Congressional Meet and Greet with Representative Kai Kahele (HI-02-D)

Kai Kahele was elected to represent the 2nd congressional district of Hawai'i in the November 2020 election. The 2nd congressional district primarily consists of all rural and most suburban areas of Oahu and counties that include Kauai, Maui, Kalawao, and Hawai'i. 

Representative Kahele is a military and civilian pilot. He is currently a commissioned officer in the Hawai'i Air National Guard, where he serves as a Lieutenant Colonel. Additionally, he is a decorated combat veteran with multiple deployments to both Iraq and Afghanistan since 2005. He also flies as a civilian pilot for Hawaiian Airlines. 

Representative Kahele was appointed to the 1st district of the Hawai'i state Senate in 2016, following the death of his father, Gil Kahele. In 2019, state Senator Kahele was selected to serve as the Majority Floor Leader in the Senate and as chairman of the Senate Committee on Water and Land. He was also a member of the Ways and Means, Hawaiian Affairs and Higher Education committees. 

Representative Kahele is a Native Hawaiian whose family comes from a small fishing village in South Kona. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in education from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa in 1998. He and his wife currently live with their daughters in Hilo, Kahele's lifetime home on Hawai‘i Island.