Patrick Pihana Branco (born April 28, 1987) is an American lawmaker and a member of the Democratic Party who served as the State Representative for District 50 (Kailua and Kāne‘ohe Bay) on the island of

Oʻahu Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...

. He was elected in November 2020 and served until the end of his term in November 2022. Prior to his time in the Hawaiʻi State House of Representatives, Branco worked as a U.S. Diplomat in

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

and

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

He entered the U.S. Foreign Service through the Congressman Charles B. Rangel Graduate Fellowship program. He was the first Rangel Fellow from Hawaiʻi and the first

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was set ...

selected for the program.

Early life

Born and raised in Kailua, Hawai‘i, Branco graduated from

Kamehameha Schools Kamehameha Schools, formerly called Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate (KSBE), is a private school system in Hawaii established by the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate, under the terms of the will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, who was a formal membe ...

in 2005 and then from Hawai‘i Pacific University, where he received a BA in International Relations and Political Science. Branco received a full scholarship as a Presidential Scholar and served as Student Body President. Additionally, Branco received a Work and Study Fellowship from Sogang University in Seoul, where he studied Korean language and completed a fellowship at LG Electronics Legal Foreign Affairs. He then studied at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, graduating with a Master's of International Relations focusing on International Economics and Korea Studies. Branco has described his grandmother as a major influence in his life.

Career prior to politics

Following his graduation from Johns Hopkins University, Branco served as a U.S. diplomat for seven years including assignments in Pakistan, Colombia and Venezuela. Domestically, he worked in the Office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan and the Secretary of State's Operations Center. Branco speaks Spanish and has working knowledge of Korean and Hawaiian.

Political career

Prior to elected office, Branco held multiple positions in community organizations. These include being on the Board of Directors for the AAPI Progressive Action, Board of Directors for the Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership, vice-president of the Asian American Foreign Affairs Association, the Communications Chair of the Pickering & Rangel Fellows Association, a member of the Kailua Hawaiian Civic Club, a member of the Koʻolaupoko Hawaiian Civic Club, a member of the Royal Order of Kamehameha, a member of Hale ʻo Nā Aliʻi, and a member of the Chamber of Commerce Hawai‘i Young Professionals Program.

Elections

Branco ran for the Hawaiʻi House of Representatives in December 2019. He won against Republican Kanani Souza 61.3% to 38.7%. In May 2022, Branco announced he would run for the U.S. House of Representatives from

Hawaii's 2nd congressional district Hawaii's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is represented by Jill Tokuda, who succeeded Kai Kahele after the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Hawaii, 2022 election. The ...

. Branco lost the primary election on August 13, 2022 to

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 Hou ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Branco, Patrick 1987 births Living people 21st-century American diplomats Asian American and Pacific Islander state legislators in Hawaii Candidates in the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections Democratic Party members of the Hawaii House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Hawaii State Legislature Hawaii Pacific University alumni Kamehameha Schools alumni Native Hawaiian politicians United States Foreign Service personnel