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Chris Lee (Hawaii)

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Chris Lee
Democratic Party
Candidate, Hawaii State Senate District 25
Hawaii State Senate District 25
Tenure
2020 - Present
Term ends
2026
Years in position
5
Predecessor: Laura Thielen (D)
Prior offices:
Hawaii House of Representatives District 51
Years in office: 2008 - 2020
Successor: Lisa Marten (D)
Compensation
Base salary
$74,160/year
Per diem
$225/day; only for legislators who do not reside on Oahu.
Elections and appointments
Last election
November 8, 2022
Next election
August 8, 2026
Education
Bachelor's
Oregon State University
Personal
Birthplace
Kailua, HI
Contact
Official website
Personal Facebook

Chris Lee (Democratic Party) is a member of the Hawaii State Senate, representing District 25. He assumed office on November 3, 2020. His current term ends on November 3, 2026.

Lee (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the Hawaii State Senate to represent District 25. He declared candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled on August 8, 2026.[source]

Biography

Chris Lee was born in Kailua, Hawaii. Lee graduated from the 'Iolani School. He studied at Oregon State University. Lee's career experience includes working as an intern at the Hawaii State Capitol. He served with Breakthroughs for Youth at Risk, the Hawaii Meth Project, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Honolulu.[1][2]

Committee assignments

2025-2026

Lee was assigned to the following committees:

2023-2024

Lee was assigned to the following committees:

2021-2022

Lee was assigned to the following committees:

2019-2020

Lee was assigned to the following committees:

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

Hawaii committee assignments, 2017
• Energy & Environmental Protection, Chair
• Judiciary
• Water & Land

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Lee served on the following committees:

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Lee served on the following committees:

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Lee served on these committees:

2009-2010

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Lee served on these committees:

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Elections

2026

See also: Hawaii State Senate elections, 2026

General election

The primary will occur on August 8, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for Hawaii State Senate District 25

Incumbent Chris Lee (D) is running in the Democratic primary for Hawaii State Senate District 25 on August 8, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Chris Lee
Chris Lee

Incumbents are bolded and underlined.

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Endorsements

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2022

See also: Hawaii State Senate elections, 2022

General election

General election for Hawaii State Senate District 25

Incumbent Chris Lee defeated Brian Lauro in the general election for Hawaii State Senate District 25 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Chris Lee
Chris Lee (D)
 
70.3
 
14,865
Image of Brian Lauro
Brian Lauro (R) Candidate Connection
 
29.7
 
6,280

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 21,145
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Hawaii State Senate District 25

Incumbent Chris Lee advanced from the Democratic primary for Hawaii State Senate District 25 on August 13, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Chris Lee
Chris Lee
 
100.0
 
10,621

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 10,621
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Hawaii State Senate District 25

Brian Lauro advanced from the Republican primary for Hawaii State Senate District 25 on August 13, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Brian Lauro
Brian Lauro Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
2,954

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 2,954
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2020

See also: Hawaii State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for Hawaii State Senate District 25

Chris Lee defeated Kristina Kim-Marshall in the general election for Hawaii State Senate District 25 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Chris Lee
Chris Lee (D)
 
65.0
 
17,733
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Kristina Kim-Marshall (R)
 
35.0
 
9,567

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 27,300
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Hawaii State Senate District 25

Chris Lee advanced from the Democratic primary for Hawaii State Senate District 25 on August 8, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Chris Lee
Chris Lee
 
100.0
 
11,027

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 11,027
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Hawaii State Senate District 25

Kristina Kim-Marshall advanced from the Republican primary for Hawaii State Senate District 25 on August 8, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Kristina Kim-Marshall
 
100.0
 
3,164

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 3,164
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2018

See also: Hawaii House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

General election for Hawaii House of Representatives District 51

Incumbent Chris Lee defeated Noe Galea'i in the general election for Hawaii House of Representatives District 51 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Chris Lee
Chris Lee (D)
 
69.3
 
6,106
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Noe Galea'i (R)
 
30.7
 
2,706

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 8,812
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 51

Incumbent Chris Lee advanced from the Democratic primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 51 on August 11, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Chris Lee
Chris Lee
 
100.0
 
4,413

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 4,413
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 51

Noe Galea'i advanced from the Republican primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 51 on August 11, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Noe Galea'i
 
100.0
 
667

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 667
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 51

No candidate advanced from the primary.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Coby Chock
Coby Chock
 
100.0
 
173

Vote totals may be incomplete for this race.

