It has become increasingly noticeable that the Republican Party of Hawaiʻi is gaining ground politically. In the 2024 election, there were four Republicans added to the state legislature, making for an overall total of 12 such lawmakers out of the 76-member Legislature.

As a conservative, this is quite promising. However, there is still a substantial amount of effort needed before Republicans can enact lasting change in Hawaiʻi.

With the 2026 midterm elections not too far in the future, this naturally raises the question: How can Hawaiʻi Republicans break the Democratic Party’s stronghold on the islands?

The answer to this question lies in the history of the American conservative movement.

In order to understand the movement’s lessons, it is necessary to undergo a brief historical examination of it.

American conservatism, as we understand it today, began with the founding of the National Review in 1955 by William F. Buckley Jr. Buckley unified the different strands of conservative thought — traditionalism, libertarian-minded classical liberalism, and anti-communism — into a coherent form of conservatism.

Prior to the magazine’s establishment, conservatives were a disorganized group scattered across the far corners of the political wilderness.

As Lionel Trilling, the prominent literary critic, wrote in his 1950 book the Liberal Imagination, “In the United States at this time liberalism is not only the dominant but the sole intellectual tradition. For it is the plain fact that nowadays there are no conservative or reactionary ideas in general circulation.”

Liberalism had solidified itself as the predominant ideology in American public discourse, which started with the election of President Franklin Roosevelt in 1932. It wasn’t until the National Review came into existence that the intellectual winds started to blow rightward.

Conservatives at first found their political manifestation in the likes of Sen. Barry Goldwater, who, after being nominated as the Republican nominee in the 1964 presidential election, led a conservative takeover of the party.

Much to people’s surprise incidentally, it’s interesting to know that there was such a thing as a liberal-Republican. This now nonexistent branch of the party was led by individuals of the Eastern Establishment, such as Nelson Rockefeller and John Lindsey.

When Goldwater lost, it didn’t mark a permanent rejection of conservatism; rather, it began the eventual acceptance of it and ushered in the rise of President Ronald Reagan. By the time Reagan was elected in 1980, America had undergone a conservative transformation and ceased what many considered to be the inexorable march of liberalism.

One comes to wonder how conservatives were able to fuel such a dramatic change in American politics. There are many factors responsible for this, but it ultimately comes down to this simple reason: conservatism instilled itself in America’s intellectual culture, thereby altering the direction of American politics.

What can Hawaiʻi Republicans deduce from all of this? Well, first of all, that it isn’t impossible to change a seemingly unbudgeable political culture. But perhaps most important of all is that Hawaiʻi Republicans will have to look beyond offering practical solutions to the state’s problems. Instead, the party must work to ingrain itself into the ethos of Hawaiʻi political culture.

As the Democratic Party is inextricably linked to the state’s political identity, the Republican Party must do the same if it wishes to gain widespread acceptance. A common reason why many people vote for Democrats by default is Hawaii’s longstanding history with Democratic politics.

This means that regardless of how enticing a particular piece of Republican legislation is, Democrats will continue being elected because that is the norm. Therefore, Republicans must break that norm and connect with voters on a deeper, almost cultural level.

The party is fortunately in a position to do just that. An appeal to Hawaiʻi values of ‘ohana (family) and mālama (personal responsibility), both of which are key tenets of conservatism, should be Republicans’ goal.

With this framework in mind, legislation must be geared towards empowering individuals and not making people reliant on the government. This is particularly relevant to the local economy as Hawaiʻi needs to prioritize economic diversification, which can only come through a pro-business policy agenda.

As a recent report from CNBC said, Hawaiʻi was “America’s worst state for business in 2024.” Republicans have an opportunity to turn this around by reducing state income tax rates across-the-board and slashing burdensome regulations that hinder economic growth.

What everything ultimately comes down to is if the Republican Party can resonate with voters and etch itself into the soul of Hawaii’s political culture. Once that inseparable connection is made, the party will finally have a chance at succeeding.

It will be a long time before any major political change occurs. However, if the current momentum keeps up, Hawaiʻi may very well see its own conservative movement.