Rose Martinez

Rose Martinez

Democratic Party

Prior offices

Hawaii House of Representatives District 40

Successor: Julie Reyes Oda

Predecessor: Bob McDermott

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Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2024

Personal

Profession

Policy analyst

Contact

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Rose Martinez (Democratic Party) was a member of the Hawaii House of Representatives, representing District 40. She assumed office on November 8, 2022. She left office on November 5, 2024.

Martinez (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Hawaii House of Representatives to represent District 40. She lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Biography

Rose Martinez's career experience includes working as a community organizer, a legislative policy analyst, and an educator. Martinez has served as a member of the West-Oahu City Council.

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.

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

Martinez was assigned to the following committees:

• Culture & Arts Committee, Vice Chair
• House Education Committee
• Higher Education Committee
• Committee on Labor and Government Operations (decommissioned)

Elections

2024

See also: Hawaii House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for Hawaii House of Representatives District 40

Julie Reyes Oda defeated incumbent Rose Martinez and Christian Ulufanua in the general election for Hawaii House of Representatives District 40 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Julie Reyes Oda (R)	51.3	4,300
		Rose Martinez (D)	45.7	3,836
	Submit photo	Christian Ulufanua (We the People)	3.0	253

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 8,389
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 40

Incumbent Rose Martinez advanced from the Democratic primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 40 on August 10, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Rose Martinez	100.0	1,513

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,513
= 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 40

Julie Reyes Oda defeated Cory Asuncion and Frankie McCurley in the Republican primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 40 on August 10, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Julie Reyes Oda	54.0	680
	Submit photo	Cory Asuncion	25.5	321
		Frankie McCurley	20.6	259

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,260
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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We the People primary election

We the People primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 40

Christian Ulufanua advanced from the We the People primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 40 on August 10, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Christian Ulufanua	100.0	9

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 9
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Martinez in this election.

2022

See also: Hawaii House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for Hawaii House of Representatives District 40

Rose Martinez defeated Janie Gueso in the general election for Hawaii House of Representatives District 40 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Rose Martinez (D)	51.6	3,096
		Janie Gueso (R)	48.4	2,901

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,997
= 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 40

Rose Martinez defeated Julie Reyes Oda and Wayne Kaululaau in the Democratic primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 40 on August 13, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Rose Martinez	47.6	1,213
		Julie Reyes Oda	27.7	707
	Submit photo	Wayne Kaululaau	24.6	628

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,548
= 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 40

Janie Gueso defeated Michael Starr in the Republican primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 40 on August 13, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Janie Gueso	55.8	833
	Submit photo	Michael Starr	44.2	660

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,493
= 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 40

Incumbent Bob McDermott defeated Rose Martinez in the general election for Hawaii House of Representatives District 40 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bob McDermott (R)	58.0	5,365
		Rose Martinez (D)	42.0	3,886

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 9,251
= 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 40

Rose Martinez advanced from the Democratic primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 40 on August 8, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Rose Martinez	100.0	2,621

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,621
= 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 40

Incumbent Bob McDermott advanced from the Republican primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 40 on August 8, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bob McDermott	100.0	2,035

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,035
= 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 40

Incumbent Bob McDermott defeated Rose Martinez in the general election for Hawaii House of Representatives District 40 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bob McDermott (R)	55.8	3,037
		Rose Martinez (D)	44.2	2,406

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,443 (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 40

Rose Martinez advanced from the Democratic primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 40 on August 11, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Rose Martinez	100.0	1,634

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,634
= 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 40

Incumbent Bob McDermott advanced from the Republican primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 40 on August 11, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bob McDermott	100.0	675

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 675
= 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 40

No candidate advanced from the primary.

		Candidate	%	Votes
	Submit photo	Pat Cariaga Bolo	100.0	27

---

Vote totals may be incomplete for this race.
	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 27
= 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 Bob McDermott defeated Rose Martinez in the Hawaii House of Representatives District 40 general election.

Hawaii House of Representatives, District 40 General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Bob McDermott Incumbent	58.67%	3,528
	Democratic	Rose Martinez	41.33%	2,485
Total Votes				6,013
Source: State of Hawaii - Office of Elections

Rose Martinez defeated Randy Aaron Gonce in the Hawaii House of Representatives District 40 Democratic primary.

Hawaii House of Representatives, District 40 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Rose Martinez	57.00%	1,022
	Democratic	Randy Aaron Gonce	43.00%	771
Total Votes				1,793

Incumbent Bob McDermott ran unopposed in the Hawaii House of Representatives District 40 Republican primary.

