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Richard Onishi
Richard Onishi (Democratic Party) was a member of the Hawaii House of Representatives, representing District 2. He assumed office on November 8, 2022. He left office on November 5, 2024.
Onishi (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Hawaii House of Representatives to represent District 2. He did not appear on the ballot for the Democratic primary on August 10, 2024.
Biography
Richard Onishi was born in Hilo, Hawaii.[1] Onishi graduated from Hilo High School in 1972. He served in the U.S. Army from 1973 to 1977.[2]
Onishi earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from University of Hawaii at Hilo in 1986. His career experience includes working as an information system analyst V with the County of Hawaii Data Systems Department, a college lecturer, and a sales manager/travel consultant with Puainako Travel Service. Onishi has served as the president of the Hawaii Government Employees Association and on the employees advisory committee of the American Federation of State, County, & Municipal Employees.[2]
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
Onishi was assigned to the following committees:
2021-2022
Onishi was assigned to the following committees:
- Labor Committee, Chair
- Consumer Protection & Commerce Committee
- Economic Development & Technology Committee
2019-2020
Onishi was assigned to the following committees:
- Consumer Protection & Commerce Committee
- Agriculture & Food Systems Committee
- Tourism & International Affairs Committee, Chair
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Hawaii committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Education |
| • Higher Education |
| • Intrastate |
| • Tourism, Chair |
| • Veterans, Military, International Affairs, Culture and the Arts |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Onishi served on the following committees:
| Hawaii committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Agriculture, Vice chair |
| • Economic Development & Business |
| • Finance |
| • Tourism |
| • Veterans, Military, International Affairs, Culture and the Arts |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Onishi served on the following committees:
| Hawaii committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Agriculture, Vice Chair |
| • Economic Development & Business |
| • Finance |
| • Veterans, Military, & International Affairs, & Culture and the Arts |
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
2024
See also: Hawaii House of Representatives elections, 2024
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 2
Susan Lee Loy won election outright against Tanya Yamanaka Aynessazian in the Democratic primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 2 on August 10, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Susan Lee Loy | 70.9 | 4,403 |
| Tanya Yamanaka Aynessazian | 29.1 | 1,803 | ||
| Total votes: 6,206 | |||
 = 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Richard Onishi (D)
- Laura Acasio (D)
Republican primary election
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Grace Larson (R)
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Onishi in this election.
2022
See also: Hawaii House of Representatives elections, 2022
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 2
Incumbent Richard Onishi won election outright in the Democratic primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 2 on August 13, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Richard Onishi | 100.0 | 5,973 |
| Total votes: 5,973 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2020
See also: Hawaii House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for Hawaii House of Representatives District 3
Incumbent Richard Onishi defeated Susan Hughes in the general election for Hawaii House of Representatives District 3 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Richard Onishi (D) | 72.2 | 8,228 |
| Susan Hughes (R) | 27.8 | 3,165 | ||
| Total votes: 11,393 | |||
| = 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 3
Incumbent Richard Onishi defeated Shannon Matson and Fred Fogel in the Democratic primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 3 on August 8, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Richard Onishi | 56.4 | 3,822 |
 | Shannon Matson | 35.4 | 2,402 | |
| Fred Fogel | 8.2 | 553 | ||
| Total votes: 6,777 | |||
| = 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 House of Representatives District 3
Susan Hughes advanced from the Republican primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 3 on August 8, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Susan Hughes | 100.0 | 613 | |
| Total votes: 613 | |||
| = 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
See also: Hawaii House of Representatives elections, 2018
General election
General election for Hawaii House of Representatives District 3
Incumbent Richard Onishi defeated Fred Fogel in the general election for Hawaii House of Representatives District 3 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Richard Onishi (D) | 77.6 | 5,795 |
| Fred Fogel (L) | 22.4 | 1,675 | ||
| Total votes: 7,470 (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
Democratic primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 3
Incumbent Richard Onishi defeated Raina Whiting in the Democratic primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 3 on August 11, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Richard Onishi | 55.0 | 2,997 |
| Raina Whiting | 45.0 | 2,456 | ||
| Total votes: 5,453 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Libertarian primary election
Libertarian primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 3
Fred Fogel advanced from the Libertarian primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 3 on August 11, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Fred Fogel | 100.0 | 16 | |
| Total votes: 16 | |||
| = 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
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 Richard Onishi defeated Gregory Arianoff and Kealoha Pisciotta in the Hawaii House of Representatives District 3 general election.[3]
| Hawaii House of Representatives, District 3 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Richard Onishi Incumbent |
74.24% | 6,184 | |
| Libertarian | Gregory Arianoff | 9.76% | 813 | |
| Green | Kealoha Pisciotta | 16.00% | 1,333 | |
| Total Votes | 8,330 | |||
| Source: State of Hawaii - Office of Elections | ||||
Incumbent Richard Onishi defeated Ainoa Naniole in the Hawaii House of Representatives District 3 Democratic primary.[4][5]
| Hawaii House of Representatives, District 3 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Richard Onishi Incumbent |
67.30% | 3,346 | |
| Democratic | Ainoa Naniole | 32.70% | 1,626 | |
| Total Votes | 4,972 | |||
Endorsements
In 2016, Onishi's endorsements included the following:[6]
|
|
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 Richard H.K. Onishi was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Bill Dickson was unopposed in the Republican primary. Onishi defeated Dickson and Fred F. Fogel (L) in the general election.[7][8][9]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Richard H.K. Onishi Incumbent |
73.7% | 5,075 | |
| Republican | Bill Dickson | 14.5% | 997 | |
| Libertarian | Fred F. Fogel | 11.8% | 811 | |
| Total Votes | 6,883 | |||
2012
Onishi won election in the 2012 election for Hawaii House of Representatives District 3. Onishi defeated Brittany Smart in the August 11 Democratic primary and defeated Marlene Nachbar Hapai (R) and Frederick Fogel (L) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[10][11][12]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Richard Onishi |
57.2% | 4,937 | |
| Republican | Marlene Nachbar Hapai | 32.8% | 2,832 | |
| Libertarian | Frederick Fogel | 10% | 860 | |
| Total Votes | 8,629 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Richard Onishi |
59.3% | 3,298 |
| Brittany Smart | 40.7% | 2,260 |
| Total Votes | 5,558 | |
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Richard Onishi did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Richard Onishi did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Richard Onishi did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2014
Onishi's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[13]
| “ | I will ensure:
|
” |
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
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.
|
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.
|
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.
|
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.
|
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
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Hawaii State Legislature, "Representative Richard H.K. Onishi," accessed September 5, 2022
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Friends for Richard Onishi, "About Richard Onishi," accessed September 5, 2022
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Friends for Richard Onishi, "Endorsements," accessed July 13, 2016
- ↑ Hawaii Secretary of State, "Official primary candidate list," accessed June 6, 2014
- ↑ Hawaii Secretary of State, "Official primary election results," accessed August 25, 2014
- ↑ Hawaii Secretary of State, "Official general election results," accessed November 12, 2014
- ↑ 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 2012 General election results," accessed March 24, 2014
- ↑ friendsforrichardonishi.com, "Richard's Pledge," accessed October 7, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 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 Chris Todd (D) |
Hawaii House of Representatives District 2 2022-2024 |
Succeeded by Susan Lee Loy (D) |
| Preceded by - |
Hawaii House of Representatives District 3 2012-2022 |
Succeeded by Chris Todd (D) |
