Jill Naomi Tokuda (born March 3, 1976) is an American businesswoman and politician serving as the U.S representative for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district since 2023. Tokuda represented the 24th district in the

Hawaii Senate The Hawaii Senate is the upper house of the Hawaii State Legislature. It consists of twenty-five members elected from an equal number of constituent districts across the islands and is led by the President of the Senate, elected from the membe ...

from 2006 to 2018.

Background and education

Tokuda was born and raised in Hawaii. She is a fourth-generation Japanese American. Tokuda earned her BA in

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such a ...

with a minor in

Japanese studies Japanese studies ( Japanese: ) or Japan studies (sometimes Japanology in Europe), is a sub-field of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on Japan. It incorporates fields such as the study of Japan ...

from

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...

Political career

Tokuda first elected to the Hawaii Senate in 2006, running unopposed in the September 23 Democratic primary. She won the November 7 general election with 9,429 votes (55.6%) against Republican nominee Keoki Leong. Tokuda was reelected in 2010. She was not challenged for renomination and won the November 2 general election with 10,010 votes (56.4%) against Republican nominee Tracy Nakano Bean. 2014: Tokuda was unopposed in the August 9 Democratic primary. She won the November 4 general election with 13,817 votes (70,8%) against Republican nominee Kilomana Michael Danner. Tokuda did not run for reelection, and instead became a candidate for

Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii The lieutenant governor of Hawaii ( haw, Hope kiaʻāina o Hawaiʻi) is the assistant chief executive of the U.S. state of Hawaii and its various agencies and departments, as provided in the Article V, Sections 2 though 6 of the Constitution of H ...

in 2018. In the August 11 Democratic primary, Tokuda lost to Josh Green. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, Tokuda advised the Hawaii Data Collaborative and helped track progress on federal relief spending. In 2019, Tokuda was named the executive director of the

Nisei Veterans Memorial Center The Nisei Veterans Memorial Center ( ja, 二世退役軍人記念センター, ''Nisei Taiekigunjin Kinen Sentā'') is a non-profit organization, memorial, and community center, dedicated to Japanese American nisei veterans. It is located on Ka ...

on Maui.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2022

On November 8, 2022, Tokuda was elected to represent Hawaii's 2nd congressional district in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, defeating Republican nominee Joe Akana with 62.2% of the vote to Akana's 35.3%.

Tenure

During the 2023 election, Tokuda voted for

Hakeem Jeffries Hakeem Sekou Jeffries (; born August 4, 1970) is an American politician and attorney and leader-elect of the Democratic caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives. Jeffries has represented New York's 8th congressional district, anchored in s ...

for Speaker of the United States House of Representatives on all 15 ballots.

Caucus memberships

Congressional Progressive Caucus The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is a congressional caucus affiliated with the Democratic Party in the United States Congress. The CPC represents the most left-leaning faction of the Democratic Party. " e Congressional Progressive Cau ...

References

External links

Representative Jill Tokuda
official U.S. House website
Jill Tokuda for Congress
campaign website
Senator Jill N. Tokuda
legislative website * , - , - 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians American women of Japanese descent in politics Hawaii Democrats Hawaii politicians of Japanese descent Democratic Party Hawaii state senators Living people Women state legislators in Hawaii Year of birth missing (living people) 1970s births Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Hawaii Asian-American members of the United States House of Representatives Members of the United States Congress of Japanese descent Female members of the United States House of Representatives {{Hawaii-politician-stub