State Sen. Brenton Awa resigns from Hawaii Republican Party

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - State Sen. Brenton Awa is no longer a member of the Hawaii Republican Party.

He submitted his resignation in an email to the party chair on Friday, Nov. 6.

Awa first mentioned he would leave the party during his concession speech on Election Night, after losing his congressional bid to U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda by nearly 30%.

“We’re in this political environment where it’s so polarizing that you have people who just, I mean, a majority of Hawaii, they made it clear that they want right now in this political climate is to focus on the president. That wasn’t our intention,” Awa said. “They picked a different route than our intention was just, you know, being able to do what we can to get money back and affordability for local residents.”

With Awa’s departure, Republicans will have two members in the 25-seat chamber: Samantha DeCorte and Bob McDermott.

Sen. DeCorte was recently selected as the new minority leader of the State Senate.

Hawaii News Now reached out to DeCorte for her reaction but did not hear back.

HNN Political analyst Colin Moore said Awa’s departure is rough news for Republicans who were coming off a tough election cycle. He added that the move may have to do with Awa’s future plans to run for higher office.

“Being an independent allows him to put a little distance between himself and the Republican Party, which hasn’t been very popular in Hawaii in a long time, and certainly the mainland Republicans have come off a very tough election,” Moore said. “So by being an independent, he can pick and choose how he works with Democrats. He can try to redefine himself as an independent, which I think will probably put him in a stronger position when he runs for mayor, if that indeed is what he decides to do.”

Awa did not confirm or deny a future run for governor or mayor.

He has served as Senate minority leader since 2022.