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Donna Kim
2002 - Present
2026
23
Donna Kim (Democratic Party) is a member of the Hawaii State Senate, representing District 14. She assumed office in 2002. Her current term ends on November 3, 2026.
Kim (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Hawaii State Senate to represent District 14. She won in the general election on November 8, 2022.
Kim was first elected to the Hawaii State Senate in 2000. She represented District 15 from 2000 to 2002. She was redistricted into District 14 in 2002 and won re-election. She served as President of the Senate from 2013 to 2015; she was removed from the position on May 5, 2015, when a resolution to make Ron Kouchi (D) the new president passed.[1] She previously served as Vice President of the Senate from 2011 to 2013.
Kim served in the Hawaii House of Representatives from 1982 to 1984. She then served on the Honolulu City Council from 1984 to 2000.
Biography
Kim earned her B.A. from Washington State University in 1974. Her professional experience includes working as a Small Business Executive Director, Recreation Director, Trained Facilitator for the Pacific Institute, Public Relations Director for KUMU Radio, Hotel Catering Sales Representative, Radio Talk Show Co-Host for Equaltime KHNR Radio, Communications Sales Representative, Board of Directors for the Bank of America Hawaii and Fellowship for the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies.
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.
2023-2024
Kim was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Education Committee, Vice Chair
- Economic Development and Tourism Committee
- Higher Education Committee, Chair
- Ways and Means Committee
2021-2022
Kim was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Education Committee, Vice-Chair
- Higher Education Committee, Chair
- Judiciary Committee
2019-2020
Kim was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Education Committee, Vice Chair
- Higher Education Committee, Chair
- Judiciary Committee
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Hawaii committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Government Operations, Chair |
| • Hawaiian Affairs |
| • Judiciary and Labor |
| • Water and Land |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Kim served on the following committees:
| Hawaii committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Kim served on these committees:
| Hawaii committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Tourism, Chair |
| • Ways and Means |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Kim served on these committees:
| Hawaii committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Ways and Means |
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
General election
General election for Hawaii State Senate District 14
Incumbent Donna Kim defeated Cheryl Rzonca in the general election for Hawaii State Senate District 14 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Donna Kim (D) | 73.6 | 8,123 |
| Cheryl Rzonca (R) | 26.4 | 2,918 | ||
| Total votes: 11,041 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Hawaii State Senate District 14
Incumbent Donna Kim advanced from the Democratic primary for Hawaii State Senate District 14 on August 13, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Donna Kim | 100.0 | 5,989 |
| Total votes: 5,989 | |||
| = 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 14
Cheryl Rzonca advanced from the Republican primary for Hawaii State Senate District 14 on August 13, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Cheryl Rzonca | 100.0 | 1,344 | |
| Total votes: 1,344 | |||
| = 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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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Hawaii State Senate District 14
No candidate advanced from the primary.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| Angela Young | 100.0 | 20 | ||
Vote totals may be incomplete for this race. | ||||
| Total votes: 20 | |||
| = 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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2020
See also: Hawaii State Senate elections, 2020
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Hawaii State Senate District 14
Incumbent Donna Kim won election outright in the Democratic primary for Hawaii State Senate District 14 on August 8, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Donna Kim | 100.0 | 3,969 |
| Total votes: 3,969 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2018
General election
Ed Case defeated Cam Cavasso, Michelle Rose Tippens, Zachary Burd, and Calvin Griffin in the general election for U.S. House Hawaii District 1 on November 6, 2018.
General election
General election for U.S. House Hawaii District 1
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Ed Case (D) | 73.1 | 134,650 |
| Cam Cavasso (R) | 23.1 | 42,498 | ||
 | Michelle Rose Tippens (L) | 1.9 | 3,498 | |
 | Zachary Burd (G) | 1.2 | 2,214 | |
| Calvin Griffin (Nonpartisan) | 0.7 | 1,351 | ||
| Total votes: 184,211 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = 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
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Hawaii District 1 on August 11, 2018.