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 173
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2016

See also: Hawaii House of Representatives elections, 2016

Elections for the Hawaii House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on August 13, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was June 7, 2016.

Incumbent Chris Lee ran unopposed in the Hawaii House of Representatives District 51 general election.[3]

Hawaii House of Representatives, District 51 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate
    Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Chris Lee Incumbent (unopposed)
Source: State of Hawaii - Office of Elections


Incumbent Chris Lee ran unopposed in the Hawaii House of Representatives District 51 Democratic primary.[4][5]

Hawaii House of Representatives, District 51 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Chris Lee Incumbent (unopposed)

2014

See also: Hawaii House of Representatives elections, 2014

Elections for the Hawaii House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on August 9, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 3, 2014. Incumbent Chris Lee was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Wayne T. Hikida was unopposed in the Republican primary. Lee defeated Hikida in the general election.[6][7][8]

Hawaii House of Representatives, District 51, General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngChris Lee Incumbent 65.7% 5,881
     Republican Wayne T. Hikida 34.3% 3,070
Total Votes 8,951

2012

See also: Hawaii House of Representatives elections, 2012

Lee won re-election in the 2012 election for Hawaii House of Representatives District 51. Lee ran unopposed in the August 11 Democratic primary and defeated Henry Vincent (R) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[9][10][11]

Hawaii House of Representatives, District 51, General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngChris Lee Incumbent 81.1% 8,550
     Republican Henry Vincent 18.9% 1,992
Total Votes 10,542

2010

See also: Hawaii House of Representatives elections, 2010

Lee won re-election to the 51st District seat in 2010. He had no primary opposition on September 18, 2010. The general election took place on November 2, 2010. Maka Wolfgramm ran on the Republican ticket for this seat.[12]

Hawaii House of Representatives, District 51 (2010)
Candidates Votes Percent
Green check mark transparent.png Chris Lee (D) 5,626 70.9%
Maka Wolfgramm (R) 2,050 25.8%

2008

See also: Hawaii House of Representatives elections, 2008

On November 4, 2008, Lee won election to the Hawaii House of Representatives from Hawaii's 51st District, defeating Quentin Kawananakoa (R). Lee received 5,885 votes in the election while Kawananakoa received 3,374 votes.[13] Lee raised $61,478 for his campaign; Kawananakoa raised $155,929.[14]

Hawaii House of Representatives, District 51
Candidates Votes Percent
Green check mark transparent.png Chris Lee (D) 5,885 61.9%
Quentin Kawananakoa (R) 3,374 35.5%
Blank 242 2.5%
Over 5 0.1%

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Chris Lee has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. If you are Chris Lee, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

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2022

Chris Lee did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Chris Lee did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2012

Lee's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[15]

Restoring Democracy: Taking Money Out Of Politics

  • Excerpt: "The special interests that write the biggest campaign checks continue to have the most access and most influence in politics. If we are going to keep the interests of the people first, then this must change."

Rebuilding Local Agriculture Should Be A Top Priority

  • Excerpt: "Hawaii can no longer afford to compete globally exporting products like sugar and pineapple. Too many other places can do it cheaper than we can. However, if we can rebuild a local agriculture industry centered around local food for local consumption, we will create new permanent jobs, feed ourselves fresh local produce and meat, and keep $billions circulating in our local economy instead of being lost to foreign markets."

Transforming Hawaii’s Educational System

  • Excerpt: "Our goal should be to give our kids the best education we can. This will require an smaller class sizes, sufficient resources and training, an efficient administration, and quality teachers who are eager to teach to the best of their ability."

Promoting A High-Tech Digital Industry

  • Excerpt: "Everyone wants to live in Hawaii, but not everyone can work here. That is about to change. Imagine the West Oahu plain transformed into a film production and creative media center with businesses that produce high tech computer generated special effects for movies that are being made around the world. Then imagine a new film production studio and a thriving hotel and restaurant industry to support that trade."

