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Many are calling the election a blue wave. Here on Maui, we had our own Green wave, with Pa'ele Kiakona elected to the Hawai'i of Representatives, becoming the first member of the Green Party of Hawai'i to win a race for electoral office to the Legislature.
Not only is Kiakona the first Green, he is the first "third party" candidate elected in Hawai'i in over a century. He is the fifth person and sixth time a Green has won a seat for a State Legislature in the U.S.
In Hawai'i, the Green Party has been on the ballot since covering these thirty-four years, for county councils, Legislature, Congress, governor and every four years for president.
There have been Greens seeking office in many states. Hundreds have been elected.
In some states, gaining access to the ballot is near impossible, with draconian laws and rules which prohibit this.
The Green Party is forced to petition the state to be on the ballot. This is what we did once again this year in 2026, which allowed Pā'ele to actually run as a Green and be included on the ballot.
Hopefully this will open up the opportunity for others to seek office outside of the two-party structure.
Hawai'i was also the first State in the U.S., where a Green was elected in a partisan race, when in our first year on the ballot, 1992, Keiko Bonk won a seat for Hawai'i. Eventually, three individuals over seven elections were elected as Greens for their county councils.
Nick Nikhilananda
Huelo