It is unusual for political candidates to become so emotional about their campaign that they break out in tears, but that happened with Hawaii’s Big Island Democrat, Rep. Kai Kahele.
The 48-year-old 2nd Congressional District representative is running for his third elected office in six years after already serving in the state Senate and Congress, and has now mounted a late campaign for governor.
Last Wednesday, while discussing the campaign on “Spotlight Hawaii,” the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s online interview program hosted by Yunji de Nies and Ryan Kalei Tsuji, Kahele teared up.
“At 48 years of age I feel this is something I feel very passionate about. I hope they will have me as their governor,” said Kahele, who is the son of former state Sen. Gilbert Kahele, who died in office in 2016.
“I promise you I will wake up every single day, I promise you, wanting to make life better for you and your children, and my kids. I feel really passionate … I want my kids to grow up in Hawaii, have a home, and go to school. And I am willing to come home to do it,” he said with tears coming down his cheek.
When De Nies asked him, “Why are you tearing up now?”, Kahele said: “I just think about my kids, I think about my dad and how much he loved Hawaii, and people like Sen. (Daniel) Akaka, people who struggled like my grandmother who grew up in public housing … food stamps. Those are the things that shaped me through my life. I am not the most perfect person but I work hard. I love my family and I love Hawaii.”
After talking to Kahele, De Nies said, “It was unexpected to see him tear up like that.”
During the 15-minute discussion, Kahele elaborated on his campaign concern that money from outside Hawaii is damaging local politics. “We have an extraordinary amount of mainland money pouring into Hawaii and into the governor’s race and that is not good for Hawaii,” he said.
During the interview, Kahele acknowledged that during his own political career he had taken campaign money from some of the sources that now raise the concern, but he has a new policy.
“The first thing we do is root out the money that is coming to Hawaii to influence and control our elections,” he said.
“Yes, I was part of the system that I am trying to change,” he said, adding that in this campaign he is running the type of campaign he has always wanted to run, adding that “it is not about money it is about people.”
The campaign tactic of raising worries about money from outside of Hawaii influencing local politics has been used before. Former Mayor Frank Fasi repeatedly tried to drum up concern about offshore contributions, but it was an issue that never resonated. Legal campaign contributions have never been shown in public opinion polls as an issue of concern to voters, so Kahele, already an unfamiliar candidate running in his first statewide race, will have a difficult time making it a winning issue.
Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays. Reach him at 808onpolitics@gmail.com.
