Jill Tokuda

Jill Tokuda is a Democratic politician serving as the U.S. Representative for Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District, first elected in 2022. A fourth-generation Japanese American and lifelong resident of Kaneohe, she was the first in her family to attend college, earning a B.A. in International Relations from The George Washington University. Before her election to Congress, she served twelve years in the Hawaii State Senate from 2006 to 2018, where she held leadership roles such as Majority Whip and Chair of the Ways and Means Committee, overseeing a $14 billion state budget. Her professional background also includes co-directing CyberHawaii and serving as the External Affairs Director for the Nisei Veterans Memorial Center. In the U.S. House, Tokuda serves on the Agriculture and Armed Services Committees and the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic. She is the Vice Chair for Communications of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and a co-founder of the Bipartisan Rural Health Caucus. Her significant accomplishments include managing $21 billion in federal COVID-19 relief funds for Hawaii and legislating on early childhood education and agricultural land protection. She also serves as the Freshman Representative to the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

Tokuda supports Medicare for All and the expansion of healthcare access in rural areas via telehealth and mobile clinics. Her economic agenda focuses on Hawaii's affordability crisis, advocating for affordable housing and the extension of child tax credits to support working families. On the environment, she supports aggressive action to combat climate change and views renewable energy development as a driver of economic prosperity. Her foreign policy includes backing security aid for Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific, while calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and voting against certain offensive military aid to Israel due to concerns over civilian casualties. She also advocates for comprehensive immigration reform and humane enforcement practices with appropriate humanitarian guardrails.