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Hawaii District 1
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Ed Case | 40.0 | 47,482 |
 | Doug Chin | 25.5 | 30,283 | |
| Donna Kim | 18.2 | 21,554 | |
 | Kaniela Ing | 6.3 | 7,531 | |
 | Beth Fukumoto | 6.3 | 7,473 | |
 | Ernest Y. Martin | 3.2 | 3,827 | |
 | Sam Puletasi | 0.4 | 519 | |
| Total votes: 118,669 | |||
| = 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
Cam Cavasso defeated Raymond Vinole in the Republican primary for U.S. House Hawaii District 1 on August 11, 2018.
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Hawaii District 1
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Cam Cavasso | 81.8 | 10,552 | |
| Raymond Vinole | 18.2 | 2,340 | ||
| Total votes: 12,892 | |||
| = 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
Calvin Griffin defeated John Cipolla in the nonpartisan primary
Green primary election
Zachary Burd was unopposed in the Green Party primary
Libertarian primary election
Michelle Rose Tippens was unopposed in the Libertarian primary.
2016
- See also: Hawaii State Senate elections, 2016
Elections for the Hawaii State Senate 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 Donna Kim ran unopposed in the Hawaii State Senate District 14 general election.[2]
| Hawaii State Senate, District 14 General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic |  Donna Kim Incumbent (unopposed) | |
| Source: State of Hawaii - Office of Elections | ||
Incumbent Donna Kim defeated Carl Campagna in the Hawaii State Senate District 14 Democratic primary.[3][4]
| Hawaii State Senate, District 14 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Donna Kim Incumbent |
85.37% | 5,904 | |
| Democratic | Carl Campagna | 14.63% | 1,012 | |
| Total Votes | 6,916 | |||
2014
Kim ran in the 2014 election for the U.S. House to represent Hawaii's 1st District.[5] He was defeated by Mark Takai in the Democratic primary on August 9, 2014.[6]
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mark Takai |
44.5% | 52,736 | ||
| Donna Kim | 28.4% | 33,678 | ||
| Stanley Chang | 10.2% | 12,135 | ||
| Ikaika Anderson | 6.7% | 7,937 | ||
| Will Espero | 3.8% | 4,555 | ||
| Joey Manahan | 3.8% | 4,495 | ||
| Kathryn Xian | 2.6% | 3,039 | ||
| Total Votes | 118,575 | |||
| Source: Hawaii Office of Elections |
||||
2012
- See also: Hawaii State Senate elections, 2012
Kim won re-election in the 2012 election for Hawaii State Senate District 14. Kim ran unopposed in the August 11 Democratic primary and ran unopposed in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[7][8]
2010
- See also: Hawaii State Senate elections, 2010
Kim ran for re-election to the 14th District seat in 2010. She had no opposition in the September 18 primary. Kim defeated Peter Dudek (R) in the general election on November 2, 2010.[9]
| Hawaii State Senate, District 14 2010 General election results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Donna Kim (D)
|
8,481 | 76.5% | ||
| Peter Dudek (R) | 1,852 | 16.7% | ||
2006
On November 7, 2006, Kim won re-election to the Hawaii State Senate from Hawaii's 14th Senate District. Kim ran unopposed in the general election. She raised $57,527 for her campaign.[10]
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Donna Kim did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Donna Kim did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2018
| “ |
Fighting For Results 'As a middle child of five, I come from humble beginnings in Kalihi-Palama. It was a struggle for my parents to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table. My dad worked as a carpenter and mom worked evenings as a waitress. My siblings and I learned to shoulder responsibility for one another at an early age. I know what it's like to live from paycheck to paycheck. A quality public education and the strong work ethic instilled by my parents helped me hope for a better future. It is important that people have hope... hope for a good paying job, hope to one day own their own home, hope to be able to afford to send their children to college, and hope for a better future. With over three decades of public service, I know what it takes to find solutions, persist to get answers, and get things done.' Fighting for Kupuna Health Care and Social Security Healthcare is a human right. As your representative, I will fight to protect health care and senior citizen programs that are so vital to the fabric of our society. Hawai‘i led the nation in providing quality and affordable health care with our Prepaid Health Care Act and I will always work to ensure our kupuna have access to the healthcare they need. The original premise of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was to make healthcare affordable and accessible to all. By working together with all constituencies, I will advocate for making adjustments to better manage the program's costs and effectiveness. Healthcare is critical and we need to revalidate the original fundamental assumptions to ensure we are meeting the original objectives of the ACA. I