by David S. Chang, Chairman, Hawaii Republican Party, February 9, 2014

The Hawaii Republican Party has a number of great events coming up! Colonel Martha McSally, America's first female fighter pilot to fly in combat and a candidate in Arizona's 2nd Congressional Candidate is our keynote speaker for Lincoln Day Dinner on February 20th.

As I mentioned in an email to our party this past week, when I graduated from West Point, I was commissioned as an Armor Officer and was reassured that our Air Force A-10 "Warthogs" were there to help us defend our country. Colonel McSally flew the A-10, recording over 2,600 flight hours, 325 of them in combat. She sued the Department of Defense over a policy that made U.S. servicewomen wear a Muslim Abaya and headscarf whenever they left base. After an 8 year battle, she won and was instrumental in getting legislation passed unanimously in both the U.S. House and Senate overturning this policy. Martha ran for the U.S. House in Southern Arizona in 2012 and came within 0.84% of unseating Gabrielle Gifford's handpicked successor. National media, such as CNN, the National Journal, and Roll Call are calling her current rematch race as one of the top three in the nation   We are excited to have her and invite you to join us!

The Lincoln Day Dinner registration deadline has been extended to February 13th. Please call 593-8180 or visit http://www.gophawaii.com/2014LDD/ to purchase your tickets. We also have sponsorships available. In addition, we have a number of College Republicans and Young Republicans looking to attend, if you can sponsor one of them, we can continue to grow our party! We also will be launching the first of our Hawaii Republican Party video commercials at this event--book your seat now for the preview!

This past week, we welcomed New York Times Bestselling author and national talk radio show host Michael Medved at the Hawaii Republican Party headquarters. Michael gave an inspiring talk to a standing room only audience about the three biggest myths of conservatives. He primarily talked about working towards unity in our party and that while we may differ in strategy, the "how", and personality, our philosophy and beliefs are largely the same. Michael presented fascinating facts about recent elections and why we can still win the White House despite the pundits saying otherwise. Medved brought up Reagan's philosophy of "Conservative Substance, Moderate Style" and reaching out to all Americans to build our party, win elections, and make our country a better place to live!

The momentum is starting to build with more Republican candidates announcing their candidacy. Candidates can now pull papers to run at the office of elections. If you're interested in running as a Republican, please call 593-8180. Our updated candidate handbook is now available to help candidates and grassroots volunteers. We are excited for this upcoming election and we look forward to working with you to change this state.

Our district caucuses are almost over, but there are delegate seats still open for our State Convention on May 17th at Koolau Ballroom. Please call 593-8180 if you would like to become a delegate.

This Tuesday at 5:30 PM, Demetra Demonte, Secretary for the Republican National Committee, will be at the party HQ at 725 Kapiolani Blvd to give special training for our county, district, and precinct chairs. Please join us if you are interested in getting involved with our grassroots effort. Later that night, Minority Leader Aaron Johanson, Minority Floor Leader Beth Fukumoto Chang, and myself will be at Inspire Church in Waikele to talk about the current legislative session, current issues such as Pono Choices, and and how people can get more involved to ensure that the people of Hawaii can have a say on what goes on with our keiki's education in Hawaii.

In order to take back our state and preserve it for future generations, we need your help! Please visit us at gophawaii.com and click donate to make your investment for our future. We look forward to working with you to make Hawaii a better place to live with more economic opportunity, a lower cost of living, and more liberty for all through limited government! See you our upcoming events!

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Related: Election 2014: Dozens Pull Papers in First Week of Candidate Filing