Two years ago Democrats were devastated by the return of Donald Trump to the White House. But one of the top candidates on the losing national ticket in 2024 believes there is an invaluable lesson to be learned for the elections this year.

“If anything, Donald Trump gave us an opportunity to redefine who we are,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz told the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi at its state convention in Waikīkī Saturday.

But that requires standing up, speaking out and not going numb in the face of fierce opposition from Republicans, said Walz, who was the vice presidential candidate in 2024. Democrats represent the party that really cares about preserving health care, he argued, about fighting for union rights and about protecting immigrants from the federal government.

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On that last point, Walz spoke with some authority. He mourned the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, who were killed earlier this year by federal law enforcement. In Walz’s view, Democrats must talk about affordability and gas prices but also stand up for “human dignity of every one of our citizens.”

Walz also brought the nearly 400 party delegates and guests to their feet several times at the Hilton Hawaiian Village ballroom.

“They want to restrict reproductive rights, they want to demonize our transgender children, they want to dictate what you can do and lecture you on things,” he said.

He got a lot of whoops and shout-outs, too, by calling Trump a “corrupt, petty, cruel wannabe dictator” and “a pile of crap.”

The Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi has been dominant in the islands for decades, including current control of the governorship, the Legislature and representation in Congress. Illustrating that dominance, as of Friday — three days before the filing deadline — 143 Democrats had pulled papers to run for office this year compared with just 67 Republicans.

(The Republican Party of Hawaiʻi held its state convention two weeks ago.)

There are a number of contested races among Democrats, especially for open seats in the Legislature. The party has been energized by the announcement last week that state Rep. Della Au Belatti was dropping out of the 1st Congressional District contest in favor of running for lieutenant governor instead.

The LG race now pits Belatti against Kauaʻi Mayor Derek Kawakami and Honolulu attorney John Choi, who are hoping to succeed Sylvia Luke, who is not running for a second term and is on a leave of absence because she is a target in a bribery investigation.

Belatti’s departure from the CD1 race, meanwhile, likely boosts the candidacy of state Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole, as he and Belatti were thought by many to split more liberal voters, thus helping U.S. Rep. Ed Case, a more moderate Democrat.

In order to prevail at the ballot box this fall, what may help most is to focus on how bad a president Trump has been, delegates were told. Walz and U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, who also addressed the convention, each outlined what they see as a litany of failures in the president’s second term: the war in Iran, surging gas prices and inflation, the weaponization of the Justice Department, the gaudy remodeling of Washington, D.C., and more.

When it comes to winning at politics, a little humor helps, too, as Walz suggested, along with proper framing of messages. He noted that Trump constantly criticizes the governor for being a left-wing radical.

“He is right,” said Walz, proudly. “I am radicalized by the idea that health care is a human right, that everyone should have access. I’m radicalized by the idea, which Hawaiʻi does better than any other state, of union membership — the key to the middle class. I’m radicalized by your governor, who is a damn doctor who I listen to, instead of some jackass like Stephen Miller telling us not to get vaccinated and RFK.”

But Democrats must also stay focused and not overreach.

“We have to stay humble and understand that just not being Trump is not good enough,” said Schatz. “We need to deliver on health care, on housing, on education, on freedom, on economic opportunity. … We are better, and we have to show the way forward.”

There was not much verbal disagreement among delegates, as has been the case in previous conventions and deliberations over party platforms and resolutions. This year’s convention, which began with training and breakout sessions Friday, was also shorter than in years past and less well attended.

Case, U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono and U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda were not present, though each sent a video message. In her video, Hirono decried Trump’s “dumb-ass ballroom” and encouraged getting out the vote even while the GOP under Trump moves to suppress voter turnout.

Case stressed the need for party members to come together as one despite internal differences. And Tokuda said strong Democrats were needed at all levels of government in Hawaiʻi.

“Let’s take back the heart and soul of this country,” said Tokuda.

Kawakami, the Kauaʻi mayor, was also absent Saturday. There were no speeches from other candidates for top offices such as CD1 and LG, as has often been customary. And some attendees left early to attend a memorial service that same day for the late Colleen Hanabusa, the former congresswoman and Senate president who died in March.

But there were many state House and Senate candidates on hand, including Senate President Ron Kouchi and House Speaker Nadine Nakamura. The same goes for county candidates, including Honolulu City Council members Tommy Waters and Tyler Dos Santos-Tam, Hawaiʻi County Councilwoman Heather Kimball and Office of Hawaiian Affairs Trustee Brickwood Galuteria, demonstrating that Democrats also hold power in nonpartisan positions.

Notable speakers included Ruby Sarron, director of training and community engagement for ActBlue, the primary national Democratic Party fundraising platform. Sarron said ActBlue, which staffed an informational table at the convention, learned in the 2004 elections that Democrats needed more money to successfully compete against better-funded Republicans.

“Since 2004 we hit a huge milestone of $19 billion moving through our platform,” said Sarron. It’s not coming from wealthy donors but through an average contribution size of $38.

Many of the convention delegates, including Schatz and Gov. Josh Green, were in Chicago two summers ago when the Democrats held their national convention. The party at the time was led by Derek Turbin, who stepped down as party chair this weekend to run for a state House seat on Oʻahu.

Turbin told delegates he recalled election night Nov. 5, 2024, as the party saw the votes coming that night nationally showing Trump triumphing over Vice President Kamala Harris.

“We were all tremendously disappointed by the results,” he said. Turbin also said he took solace from Green’s remarks that night.

“He said that there is a right and there is a wrong in politics, and on this night, on this election night, wrong won, but we, as Democrats, are going to continue to fight for what’s right,” said Turbin.

Turbin was succeeded as chair Saturday by Makai Freitas after he defeated Tina Marie Even, both of the Big Island Democrats.

For his part, Gov. Green — who is running for reelection this year — credited the Legislature for helping with support for his kauhale program to put homeless people into tiny villages, to pass the “green fee” to mitigate against climate change and to preserve the bulk of the historic 2024 tax cuts.

Those positions, Green said, illustrate the kinds of values Democrats are committed to.

“I think we are a fair state,” he said. “I think we’re a compassionate state. I think those are really the embodiments of aloha when it comes down to it.”