檛 know what the chemistry of the race is. Again, I鈥檓 focused on doing my job, which is to make decisions on behalf of my constituents.鈥�
Belatti and Keohokalole are focusing on Case positions they oppose, especially his initial vote on the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act that would require people to show proof of citizenship and a photo ID to register to vote. The U.S. House of Representatives passed it in February.
鈥淧eople have been asking me for years to run against him,鈥� Keohokalole said. 鈥淭he primary criticism is his support of the SAVE Act. He鈥檚 since changed his position and voted against the latest version that would make it fundamentally harder to get a passport, especially for a married woman who has to take an extra step to vote.鈥�
Belatti has similar concerns over Case鈥檚 initial support for the SAVE Act, especially after she and her 20-year-old daughter, her oldest of two, were stopped in Los Angeles in March, 鈥渨here they were checking everybody, including Americans.鈥�
鈥淢y daughters look Latino because they鈥檙e mixed,鈥� Belatti said. 鈥淲hen they go to the mainland, people don鈥檛 know what they are.鈥�
Case responded, 鈥淲hen you make tough decisions, you鈥檙e going to upset people. I think I鈥檝e had somewhere close to 6,000 votes in the course of my time in Congress. I can guarantee that you can cherry-pick any one of those votes and find something that somebody doesn鈥檛 like.鈥�
Overall for 91直播, Case said, 鈥淚 hope and believe that the mainstream majority of my district believe that I have done a good job and deserve to be sent back. For a small state like 91直播, you don鈥檛 just walk away from a senior House appropriations slot that鈥檚 a once-in-a-generation opportunity for 91直播. But I鈥檓 sure that there are people out there that 鈥� for whatever reason because of a position that I took or a single vote that I took 鈥� they鈥檙e not going to support me.鈥�
Tested under fire
Kawakami, in his race to replace Luke as lieutenant governor, emphasizes his background as the operations manager and son of a grocery chain owner, along with his more recent work managing crises as Kauai mayor.
They include the 2018 storm that decimated the island鈥檚 north shore, triggered rockslides and swept Kuhio Highway into the ocean, leaving behind a muddy mess.
Then, during the COVID-19 crisis that began in 2020, Kauai created 鈥渞esort bubbles鈥� that allowed the island to continue to welcome tourists.
Kawakami and the other county mayors worked with then-Gov. David Ige to navigate the pandemic. Kawakami said he respects Ige and called him 鈥渁 great leader.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檝e never heard him get angry and never heard him say anything but positive,鈥� he said, adding that he shares those attitudes. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 tolerate negativity. I nip it in the bud real quick.鈥�
Kawakami said he鈥檚 gotten a 鈥渨arm and quite honestly very, very humbling鈥� reception on the campaign trail. 鈥淧eople see me as a bridge between government and the people,鈥� he said.
The challenger is taking on Luke, who said that progress continues on her major initiatives, such as expanding early childhood education and statewide broadband access.
Child care subsidies have expanded for about 3,000 families, and 100 free preschool classrooms have opened statewide over the past year, Luke said.
Broadband access has spread to rural communities, pockets of unconnected parts of urban Honolulu and public libraries across the state, which are now staffed with workers to help the uninitiated learn how to navigate the online world, she said.
For low-income residents, in particular, 45,000 new public housing units statewide now have broadband access, according to the lieutenant governor.
She was also acting governor when the Maui wildfires struck Aug. 8, 2023, and issued the first emergency proclamation until Green returned to the state.
Luke insists she continues to have supporters across the islands.
When asked by voters about the attorney general鈥檚 investigation into the unnamed 鈥渋nfluential state legislator,鈥� Luke repeats her previous public statements.
Although she acknowledged in February that she may be the lawmaker at the heart of the probe, Luke says she has received no subpoena or any notice that she is the subject of the probe.