by Andrew Walden

GOP Candidates were center stage at the Hawaii Republican Party State Convention at Kaneohe's Koolau Ballroom Saturday. 

Former Lieutenant Governor Duke Aiona told 100s of convention-goers, "I am 100% --and some-- committed to be your next governor.... This year we must send a message that no representative is absolute.... We need leadership that represents the people, not entrenched political operatives."

Rep Charles Djou pointed out: "There are too many of our fellow residents here in Hawaii who want a job but find it too difficult to find.  For those who do have jobs, Hawaii has the highest under-employment rate in the nation.... And for those fortunate enough to have a job...there is an oppressively high cost of living and oppressive tax and regulations make it very difficult to make ends meet here in Hawaii."

Djou said he is the only Hawaii Congressional candidate running to be a "sophomore in the majority instead of being a freshman in the minority."

Wildly enthusiastic delegates cheered Aiona and Djou speeches hitting the high cost of living in Hawaii and the failure of Obamacare but a hush fell over the crowd as Djou described his tour of duty in Afghanistan.  Djou told of protecting school houses from Taliban attackers and watching Afghan parents bring their children to school even in the face of terrorist death threats.

After speeches, dozens of legislative candidates paraded with sign waving supporters.  

Hundreds of observers and 176 delegates were seated by 9am.

In afternoon sessions, Republican delegates endorsed the Party’s LLIFE Platform for 2014 and voted on several resolutions. 

LINK: Convention Resolutions

PR: Resolved

Gay marriage lights fire beneath new candidates

Star-Adv: For Hikida, it wasn't just that gay marriage was approved during a special session, or that the Legislature declined to put the issue before voters through a constitutional amendment. He believes it was an example of how ruling Democrats have lost touch with the people.

"I think it's just a small minority that's driving the direction of our state," he said.

Motivated by the gay-marriage debate, several religious conservatives are seeking state House and Senate seats as Republicans. While gay marriage provided the fuel, many of the candidates, like Hikida, do not have a single-issue focus — since the state's marriage equality law is unlikely to be reversed — and are concerned about the broader issues facing the state.

"They were motivated by that as a major issue. But they've seen the bigger failures of government and they want to do something about it," said Dylan No­naka, a Republican consultant and a former executive director of the Hawaii Republican Party.

Political analysts have discounted gay marriage as an important factor in this year's elections, predicting that the intensity of the opposition during the special session will wane by the August primary and November general election. But analysts do believe it will be an issue in some campaigns, particularly for the state House, where small shifts in voting patterns can make a difference.

read ... Gay marriage lights fire beneath new candidates

Voter registration key to victory, leaders say

Star-Adv: Hawaii Republicans want to register 25,000 new Republican voters before the November election, hoping to expand the electorate and slowly weaken the Democratic Party's hold on state politics.

Pat Saiki, the chairwoman of the Hawaii Republican Party, urged delegates at the party's state convention on Saturday at the Koolau Ballrooms and Conference Center in Kaneohe to get involved in a grass-roots, precinct-level voter registration drive.

"Enough is enough, what do you think?" Saiki said of 60 years of Democratic dominance over state politics. "Enough is enough. This arrogance of power must be tempered with new ideas, new opinions, new hope.

"Our time must come. It has come. It is now."

Roughly 60 percent of voters who have participated in recent surveys for the Hawaii Poll say they usually vote for Democrats. Republicans, party leaders believe, need to grow the electorate to compete and be realistic about their count.

Miriam Hellreich, the party's Republican National Committeewoman, said voter turnout is low in Hawaii because many people have lost hope in their ability to make a difference. Party leaders found anecdotally, for example, that many of the people who came to the state Capitol to oppose gay marriage in a special session last year were not registered to vote.

"It's time for our voters to take a stand," Hellreich told delegates. "Republicans cannot win in Hawaii with the current pool of voters. It is critical that we register new voters who support our Republican candidates and make certain they vote.

"Voter registration is a direct path to victory in November."

read ... Voter Registration Key

HNN: Hawaii GOP gets 'back to basics' at state convention

KHON: Hawaii’s Republicans rally for upcoming primary election