Our Favorite Progressive Candidates in 2026 - Kim Coco Iwamoto, Hawaii House of Representatives District 25
Hawaii is known for being one of the most progressive states in the country, but even there, progressives have had to fight their way into the state legislature to ensure equitable representation of all groups and to push progressive policies to move Hawaii forward and better the lives of everyone who lives there.
One such representative is Kim Coco Iwamoto (s/he, hir, hirs), the first transgender legislator in Hawaii’s history. After two terms on Hawaii’s Board of Education, she ran three consecutive elections before finally unseating Hawaii’s powerful House Speaker, Scott Saiki. A Sansei, hir paternal great-grandparents worked on sugar cane plantations on the island of Kauai and maternal grandparents farmed cantaloupe in Imperial Valley, California. She is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, and has a BA in creative writing from San Francisco State University and a juris doctor from the University of New Mexico. Iwamoto is passionate about providing free public transportation across the state and imposing a tax on empty-homes to help fund rent subsidies to make housing more affordable for the working class.
© Brad Goda
Where are you based?
Honolulu, Hawaii
What is your position/what position are you running for?
State Representative of District 25: the urban core of Honolulu, includes the State Capitol, the Governor’s Mansion, the State Supreme Court House, the Federal Buildings, and the Downtown Business Center.
How would you briefly summarize your platform?
I center my advocacy on the needs of working families and the restoration of aloha aina (Hawaiian for ‘caring for the land, including the ocean).
What inspired you to run?
I ran for the State House seat held by the Speaker of the House of Representatives after he met with the Chamber of Commerce and announced he would not allow the legislature to raise the state’s minimum wage beyond what everyone understood to be a poverty wage. The Speaker made the decision unilaterally, he did not poll the members of the House nor did he ever meet with working families struggling to make ends meet. After this press conference, I was determined to unseat him, which I finally did in 2024.
What change are you hoping to bring to your district and country?
50% of the residents in my district own the condo they live in and many have had problems with community management companies and developers — so I fight for consumer protections for condo owners. While my district now has the highest income per capita, over 50% of my district continues to be “Asset-Limited and Income-Constrained” despite being employed full time; and we also have the highest numbers of unsheltered residents — so I also fight for Working Families and Housing everyone can afford. My district runs along the oocean; so, I also fight to reduce carbon emmisions and the coastal flooding it causes.
How long have you been in office?
I was first elected to the Hawaii Board of Education in 2006. After my re-election the BOE in 2010, the BOE switched to an appointed body. Instead of being appointed to the BOE, the Governor appointed me to the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission from 2012-2016. I was elected to the Hawaii House of Representatives in 2024.
What do you consider to be your major accomplishments so far?
When I won my primary election and defeated the sitting Speaker of the House, it caused a overhaul of leadership, resulting in Hawaii finally having our first female Speaker of the House, and replacing the House Finance Chair, from a Conservative Democrat to a Bernie Sanders Democratic Socialist, which led to the enactment of a millionaire surtax this past session.
What do you feel are the most important issues right now, why, and how do you plan to tackle them?
Local headlines in Hawaii are full of State Representatives being arrested for their part in pay-to-play corruption and the misappropriation of public funds into private accounts. The best crafted bills are meaningless if the few Representatives with all the power to kill bills care more about their donors than what is best for Hawaii. So, my focus is on decentralizing power in the House so that all 51 Reps have equal access to participate in a truly representational democracy — and corporate lobbyists have a harder time targeting powerful lawmakers. I am also focused on campaign finance reform, enacting legislative term limits, increasing public access to the legislative process as the legislature has exempted itself from the state’s sunshine laws.
America is extremely divided these days. How would you hope to bridge that divide with your constituents to better unite Americans?
I do not feel responsible for uniting Americans as Hawaii is a nation illegally occupied by the United States; even the so called “annexation” did not recieve the two-thirds majority support of the U.S. Congress as required by law. However, as I described earlier, my district has an incredible wealth gap and other areas of division, such as: military, tourism, private property versus public shorelines, and taxes. Understanding which side of the divide has greater access to power, I feel it is my job to educate that side of divide about their responsibility to equity, transparency and accountability. And to the disadvantaged side, it is my job to make sure they know they outnumber the other side, they have more votes to change the system, so they should have their vote count, join forces to demand justice, equity and equality.
How do you see your unique identity and background to be an asset to you in office?
Now more than ever, citizens and voters are leaning into candidates who embody courageous authenticity. My unapologetic participation as a trans woman says, “this is who I am; I respect you enough be my true self — I am used to fighting for the same opportunities you take for granted, and now I will fight on your behalf.”
What is your motto in life?
Do not do the work of the oppressor: do not internalize the limitations others may try to impose, do not acknowledge the obstacles and distractions thrown in your path, and if someone wants to keep you down, make sure you wear them out trying while exposing their animus and weakness it reveals.
Where can we find out more about you?
My website KimCoco.com has lots to read and I have several social media handles: @repkimcocoiwamoto, @votekimcoco and @kimcocoiwamoto
Instagram: votekimcoco
Facebook: votekimcoco
X: votekimcoco
Jaelynn Scott (she/her) a trans rights activist and transplant from Mississippi, is a democratic socialist and if elected would be one of two serving in the Washington legislature. Jaelynn won over 88% of the vote in her Democratic primary last month and if she wins in the general election in November will be the first trans state representative in Washington’s history and the first Black openly trans state lawmaker elected in the country. Ironically, this fall she will be on the ballot with a conservative-backed initiative to bar transgender girls from competing in girls’ school sports. This ordained Buddhist minister is most passionate about investing in Black and Brown communities, LGBTQ+ rights, taxing the rich, universal housing, universal healthcare, protecting the environment, and fighting for the working class.