John Choi Files to Run for Lieutenant Governor of Hawaiʻi

The People's Choi-ce Officially Qualifies for the 2026 Ballot

News Release from HiJohnChoi.com

HONOLULU, Hawaiʻi (May 26, 2026) — Honolulu civil trial attorney John Choi today filed his nomination papers with the State of Hawaiʻi Office of Elections, officially qualifying as a candidate for Lieutenant Governor in the 2026 election.

The filing turns a promise into a campaign. Choi is running on a single, direct idea: government should answer to the people who pay for it, not to the special interests who profit from it. He wants to end the pay to play culture in Hawaiʻi politics, move the state to publicly funded elections, and bring down a cost of living that is pushing local families off these islands.

"For too long, Hawaiʻi has been governed for the connected few instead of the people," said John Choi. "Big money writes the checks, insiders make the decisions, and working families get the bill. That is the system I am running to change. This is a grassroots campaign. For the people, not corporations. And it starts now."

Choi's platform begins with getting money out of politics, because he believes nothing else gets fixed until that does. He supports stronger limits on campaign donations, closing the loophole that lets government contractors fund the very politicians who hand them contracts, and moving Hawaiʻi to publicly funded elections so that public decisions serve the public.

"When you take the money out, you change who government works for," Choi said. "Suddenly housing, schools, and the cost of living get the honest attention they have been denied for decades. Clean elections are not one issue among many. They are the issue that unlocks every other one."

A civil trial attorney, Choi has built his career holding the powerful accountable on behalf of ordinary people. He says the campaign reflects the values that define Hawaiʻi: resilience, service, and aloha for one another.

With his papers filed, Choi now takes that message across the islands, building a people-first movement heading into the primary.

Hawaiʻi conducts its elections by mail. Ballots will be mailed to registered voters beginning July 21, 2026, ahead of the Primary Election on Saturday, August 8, 2026. The General Election follows on Tuesday, November 3, 2026.

Learn more or join the campaign at www.HiJohnChoi.com.

This year, Choi says, Hawaiʻi has a real Choi-ce. 

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HNN: Honolulu attorney John Choi announces run for lieutenant governor | Hawaii News Now