Hawaiian delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Tuesday wore light blue, long-sleeved Hawaiian shirts and dresses and green “Hawaii for Harris” buttons as Governor Josh Green pledged Hawaii’s support to Vice President Kamala Harris on her path to becoming the next president of the United States.
Green spoke to a convention full of noisy delegates, whose cheers grew louder as Green highlighted Hawaii’s record on progressive issues.
“America, thank you all for loving Hawaii,” Green said. “The spirit of aloha means acting with love and kindness. Our Hawaii was the first state to legalize abortion. Our state was the first to ratify the ERA. Our state was the first to pass universal health insurance and pursue 100% renewable energy. Our state is the birthplace of Barack Obama. Our state shares the values of Kamala Harris. And we cast six votes present and 23 votes for Kamala Harris, the first female president.”
The delegate list – including delegates from the District of Columbia, U.S. territories and “Democrats Abroad” – is in alphabetical order, meaning Green cast the votes for Hawaii after Guam and before Idaho.
In addition to their appropriate Hawaiian attire for the roll call vote, Hawaii delegates also brought chocolate-covered macadamia nuts and Hawaiian flower leis for “special guests,” said Derek Turbin, chairman of the Hawaii Democratic Party.
The delegates and their guests sat to the left of the stage behind the Missouri delegation, Turbin said. “To the right are Utah, Vermont and Alaska. And the Wisconsin delegates are wearing their cheese heads.”
It wasn’t just political speeches and musical performances, said Tyler Dos Santos-Tam, a Honolulu City Council member and Chicago delegate who served as chairman of the Hawaii Democratic Party from 2020 to 2022.
He had just participated in a discussion on affordable housing policy on Tuesday and said there were many opportunities to learn more about important issues that could benefit Hawaii residents.
“It’s not just about the motivational speeches at night,” Dos Santos-Tam said. “Our kuleana is not just about listening to the speeches, but also about being engaged and informed and taking that enthusiasm home with us.”
Each morning began with breakfast at the delegate hotel, the Hyatt Regency Chicago Downtown.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland appeared at breakfast with the Utah delegation on Tuesday.
Raskin is the ranking member of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, which investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, a failed attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, which Trump lost to President Joe Biden.
Whitmer and Raskin’s breakfast appearances kicked off Tuesday’s session by “energizing and exciting us,” Turbin said.
Turbin’s parents – Richard Turbin, 79, and Rai Saint Chu, 77 – are attending their third Democratic convention. But they said none have had the same energy as this week’s convention in Chicago, which ends Thursday night with a speech by Harris accepting her party’s nomination.
“There’s just so much energy, and Biden hit the nail on the head in his great farewell speech,” said Richard Turbin. “This speech is just so much more exciting, with so much more energy and enthusiasm. We’re all so cautiously optimistic about Kamala Harris.”
