Pacific Resource Partnership, a powerful group representing Hawaiʻi carpenters and contractors, is dominating the political landscape this election, according to financial reports filed last week with the Campaign Spending Commission.

A Civil Beat analysis shows that PRP’s super PAC, For A Better Tomorrow, raised $7.3 million in the current election cycle, meaning since November 2024. It has spent $5.2 million, with Democratic Party lieutenant governor candidate Derek Kawakami receiving the largest share — by far — compared to the other roughly two dozen candidates it is supporting.

With the primary election less than a week away, the super PAC has spent more than $2 million to help Kawakami, the mayor of Kauaʻi. While independent expenditure committees, also called super PACs, cannot coordinate directly with candidates, the money has paid for a slew of advertisements on television and radio, in newspapers and with printed mailers that have stuffed island mailboxes.

Another Carpenters Union political action committee has also been actively raising and spending in the current election. The Hawaii Carpenters Market Recovery Program Fund PAC reported $172,579 in total receipts and spent nearly all of it.

Expenditures included a recent payment of $56,313 to the Hawaiʻi Carpenters Market Recovery Program Fund (which helps fund For A Better Tomorrow) and $2,000 in contributions to each of a half dozen of the same candidates backed by the super PAC. The contributions were for “event and activities and participation in training” and were made June 27.

A third PAC tied to the carpenters, Hawaiʻi Regional Council of Carpenters Political Action Fund, has also spent about $150,000 this election to support roughly 50 candidates, including Kawakami and Gov. Josh Green.

Other special interest groups are also spending heavily to help candidates this election, especially labor union PACs for the plumbers and pipefitters and for the operating engineers.

But For A Better Tomorrow’s campaign spending far outpaces other political action committees run by labor unions, business groups and political parties.

And the carpenters’ super PAC still had $9.7 million in cash on hand to help elect its preferred slate of candidates.

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PRP is made up of the 6,000-member Hawaiʻi Regional Council of Carpenters and more than 250 contractors statewide who employ them. It primarily presents itself as a champion of blue-collar workers.

“Amid Hawai‘i’s soaring cost of living, our purpose is clear: to align contractors, developers, union members, and key decision makers to bolster our Islands’ construction industry and work toward a higher quality of life for the people of Hawai‘i,” PRP states on its website.

“We advocate for fair construction practices and developments that benefit our greater community. We also ensure that local development focuses not just on the needs of today but on the long-term vitality and prosperity of our Islands.”

What Was Raised

PACs (also called noncandidate committees) have raised almost $16.1 million through contributions and other means this election cycle, roughly two-thirds of which was collected before the start of this year.

For A Better Tomorrow has had by far the most cash at its disposal. The group accounts for almost half of all the money collected by PACs this election cycle — a whopping $7.3 million. That’s more than the rest of the top 15 combined.

Only two other groups raised over $1 million – Hawaii Operating Engineers Industry Stabilization Fund PAC and the Operating Engineers Local Union 3 Statewide PAC.

Only the Operating Engineers Local Union 3 Statewide PAC comes close in terms of financial clout in the 2026 election. It has $10 million left to spend — about $420,000 more than For A Better Tomorrow. But the operating engineers have only spent about $320,000 this election cycle.

The average local PAC has less than $150,000 left in the bank.

What Was Spent

Noncandidate committees have spent more than $10.9 million this election cycle. Nearly three-quarters of that money was spent since the start of the year.

For A Better Tomorrow is far and away the biggest spender with nearly half of all the money spent in the election cycle.

That’s just shy of more than all other noncandidate committees combined and more than six times the amount spent by the Plumbers & Pipefitters Political Action Committee, which came in a distant second with a total of $794,420 spent this election cycle.

And about two-thirds of the money spent by super PACs and other committees this election was directly in support of particular candidates, and almost all of that in about the last seven months.

For A Better Tomorrow once again tops that list, making up almost half of the money spent to support a specific candidate. The super PAC spent $3.4 million – about 65% of its total expenditures – to support candidates.

Most of that money went to back Kawakami. For A Better Tomorrow put well over a third of the group’s total spending toward supporting the candidate.

The group also put more than $100,000 each toward supporting Maui mayor candidate Yuki Lei Sugimura, former Maui County Councilwoman Tasha Kama who died last year, Kauaʻi mayor candidate Bernard Carvalho, and Maui County Council candidates, Ashley Lindsey and Derrick Cabiles.

But the super PAC’s financial support of Kawakami was more than it spent on all other candidates combined.

Kawakami is also benefitting from the largesse of three other local PACs.

The Plumbers & Pipefitters Political Action Committee has spent $97,750 so far this year in contributions to about 70 candidates, including Sugimura, Senate President Ron Kouchi, House Speaker Nadine Nakamura, state Sen. Donna Kim and Honolulu City Council Chair Tommy Waters, who has since been disqualified from running this year. The group’s average contribution is about $1,358, but the PAC put $6,000 toward Kawakami.

The Hawaii Operating Engineers Industry Stabilization Fund PAC has spent $74,500 since the start of the year to support almost 60 candidates with an average contribution of $1,284. In addition to Kawakami, the PAC has also supported Green, Kouchi, Nakamura, Kim, Maui Mayor Richard Bissen and state Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz, chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee..

Operating Engineers Local Union 3 Statewide PAC has spent $34,000 since January with an average contribution of $2,000 to support of 17 candidates, including Kawakami, Kouchi, Nakamura and state Rep. Chris Todd, chair of the House Finance Committee.

Meanwhile, HiVISION2020 (a super PAC with ties to the building and construction trades) spent $167,659 in expenditures in the latest reporting period on behalf of Sugimura and Kauaʻi mayoral candidate Mel Rapozo campaigns. Money went toward things like advertising and media on radio, video, digital and streaming, as well as social media campaigns.