Jill Tokuda

Jill Naomi Tokuda (born March 3, 1976) is an American politician and business owner serving as the U.S. representative for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district since 2023.

Tokuda is one of three Japanese Americans who currently serve in the House of Representatives. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously represented the 24th district in the Hawaiʻi Senate from 2006 to 2018.

Background and education

Tokuda was born and raised in Kāneʻohe, Hawaiʻi. She went to local public schools, attending Kāneʻohe Elementary School and Governor Samuel Wilder King Intermediate School before graduating from James B. Castle High School. She is a fourth-generation Japanese American with Okinawan heritage.

Tokuda earned her BA in international relations with a minor in Japanese studies from George Washington University. While at GW, she was active in the College Democrats. She was a first generation college student.

During the 2000 presidential election, Tokuda was listed as the Hawaii state co-chair of GoreNet. GoreNet was a young-Americans-focused group that supported the Al Gore 2000 presidential campaign with a focus on grassroots and online organizing as well as hosting small dollar donor events.

Political career in Hawaiʻi

Tokuda was elected to the Hawaiʻi State Senate in 2006, running unopposed in the September 23 Democratic primary. She won the November 7 general election with 55.6% of the vote. In 2010, she was not challenged for renomination and reelected in the November 2 general election with 56.4% of the vote. In 2014, Tokuda was again unopposed in the August 9 Democratic primary. She won the November 4 general election with 70.8% of the vote.

While serving in the State Senate, Tokuda was Majority Whip and chaired the Ways and Means Committee overseesing the state budget. She was also chairman of the Labor, Education, Higher Education, and Agriculture Committee as well as the Senate Committee on Hawaiian Affairs. While in the legislature, she successfully fought for expanded publicly-funding of preschool in the state.

In 2018, Tokuda ran for lieutenant governor of Hawaiʻi rather than reelection to the State Senate. She was defeated in the Democratic Primary by Josh Green who went on to win the general election.

In 2019, Tokuda became executive director of the Nisei Veterans Memorial Center on Maui, a position she held until her election to Congress in 2022. She also served on the board of the Hawaii Budget and Policy Center and as co-director of CyberHawaii, an affiliate of CyberUSA, supporting workforce development in IT/cyber security/data science. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Tokuda advised the Hawaiʻi Data Collaborative and helped track the progress of federal relief spending.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2022

Tokuda was elected to represent Hawaiʻi's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives on November 8, 2022. She defeated the Republican nominee 62.2% of the vote to 35.3%.

This came after she won her primary in August 14, 2022 after her opponent Hawaiʻi State Rep. Patrick Branco became the recipient of millions in outside spending funded by FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried among others. She was endorsed in the primary by the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

2024

Tokuda was reelected on November 6, 2024. She had faced no opposition in the August Democratic primary.

Tenure

Upon her election to the House of Representatives, Tokuda became the third Japanese American serving in the chamber along with Reps. Doris Matsui and Mark Takano and the fourth in the United States Congress alongside Sen. Mazie Hirono.

During the 2023 Speaker election, Tokuda voted for Hakeem Jeffries for Speaker of the United States House of Representatives on all 15 ballots. She was subsequently appointed to three key House Committees for her district: Armed Services, Agriculture, and Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic.

On April 26 Tokuda delivered a speech on the house floor congratulating ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' season 15 winner Sasha Colby on her win. Colby is the first winner of the race to be originally from Hawaiʻi.

In 2023, Tokuda was among 56 Democrats to vote in favor of H.Con.Res. 21, which directed President Joe Biden to remove U.S. troops from Syria within 180 days.

In October 2023, following the 2023 Hawaiʻi wildfires which devastated the town of Lahaina within her district, Tokuda introduced the MAUI STRONG Act which would help small businesses and nonprofits in the area survive. She also introduced the Natural Disaster Tax Relief Act which would reduce tax burdens on those impacted by natural disasters.

Immediately following President Joe Biden's withdrawal from the 2024 presidential election, Tokuda endorsed Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee. She went on to serve as a member of the Japanese American leadership council supporting Harris' campaign.

Committee assignments

For the 118th Congress:
* Committee on Agriculture
** Subcommittee on Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology
** Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry
** Subcommittee on Nutrition, Foreign Agriculture, and Horticulture
* Committee on Armed Services
** Subcommittee on Military Personnel
** Subcommittee on Readiness
* Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic

Caucus memberships

* Congressional Progressive Caucus
* Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus
* Congressional Bipartisan Rural Health Caucus, Co-chair
* Congressional Taiwan Caucus
* Congressional Caucus for the Equal Rights Amendment

Political positions

Abortion rights

Tokuda is pro-choice. In 2023, she testified in favor of legislation in Hawaiʻi that would protect doctors who perform abortions in the state from legal repercussions for providing abortions to out-of-state patients. She is a co-founder of the Patsy T. Mink PAC, named after former Rep. Patsy Mink, which works to elect pro-choice Hawaiʻi Democratic women to office.

Locally grown food and food insecurity

Tokuda advocates for the increase the quantity and quality of locally grown food in food-insecure communities, a significant step for areas like Hawaiʻi, which face unique challenges in food production and access and has introduced the Grow Your Own Food Act.

Red Hill oversight

As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, Tokuda has taken a key role as a "powerful watchdog" providing oversight to the Navy's plan to clean up Red Hill Underground Fuel Storage Facility and its impact on Oahu's freshwater supply.

Personal life

Tokuda is married to Kyle Michibata, also a graduate of James B. Castle High School in Kāneʻohe, Hawaiʻi. They have two sons, Matt and Aden, who attend public schools. Their household is multi-generational. She is yonsei Japanese American and a Protestant.

See also

* List of Asian Americans and Pacific Islands Americans in the United States Congress

References

External links

Representative Jill Tokuda
official U.S. House website
Jill Tokuda for Congress
campaign website
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tokuda, Jill
1976 births
Living people
21st-century American women politicians
American politicians of Ryukyuan descent
American women of Japanese descent in politics
Asian American and Pacific Islander state legislators in Hawaii
Members of the United States House of Representatives of Asian descent
Candidates in the 2018 United States elections
Democratic Party Hawaii state senators
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Hawaii
Elliott School of International Affairs alumni
Female members of the United States House of Representatives
Hawaii Democrats
Hawaii politicians of Japanese descent
Members of the United States Congress of Japanese descent
Protestants from Hawaii
Women state legislators in Hawaii
21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives
21st-century members of the Hawaii State Legislature