Clarence Nishihara

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Clarence Nishihara

Democratic Party

Prior offices:

Hawaii State Senate District 17

Years in office: 2012 - 2022

Successor: Donovan Dela Cruz (D)

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Hawaii State Senate District 18

Years in office: 2004 - 2012

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 6, 2018

Education

Bachelor's

University of Hawaii, Manoa, 1970

Graduate

University of Hawaii, 1993

Contact

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Clarence Nishihara (Democratic Party) was a member of the Hawaii State Senate, representing District 17. He assumed office on November 6, 2012. He left office on November 8, 2022.

Nishihara (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Hawaii State Senate to represent District 17. He won in the general election on November 6, 2018.

Nishihara was first elected to the Hawaii State Senate in 2004. He represented District 18 from 2004 to 2012. He was redistricted into District 17 in 2012 and won re-election.

Biography

Nishihara earned his B.A. from the University of Hawaii-Manoa. His professional experience includes working as a school administrator.

Committee assignments

2021-2022

Nishihara was assigned to the following committees:

• Agriculture and Environment Committee, Vice-Chair
• Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee
• Public Safety and Military Affairs Committee, Chair

2019-2020

Nishihara was assigned to the following committees:

• Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee
• Public Safety and Military Affairs Committee, Chair
• Water and Land Committee

2017 legislative session

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

Hawaii committee assignments, 2017
• Agriculture and Environment
• Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health, Vice chair
• Housing
• Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs, Chair

2015 legislative session

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

Hawaii committee assignments, 2015
• Commerce and Consumer Protection
• Education
• Government Operations, Vice chair
• Transportation, Chair

2013-2014

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

Hawaii committee assignments, 2013
• Agriculture, Chair
• Commerce and Consumer Protection
• Health
• Technology and the Arts, Vice Chair

2011-2012

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

Hawaii committee assignments, 2011
• Agriculture, Chair
• Health
• Commerce and Consumer Protection
• Education

2009-2010

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

Hawaii committee assignments, 2009
• Health
• Judiciary and Government Operations
• Tourism
• Transportation, International and Intergovernmental Affairs

Sponsored legislation

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

2022

See also: Hawaii State Senate elections, 2022

Clarence Nishihara did not file to run for re-election.

2018

See also: Hawaii State Senate elections, 2018

General election

General election for Hawaii State Senate District 17

Incumbent Clarence Nishihara defeated Roger Clemente in the general election for Hawaii State Senate District 17 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Clarence Nishihara (D)	68.9	7,828
		Roger Clemente (R)	31.1	3,538

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 11,366 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Hawaii State Senate District 17

Incumbent Clarence Nishihara advanced from the Democratic primary for Hawaii State Senate District 17 on August 11, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Clarence Nishihara	100.0	6,177

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 6,177
= 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.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Hawaii State Senate District 17

Roger Clemente advanced from the Republican primary for Hawaii State Senate District 17 on August 11, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Roger Clemente	100.0	746

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 746
= 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.

2014

See also: Hawaii State Senate elections, 2014

Elections for the Hawaii State Senate 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 Clarence Nishihara was unopposed in the Democratic primary and defeated Roger Clemente (I) in the general election.

Hawaii State Senate, District 17, General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Clarence Nishihara Incumbent	70.2%	8,312
	Independent	Roger Clemente	29.8%	3,531
Total Votes				11,843

2012

See also: Hawaii State Senate elections, 2012

Nishihara won re-election in the 2012 election for Hawaii State Senate District 17. Nishihara defeated Alex Sonson in the August 11 Democratic primary and ran unopposed in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.

Hawaii State Senate, District 17 Democratic Primary, 2012

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Clarence Nishihara Incumbent	61.1%	5,295
Alex Sonson	38.9%	3,365
Total Votes		8,660

2008

On November 4, 2008, Nishihara won re-election to the Hawaii State Senate from Hawaii's 18th Senate District. Nishihara ran unopposed in the election. He raised $101,426 for his campaign.

Campaign finance summary

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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.

