With the recent conclusion to the 2025 Republican Party state convention on Kauaʻi, it necessitates an examination of certain fundamental aspects of the local GOP.

First and foremost, the party remains as devoted as ever to President Trump and the MAGA movement. Given the slight increase in Republicans in the state Legislature, it would seem as if the fervor surrounding MAGA served as the catalyst for this.

Even if that’s the case, the broader question remains: Is Hawaiʻi ready for a conservative government? The precise answer is yes — just not under the Republican Party. It will need to be under a new third party, the Conservative Party of Hawaiʻi.

It must first be understood that the Republican Party in its current form, both on the national and local levels, is no longer representative of traditional conservatism.

Ever since President Trump was elected in 2016, the party has largely been replaced with populism and demagoguery, rendering conservatives ideologically homeless. A sobering indication of this lies in the ostracism that has been cast on the likes of those such as the late Sen. John McCain and former Sen. Mitt Romney, both of whom were once Republican standard-bearers.

What’s especially pernicious about the current populism, as explained by conservative columnist George Will, is that it consists of translating the emotional passions of a majority into policy, undermining the Madisonian role of our representative institutions in refining public opinion.

“Philosophical Incongruity”

For the most part, the conservative principles of limited government, free-enterprise, and strict constitutionalism have simply been shoved aside. For example, Republicans were at one point supportive of free-trade, but now they have come to adore tariffs, which is ironic because it’s a direct form of government interference in the free-market.

In addition, during the Jan. 6 riots, when President Trump told Vice President Mike Pence to not certify the electoral votes, this was a blatant violation of the Constitution.

Taking into account the philosophical incongruity of the Republican Party, a local Conservative Party would serve as the true instrument of conservative governance. Moderate and non-MAGA Republicans who are skeptical of President Trump would make up the new party.

In fact, according to an Associated Press poll taken during the 2024 Republican primaries, it found that 20% of Iowa Republicans and 34% of New Hampshire Republicans wouldn’t vote for Trump, indicating that there is some discontent in the GOP toward MAGA. The same applies to Hawaiʻi, albeit on a much smaller scale.

For all of its merits, however, one would be reasonable to question the feasibility of the push to create an electable third party. Although it will not be easy, it is certainly possible.

Perhaps the best example of such an endeavor would be the Conservative Party of New York State.

During the 1965 New York City mayoral election, following dissatisfaction with both the Democratic and Republican parties, William F. Buckley Jr., the founder of the American conservative movement, entered the race on the Conservative Party ticket. Buckley did this in large part to challenge the liberal-Republican candidate John Lindsey at a time when the Republican Party and conservatism were still mutually exclusive.

Despite losing to Lindsey, Buckley received 13% of the vote. It wouldn’t be until five years later when Bill Buckley’s brother, James Buckley, was elected to the U.S. Senate on the Conservative Party ticket, becoming one of the only third party candidates to be elected to Congress. Thus, it is indeed possible for a third party candidate to win, or at the very least for one to demonstrably influence an election.

Despite local Republicans gaining more legislative power, it’s dubious that this trend will continue under President Trump and MAGA. This has to do with the political reality that Democrats maintain an enormous stronghold on the state. The palatability of the president, along with Republicans beholden to him, among Hawaiʻi Democrats is quite poor. After all, the last time a Republican presidential candidate won Hawaiʻi was Ronald Reagan in 1984. To put it plainly, Trump is no Reagan.

Unfortunately, the Republican Party of Reagan is no more. It will take a party-wide repristination — a full restoring to original form — for it to come back, but that will take time.

Now is the time for principled conservative leadership in Hawaiʻi. This will not come from the local GOP; rather, it will emerge from the proposed Conservative Party of Hawaiʻi.

There remains organizational and logistical questions behind such a party, not to mention questions of governance. Nevertheless, just as it was inconceivable during the territory days to think that the Democrats would one day be as influential as they are today, so it is for the prospect of a third party.

But the forces of history have a way of surprising those most skeptical.