Josh Green bags crucial win in Hawaii's Democratic primary elections for governor

The lieutenant governor of Hawaii Josh Green has defeated US Representative Kaiali’i Kahele and former Hawaii first lady Vicky Cayetano to win the Democratic primary for Hawaii governor.

Green has served as second-in-command to outgoing Hawaii Governor David Ige for the past four years. Ige, who served two four-year terms, was ineligible to run for the post.

The winner of the Democratic primary is anticipated to succeed in the general election in the liberal state.


In 2018, Green, 52, an emergency care physician and former state lawmaker won the lieutenant governor seat. He began by emphasizing the problem of homelessness. But when the pandemic started, his knowledge of medicine became valuable, and Ige designated him the state's coronavirus liaison.

In a poll conducted by two Hawaii news organizations, Honolulu Civil Beat and Hawaii News Now, in the spring of 2021, it was revealed that Green had a 63 percent approval rating. Voters opted to credit Green, the public face of the state's pandemic reaction, rather than the governor for the better situation, which was nearly three times Ige's 22% favorability rating.



This year, one of Green's political advertisements emphasized that, although among the lowest in the nation, Covid infection rates in Hawaii have been catastrophic, especially in Native Hawaiian populations.

Housing: the Main Topic of Discussion in the Democratic Primary

However, housing was the Democratic primary's main topic of discussion. Hawaii's relatively low infection rate attracted wealthy remote workers from the mainland, aggravating the state's already acute housing issue, which, like the virus, has disproportionately affected Native Hawaiians. As of July, Hawaii had the highest cost of living in the country.

Green's housing strategy calls for softening rules to expedite home building, permitting expansion on more public property, and focusing on unauthorized vacation rentals.