Quentin Kūhiō Kawānanakoa (born September 28, 1961) is an American politician and member of the House of Kawānanakoa. Kawānanakoa is an organizer of the

Republican Party of Hawaii The Hawaii Republican Party (HRP; ) is the affiliate of the Republican Party (GOP) in Hawaii, headquartered in Honolulu. The party was strong during Hawaii's territorial days, but following the Hawaii Democratic Revolution of 1954 the Democrati ...

. He is also an heir to the James Campbell estate.

Early years

Kawānanakoa was born September 28, 1961. He was the second son of his father Edward A. Kawānanakoa and his mother Carolyn Willison Kawānanakoa. He was raised in

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

where he graduated from

Punahou School Punahou School (known as Oahu College until 1934) is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school in Honolulu, Hawaii. More than 3,700 students attend the school from kindergarten through 12th grade. The school was established by P ...

. Kawānanakoa went on to study at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

. He returned to

Oahu 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 ...

and graduated from the

William S. Richardson School of Law The William S. Richardson School of Law is the professional graduate law school of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Located in Honolulu, Hawaii, the school is named after its patriarch, former Hawaii State Supreme Court Chief Justice Will ...

. Upon obtaining his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree, he served in private practice at the law firm Case, Bigelow & Lombardi until 2000. He was a member of the inaugural 1997 class of the

Pacific Century Fellows The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

Political life

In 1994, Kawānanakoa followed in his ancestors' footsteps and got involved in politics. Like his great-grandmother Abigail Campbell Kawānanakoa and great uncle Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaole, Kawānanakoa joined the

for its pro-business stance. He ran and won an election for the Hawai`i State House of Representatives, an office he served through 1998. He rose through the ranks of party leadership becoming minority floor leader. During an attempt to mount a challenge for the Congressional seat held by

Neil Abercrombie Neil Abercrombie (born June 26, 1938) is an American politician who served as the seventh governor of Hawaii from 2010 to 2014. He is a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. Born in Buffalo, New York, Abercrombie is a ...

, Kawānanakoa abruptly retired from active political life after being hospitalized. In April 2006, after eight years out of the public eye, Kawānanakoa announced his run for the Congressional seat held by

Ed Case Edward Espenett Case (born September 27, 1952) is an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he has served as the U.S. representative for Hawaii's 1st congressional district since 2019, which covers the urban core o ...

, who chose not to run for

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

. He declared his candidacy on April 23, 2006. In the primary elections held on September 24, 2006, Kawānanakoa was narrowly defeated by State Senator Robert Hogue. The final vote total was Hogue: 8,393 votes (45.6%) vs. Kawānanakoa: 8,194 votes (44.5%). Senator Hogue went on to lose to

Mazie Hirono Mazie Keiko Hirono (; Japanese name: , ; born November 3, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician serving since 2013 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Hawaii. A member of the ...

. In 2008, Kawānanakoa unsuccessfully ran for the Hawaii State House of Representatives. His opponent in the November 4, 2008, election was Democrat Chris Kalani Lee. Lee won with 5,885 votes to Kawānanakoa's 3,374 votes.

Family

In September 1995, Kawānanakoa married Elizabeth Broun, a native of

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

. Their first child, Kincaid Kawānanakoa, was born in June 1997. In December 1999, their second child, Riley, was born. Quentin is the great-grandson of Prince David Kawānanakoa and Princess Abigail Campbell Kawānanakoa through his paternal grandmother

Abigail Kapiolani Kawānanakoa Abigail Helen Kapiʻolani Kawānanakoa (March 14, 1903 – April 8, 1961) was a member of the House of Kawānanakoa and the eldest daughter of Prince David Kawānanakoa and Princess Abigail Campbell Kawānanakoa. Life She was born in Honolulu, ...

Tree

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kawananakoa, Quentin 1961 births Living people Politicians from Honolulu People from Monterey, California House of Kawānanakoa Republican Party members of the Hawaii House of Representatives Punahou School alumni University of Southern California alumni William S. Richardson School of Law alumni Lawyers from Hawaii Pretenders to the Hawaiian throne Princes of Hawaii American people of Scotch-Irish descent American people of English descent American people of Native Hawaiian descent Native Hawaiian people Asian conservatism in the United States 20th-century members of the Hawaii State Legislature