Campaign finance summary

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

Chris Lee campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2022Hawaii State Senate District 25Won general$43,579 $35,327
2020Hawaii State Senate District 25Won general$47,420 N/A**
2018Hawaii House of Representatives District 51Won general$39,632 N/A**
2016Hawaii House of Representatives, District 51Won $46,456 N/A**
2014Hawaii House of Representatives, District 51Won $122,896 N/A**
2012Hawaii State House, District 51Won $29,417 N/A**
2010Hawaii State House, District 51Won $31,444 N/A**
2008Hawaii State House, District 51Won $61,478 N/A**
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards, State legislative scorecards in Hawaii

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Hawaii State Legislature in 2025.

  • The Freedom Index — Legislators are scored on their adherence to the limited government principles of the U.S. Constitution.

In 2024, the Hawaii State Legislature was either not in session or no scorecards were found. Please contact us if you would like to suggest a scorecard.

In 2023, the Hawaii State Legislature was either not in session or no scorecards were found. Please contact us if you would like to suggest a scorecard.

In 2022, the Hawaii State Legislature was either not in session or no scorecards were found. Please contact us if you would like to suggest a scorecard.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Hawaii State Legislature in 2021.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Hawaii State Legislature in 2020.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Hawaii State Legislature in 2019.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Hawaii State Legislature in 2018.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Hawaii State Legislature in 2017.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Hawaii State Legislature in 2016.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Hawaii State Legislature in 2015.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Hawaii State Legislature in 2014.

In 2013, the Hawaii State Legislature was either not in session or no scorecards were found. Please contact us if you would like to suggest a scorecard.

In 2012, the Hawaii State Legislature was either not in session or no scorecards were found. Please contact us if you would like to suggest a scorecard.

In 2011, the Hawaii State Legislature was either not in session or no scorecards were found. Please contact us if you would like to suggest a scorecard.

See also

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External links

Officeholder

Hawaii State Senate District 25
  • Website
    		•

    Personal

  • Facebook
    		•

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Chris Lee State Senate, "About Chris," accessed January 5, 2021
    2. ↑ Hawaii State Legislature, "Representative Chris Lee," accessed January 5, 2021
    3. ↑ State of Hawaii, "General Election 2016 - State of Hawaii – Statewide November 8, 2016," accessed November 23, 2016
    4. ↑ State of Hawaii, "2016 Candidate Report," accessed June 10, 2016
    5. ↑ Hawaii.gov, "Primary Election results," accessed September 12, 2016
    6. ↑ Hawaii Secretary of State, "Official primary candidate list," accessed June 6, 2014
    7. ↑ Hawaii Secretary of State, "Official primary election results," accessed August 25, 2014
    8. ↑ Hawaii Secretary of State, "Official general election results," accessed November 12, 2014
    9. ↑ civilbeat.com, " Unofficial 2012 Primary election candidate list," accessed March 24, 2014
    10. ↑ Hawaii Secretary of State, "Official 2012 Primary election results," accessed March 24, 2014
    11. ↑ Hawaii Secretary of State, "Official 2012 General election results," accessed March 24, 2014
    12. ↑ Hawaii Secretary of State, "Official 2010 General election results," accessed December 13, 2013
    13. ↑ Hawaii Secretary of State, "Official 2008 General election results," accessed March 24, 2014
    14. ↑ Follow The Money, "Campaign funds," accessed March 24, 2014
    15. ↑ Chris Lee for Hawaii, "Home Page," accessed October 5, 2012

    Political offices
    Preceded by
    Laura Thielen (D)     		Hawaii State Senate District 25
    2020-Present    		 Succeeded by
    -
    Preceded by
    -     		Hawaii House of Representatives District 51
    2008-2020    		 Succeeded by
    Lisa Marten (D)


    Current members of the Hawaii State Senate
    Leadership
    Senate President:Ronald Kouchi
    Majority Leader:Dru Kanuha
    Minority Leader:Brenton Awa
    Senators
    District 1
    District 2
    District 3
    District 4
    District 5
    District 6
    District 7
    District 8
    District 9
    District 10
    Les Ihara (D)
    District 11
    District 12
    District 13
    District 14
    Donna Kim (D)
    District 15
    District 16
    District 17
    District 18
    District 19
    District 20
    District 21
    District 22
    District 23
    District 24
    District 25
    Chris Lee (D)
    Democratic Party (22)
    Republican Party (3)


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