will work tirelessly to preserve and expand Medicare and fight to ensure continued and expanded Social Security for our senior citizens. Fighting for Keiki Education Public education is a critical equalizer. If not for public education, I wouldn't be who I am today. There are too many federal mandates and too little funding to implement them. I have been an advocate for local home rule and will fight for Hawai‘i to have more control over public education systems so we can tailor our teaching needs to suit our particular strengths and weaknesses. It is imperative that our youth have access to high quality, affordable higher education. The skyrocketing cost of college has burdened graduates with huge loan debt. I will fight for low to zero interest rates on student debt and make it easier for graduates to pay off their loans. I will push for incentives such as granting federal funds to states that lower tuition costs for quality education. Fighting for Women I have always supported a woman's right to choose. In the Senate, I supported initiatives to increases access to safe emergency contraceptives, access to quality reproductive health care, and provide better care for low-income women and children. As a working single mom, I will fight for legislation to ensure equal pay for equal work, eliminate pay discrimination on the basis of gender, and give women greater protection from sexual harassment, violence, and domestic abuse.[11] |
” |
| —Kim for Congress[12] | ||
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.
Scorecards
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.
2024
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
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In 2024, the Hawaii State Legislature was in session from January 17 to May 3. |
2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the Hawaii State Legislature was in session from January 18 to May 4. |
2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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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]. |
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In 2021, the Hawaii State Legislature was in session from January 20 to April 29.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the Hawaii State Legislature was in session from January 15 to July 10.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the Hawaii State Legislature was in session from January 16 through May 2.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the Hawaii State Legislature was in session from January 17 through May 3.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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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.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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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.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the Hawaii State Legislature was in session from January 21 through May 7.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the Hawaii State Legislature was in session from January 15 through May 2.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the Hawaii State Legislature was in session from January 16 to May 3.
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See also
2022 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Hawaii State Senate District 14 |
Officeholder Hawaii State Senate District 14 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Civil Beat, "End of Session Shakeup: Kim Out, Kouchi In as Senate President," May 4, 2015
- ↑ State of Hawaii, "General Election 2016 - State of Hawaii – Statewide November 8, 2016," accessed November 23, 2016
- ↑ State of Hawaii, "2016 Candidate Report," accessed June 10, 2016
- ↑ Hawaii.gov, "Primary Election results," accessed September 12, 2016
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedNews2014 - ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs nameddemprim - ↑ civilbeat.com, " Unofficial 2012 Primary election candidate list," accessed March 24, 2014
- ↑ Hawaii Secretary of State, "Official 2012 Primary election results," accessed March 24, 2014
- ↑ Hawaii Secretary of State, "Official 2010 General election results," accessed December 13, 2013
- ↑ Follow The Money, "Campaign funds," accessed March 24, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Kim for Congress, "Issues," accessed June 13, 2018
- ↑ Paychecks Hawaii, "PAYCHECKS HAWAII Ratings of the 2013 Hawaii State Legislature," accessed July 11, 2017
- ↑ Paychecks Hawaii, "PAYCHECKS HAWAII Ratings of the 2013 Hawaii State Legislature," accessed July 11, 2017
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Hawaii State Senate District 14 2002-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Hawaii State Senate District 15 2000-2002 |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Honolulu City Council 1984-2000 |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Hawaii House of Representatives 1982-1984 |
Succeeded by - |
