2022 race briefing
Kaialiʻi “Kai” Kahele represented Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House from 2021 to 2023. He left Congress to run for governor in 2022 and finished third in the August 13 Democratic primary with about 15.0% of the vote (37,738), behind Josh Green and Vicky Cayetano; Green won the November general election. Kahele was elected in 2024 as the Hawaii Island Resident Trustee of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and was chosen board chair in December 2024. PolRev covered his 2022 governor campaign. He is not on the 2026 statewide ballot.