Income Tax Relief And Housing Affordability: State House District 17 Candidate Q&As
Longtime Kauaʻi Democratic incumbent faces primary opponent and Republican challenger.
Incumbent House member Dee Morikawa is facing Democratic challenger Chad Schimmelfennig in the Aug. 8 primary election for State House District 17, which Morikawa has represented since 2010.
The district includes the island of Niʻihau, a portion of Omao, Kōloa, Poʻipū, Lawai, Kalāheo, ʻEleʻele, Hanapēpē, Kawaanui Village, Pākalāl Village, Waimea and Kekaha.
The winner of the Aug. 8 primary will face Republican candidate Misty Cluett in the Nov. 3 general election.
Civil Beat sent the candidates a series of questions about their priorities in the first six months on the job, how they would better prepare their district for natural disasters and what legislation they wish had passed in the last session.
Their answers are linked below and all the survey responses from candidates can be compared all in one spot on Civil Beat’s 2026 Hawaiʻi Primary Ballot.
