Gary Cordery, a contracting company owner, has secured the Republican nomination for Hawaii governor after defeating business owner Ken Fujiyama in the primary held Saturday. Cordery will now face Democratic Governor Josh Green in the November election, which heavily favors the incumbent. The Cook Political Report categorizes the contest as Solid Democratic, indicating a Partisan Voting Index of D+13.
Since Linda Lingle left office in 2010, Hawaii has not seen a Republican governor. Cordery faces multiple challenges, including an opponent with a 56% approval rating and the state’s longstanding Democratic dominance. On the financial front, Green has raised approximately $3.5 million, significantly surpassing Cordery’s $313,000, as reported by Honolulu Civil Beat.
Despite these hurdles, Cordery aims to attract voters with a platform focused on reducing Hawaii’s high cost of living, reforming education, and addressing corruption. Cordery shared his motivations in an interview with Honolulu Civil Beat, saying, “As a husband, father and grandfather, businessman and community servant, I love Hawai’i.” He emphasizes the islands’ unique beauty and the mismanagement they have endured, pledging to offer opportunities, create abundance, and ensure resource stewardship by bringing accountability and hope to the people.
Cordery’s plans for creating abundance include constructing 15,000 homes across the islands for working families. These homes would range in price from $400,000 to $600,000. His proposal involves using state-owned land for fee-simple housing, streamlining permitting processes, and opening more land for residential development.
Additionally, Cordery suggests eliminating the state’s General Excise Tax on food and medicine and freezing property taxes for homeowners at retirement. He believes the state is failing to manage taxpayers’ money effectively and proposes audits to identify waste and inefficiency. Cordery highlighted the state’s $20.5 billion budget for 1.4 million residents as excessive compared to New Hampshire’s $7.75 billion budget for the same population size. He argues that tax management is crucial to addressing Hawaii’s financial burdens.