2026 Hawai‘i Primary Elections
(On August 2, 2026)
Isn’t it too early to worry?
No. Consider Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who came to Congress by defeating a well-funded Democratic 20-year incumbent in 2018. Her primary campaign took 14 months of grassroots mobilization.
Public approval of the Democrats in Congress is at an all-time low. Itʻs twice as bad as Donald Trumpʻs.
This is our chance to replace the Capitulation Caucus with the Fight Club. We need to identify who is the better fighter.
What if I’m not in that district?
Hawaiʻi has only two Representatives in the US Congress, Jill Tokuda and Ed Case, along with our two US Senators, Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono. We do not have the luxury of ignoring either US House districts. With such a small delegation, everyone in the state needs to take an active role in ensuring Hawai‘I has the representatives we deserve.
Why the Primary?
We are worried about the state of democracy in Hawai‘i. Our worry is not election interference, but apathy.
Since Hawaiʻi is a solidly “blue” state, the general election isn’t competitive. The primary is what matters—yet most voters fail to participate. In 2024, Civil Beat reported that Hawaii Saw The Worst Voter Turnout August 2024 Of Any Primary Since Statehood – Honolulu Civil Beat. Turnout (i.e., ballots returned) was only 32%, less than half the level 30 years ago. None of this is healthy for democracy, which requires competitive elections and citizen participation.
Ed Case is a smooth talker, but his actions hurt Hawaiʻi. For example, Ed Case…
• Supported a Bill Against Women and Others Voting
• Stood Against Affordability for Working Families
• Answers To Billionaires, Dark-Money PACs, Defense Manufacturers And Big Corporations
• Refused To Defend Hawaiʻi From ICE
• Tried To Unseat Revered US Senator Akaka
• Voted To Designate Non-Profits Against Trump As “Terrorist-Supporting Organizations”
Recordings of Candidates’ interviews
Next, we invited all three Democratic Primary Candidates for the CD1 seat to join us for Talk Story interviews over ZOOM in December 2025. The two challengers accepted.
Della Au Belatti (current State Representative)
• Recorded Talk Story
• Questions Submitted
Jarrett Keohokalole (current State Senator)
Q&A Submissions
There were many pages of questions submitted live during the Talk Stories, far more than we could address in the allotted hour. For transparency, we share them complete and unedited.
There was one question that stood out with the most upvotes: Will you be willing to step aside if the polls show that [the other challenger] is ahead? We want to make this about what is best for Hawai‘i and the US. The stakes are very high right now.
Not asking was a hard decision. However, at this early stage of the race, it would be unfair. Any candidate who publicly offers to step down will discourage donors and supporters.
At the same time, we agree firmly that this primary needs to become a two-person race between the incumbent and a single challenger. We have scheduled private interviews with both challengers in which we will ask insider questions off the record. We will honor their requests for confidentiality regarding campaign strategy.
Ed Case Declined Our Invitation
We invited our incumbent Congressman Ed Case to hold a December Talk Story as well. He declined. He asked us to publish the email exchange in full. Here it is:
Email invitation to Ed Case and his response Nov 20, 2025
Second invitation to Ed Case and his response Jan 4, 2026
His email disparages Indivisible Hawaiʻi, a poll conducted by Our Hawai‘i, Indivisible, and Data for Progress. Here are all the relevant documents, so that you can decide for yourself.
In October, 2025, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 366 likely Democratic primary voters in Hawai’i’s 1st congressional district (CD1) about candidates who are running in the CD1 Primary. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters.
Press release: HI-01 Voters Are Largely Undecided in the Democratic Primary, Narrowly Favor Ed Case
Voice of Hawai‘i Voters
In November 2025, we surveyed voters on the leadership they want for Hawaiʻi. The survey covered both Congressional Districts. It asked voters for their priorities on both issues and values in a candidate. Then it asked them to answer in their own words:
• If you had 30 minutes face to face with your Congressional Representative, what would you like to say directly?
• What could a candidate do that would make you feel good about voting in 2026?
• Anything else you’d like to share about the kind of leadership we need in Hawaiʻi?
The answers we received are deep and revealing. In the interest of transparency, we are sharing the complete results here. They are grouped by current Congressional Representative (Ed Case or Jill Tokuda), then by question, and then sorted with the most passionate answers first.
SURVEY RESPONSES [.PDF] [.PPTX]
As you can see from the survey results, the majority of respondents were from Jill Tokudaʻs district (CD2), but the depth and passion in answers came primarily from Ed Caseʻs district (CD1).
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Stay tuned. We will continue to update this page as we have more to share.