Kai Kahele is the latest in a string of Hawaii members of Congress who fight like heck to be in Congress, only to leave in hopes of a higher political office.

Being a member of the United States Congress is not an insignificant post. It is a job that has been held by congressional delegates who went on to be Hawaii governors and United States senators, and a state Senate president. Kahele’s term was slight, as he joined the ranks of other Hawaii representatives who served only one term, including Charles Djou (111th Congress) and Tom Gill (88th Congress).

Robert William Wilcox, a member of the Home Rule Party, was Hawaii’s first member of Congress, serving from Nov. 6, 1900, to March 3, 1903. Wilcox was also the first of several Native Hawaiians to serve in Congress, with former Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole being perhaps the most notable, with Daniel Akaka serving in both Congress and the Senate.

Kahele, however, is much more a case of a relatively new political face who just couldn’t put it all together.

His resume, as reported in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, is impressive: going back to full-time employment as a Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A330 captain and continuing to serve as a lieutenant colonel in the Hawaii Air National Guard, where he is a graduate student in the U.S. Army War College at Carlisle Barracks in Pennsylvania.

But his term in Congress was marked with needless mistakes and fumbles. Kahele was questioned about flying part-time for Hawaiian Air while serving in Congress and supporting legislation that would help Hawaiian. He also voted by proxy 120 times, giving at least the impression that he was serving in name only. Also, an investigation was started by the Office of Congressional Ethics, because of Kahele “misused official resources for campaign or political purposes,” according to the agency which recommended that the House Ethics Committee probe further. No further action was taken.

Finally, in a move laced with political irony, Kahele was done in by misfiling his congressional political spending reports after he partially based his campaign on refusing to take campaign donations from lobbyists. That essentially left Kahele’s campaign for governor without the ability to use public funds after he condemned those who took corporate and lobbyists’ money.

With all that needless controversy, it was a wonder that Kahele managed to get even 14.7% of the vote in his Democratic gubernatorial primary, which was won by then-Lt. Gov. Josh Green.

Politics, of course, is the home of second chances, and Kahele could fashion a reason for a political comeback.

Unfortunately for Kahele, he holds a record that could not be called “the glory days,” at the same time that every upcoming election never lacks for charismatic candidates.