Kai Kahele, a Democratic Representation, announced on Saturday, May 7th, that he will be joining the gubernatorial fight for Hawaii, his home state. The election is slated to be held later in the year. The fight will be choosing the successor to Democratic Governor David Ige, whose term is nearing its limit.
A Bold Move For Kai Kahele
Kai Kahele, a freshman in Congress, was attending an event at Hilo, his hometown in Hawaii when he announced his candidature. However, in the previous week, there were already reports surfacing that Kahele was intending to exit from Congress.
On Saturday, Kai Kahele said that his life had been dedicated to serving Hawaii’s people. As such, if he received the honor to continue this role as the state’s governor, then he would gladly continue his mission. In 2020, Kahele won the elections to be chosen as the successor to Democratic Representative Tulsi Gabbard. Previously, he has served as a state senator and has experience as a pilot before running for Congress.
Kai Kahele added that he had a clear message to everyone who believes that the Hawaiian government can be bought. He stated that “Hawaii is not for sale.” Other Democratic candidates who are hoping to be Ige’s successor include Vicky Cayetano, the former first lady, and Lt. Gov. Josh Green.
Kai Kahele has been recently under fire due to his part-time gig at Hawaiian Airlines as one of their commercial pilots. As such, there were questions asked about whether Kahele was infringing any ethical rules by continuing his airlines work while being a Senator. The story surfaced for the first time in the Honolulu Civil Beat’s in-depth coverage of Kahele’s Capitol Hill attendance record.
However, Kai Kahele has since come forth in defense of the arrangement, stating that everything was in accordance with the ethical rules of the House.