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Clarence Nishihara campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2018	Hawaii State Senate District 17	Won general	$58,000	N/A**
2014	Hawaii State Senate, District 17	Won	$73,575	N/A**
2012	Hawaii State Senate, District 17	Won	$63,162	N/A**
2008	Hawaii State Senate, District 18	Won	$101,426	N/A**
2004	Hawaii State Senate, District 18	Won	$31,637	N/A**
Grand total			$327,800	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and 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 Hawaii scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

2022

In 2022, the Hawaii State Legislature was in session from January 19 to May 5.

2021

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show].
In 2021, the Hawaii State Legislature was in session from January 20 to April 29. Koho Pono Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to Hawaiian interests. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2020

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show].
In 2020, the Hawaii State Legislature was in session from January 15 to July 10. Koho Pono Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to Hawaiian interests. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2019

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show].
In 2019, the Hawaii State Legislature was in session from January 16 through May 2. Koho Pono Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to Hawaiian interests. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2018

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show].
In 2018, the Hawaii State Legislature was in session from January 17 through May 3. Koho Pono Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to Hawaiian interests. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2017

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show].

In 2017, the Hawaii State Legislature was in session from January 18 through May 4. The Legislature held a special session from July 12 from July 20. The legislature held its first special session from August 28 to September 1. The legislature held its second special session from September 25 to September 26. The legislature held its third special session on November 14. Koho Pono Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to Hawaiian interests. Sierra Club of Hawaii Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2016

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show].
In 2016, the Hawaii State Legislature was in session from January 20 through May 5. The Legislature held a special session from July 12 from July 20. Hawaii Family Advocates Legislators' votes on bills related to social issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2015

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show].
In 2015, the Hawaii State Legislature was in session from January 21 through May 7. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2014

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show].

In 2014, the Hawaii State Legislature was in session from January 15 through May 2. Paychecks Hawaii Legislators are scored by Paychecks Hawaii on their "support and advocacy for small business and an improved business climate." Hawaii Republican Party Legislators are scored on their votes on bills highlighted by the organization. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2013

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show].
In 2013, the Hawaii State Legislature was in session from January 16 to May 3. Paychecks Hawaii Legislators are scored on their "support and advocacy for small business and an improved business climate."

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Nishihara and his wife, Lynn, have two children.

Noteworthy events

Tested positive for coronavirus on March 20, 2020

See also: Government official, politician, and candidate deaths, diagnoses, and quarantines due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020-2021

On March 20, 2020, Clarence Nishihara announced that he tested positive for coronavirus.

Coronavirus pandemic
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See also

• Hawaii State Senate
• Hawaii Senate Committees
• Hawaii State Senate District 17
• Hawaii State Legislature

External links

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	Hawaii State Senate District 17 2012-2022	Succeeded by Donovan Dela Cruz (D)
Preceded by -	Hawaii State Senate District 18 2004-2012	Succeeded by -

[show]

Current members of the Hawaii State Senate

Leadership

Senate President:Ronald Kouchi

Majority Leader:Dru Kanuha

Minority Leader:Brenton Awa

Senators

District 1

Lorraine Inouye (D)

District 2

Joy Buenaventura (D)

District 3

Dru Kanuha (D)

District 4

Tim Richards (D)

District 5

Troy Hashimoto (D)

District 6

Angus McKelvey (D)

District 7

Lynn DeCoite (D)

District 8

Ronald Kouchi (D)

District 9

Stanley Chang (D)

District 10

Les Ihara (D)

District 11

Carol Fukunaga (D)

District 12

Sharon Moriwaki (D)

District 13

Karl Rhoads (D)

District 14

Donna Kim (D)

District 15

Glenn Wakai (D)

District 16

Brandon Elefante (D)

District 17

Donovan Cruz (D)

District 18

Michelle Kidani (D)

District 19

Henry Aquino (D)

District 20

Kurt Fevella (R)

District 21

Mike Gabbard (D)

District 22

Samantha DeCorte (R)

District 23

Brenton Awa (R)

District 24

Jarrett Keohokalole (D)

District 25

Chris Lee (D)

Democratic Party (22)

Republican Party (3)