Women to Watch: Andria Tupola, Candidate for Governor of Hawai’i
This profile is part of Republican Women for Progress’ Women to Watch series, which highlights Republican women running for office in 2018 who are committed to working through the legislative process in a bipartisan way in order to create effective policy at the local, state, and national levels.
Andria Tupola is passionate about her community and the importance of truly engaging and listening to her community. Tupola’s message is simple:
“I want people to feel empowered, I want them to feel like they can take ownership over their community and that there’s not some big government running their lives.”
This message informs how Tupola represents her constituents of District 43 as their Representative in the Hawai’i House of Representatives, and how she has run her campaigns.
When Tupola decided to run for the District 43 seat in 2014, she did so with no formal experience and managed to be the only candidate to successfully unseat an incumbent. In 2016, Tupola won re-election with 65% of the vote and became the first Samoan woman to hold the position of House Minority Leader. Tupola credits her political success to her everyday involvement in her community. She prides herself on listening to and partnering with Hawai’i’s citizens to improve life on the islands in big and small ways.
As Governor of Hawai’i, Tupola will focus on building and strengthening communities to encourage generational investment in the state. Her vision for improvement falls into three main components; (1) decrease the cost of living so that families can have housing (2) create an atmosphere for local businesses to thrive and (3) improve the quality of life by being a champion for education and underserved communities. Through investment in partnerships with businesses, communities, and other institutions, Tupola wants to empower Hawai’ians to address the systemic problems that are keeping the state’s residents from thriving.
Election day is Tuesday November 6th. To learn more about Andria, visit her website — and to find your polling location in Hawai’i please click here.
Disclaimer: Inclusion of a candidate in RWFP’s Women to Watch series does not constitute an endorsement by the organization or its members.