Hawaii House of Representatives, District 40 Republican Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Republican	Bob McDermott 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. Rose Martinez defeated Isaiah Nahakuokeola in the Democratic primary, while incumbent Bob McDermott was unopposed in the Republican primary. Martinez was defeated by McDermott in the general election.

Hawaii House of Representatives, District 40, General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Bob McDermott Incumbent	62.3%	3,161
	Democratic	Rose Martinez	37.7%	1,915
Total Votes				5,076

Hawaii House of Representatives, District 40 Democratic Primary, 2014

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Rose Martinez	61.1%	1,404
Isaiah Nahakuokeola	38.9%	892
Total Votes		2,296

Endorsements

In 2014, Martinez's endorsements included the following:

• The Concerned Elders of Waianae and Hawaii Rep. Rida Cabanilla.

2012

See also: Hawaii House of Representatives elections, 2012

Martinez ran in the 2012 election for Hawaii House of Representatives District 40. Martinez was defeated by Chris Kalani Manabat in the Democratic primary on August 11, 2012.

Hawaii House of Representatives, District 40 Democratic Primary, 2012

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Chris Kalani Manabat	28.9%	783
Rose Martinez	21.5%	582
Romy Mindo	20.4%	553
Kurt Fevella	18.6%	503
Sam Puletasi	5.3%	144
Joe Rattner	5.2%	141
Total Votes		2,706

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Rose Martinez did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Rose Martinez did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Rose Martinez did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2014

Martinez's website highlighted the following campaign themes:

Waste Management Excerpt: "I will work to bring the city to agree to a long-term 25 year waste management master plan. The plan should include creating greater incentives to encourage our citizens to recycle in greater quantities." Bed-and-Breakfast Regulation Excerpt: "I would favor greater enforcement of this industry given the excessive number of illegal bed and breakfast units throughout our county. Although this is a viable industry, the lack of enforcement has created a significant degree of hardships on various communities." Rail Transit Excerpt: "Although the recent change of leadership in the U.S House of Representatives will make federal funding more of a challenge, I am confident that through the continuing leadership of Senators Akaka and Inouye, that our county will get its fair share of federal funds for this project." Affordable Housing Excerpt: "As your councilmember I will work closely with the newly formed Office of Housing which would help assist in the formulation and execution of policies that would alleviate the homeless situation in West-Oahu and elsewhere in the county." Responsible Government Excerpt: "I supported the change of making the Liquor Commission Administrator an appointed position which gave the commission the authority to install and dismiss the administrator. This will bring comprehensive oversight and accountability to the liquor commission." Economy & Jobs Excerpt: "I would not support any increase in real property taxes but am open to increasing user fees for services that are currently being provided at nominal rates, in particular, to non-resident users." Agricultural Lands Excerpt: "The county should tighten the regulations so that we can ensure that agricultural lands are used for their intended purpose as opposed to 'gentlemen farms.' I am in strong support of creating incentives and legislative protections that preserve agricultural lands for agricultural purposes." Community Building & West-Oahu Excerpt: "While the West-Oahu community is faced with a great variety of issues that are of equal importance, we should be focusing on responsible development of the Secondary Urban Core. Proper infrastructure must be in place while bringing jobs and economic development along the transit corridor."

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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Rose Martinez campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Hawaii House of Representatives District 40	Lost general	$23,105	$23,073
2022	Hawaii House of Representatives District 40	Won general	$138,177	$27,151
2020	Hawaii House of Representatives District 40	Lost general	$6,890	N/A**
2018	Hawaii House of Representatives District 40	Lost general	$11,726	N/A**
Grand total			$179,898	$50,224
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** 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.

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].
In 2023, the Hawaii State Legislature was in session from January 18 to May 4.

See also

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Bob McDermott (R)	Hawaii House of Representatives District 40 2022-2024	Succeeded by Julie Reyes Oda (R)

[show]

Current members of the Hawaii House of Representatives

Leadership

Speaker of the House:Nadine Nakamura

Majority Leader:Sean Quinlan

Minority Leader:Lauren Matsumoto

Representatives

District 1

Matthias Kusch (D)

District 2

Susan Lee Loy (D)

District 3

Chris Todd (D)

District 4

Greggor Ilagan (D)

District 5

Jeanne Kapela (D)

District 6

Kirstin Kahaloa (D)

District 7

Nicole Lowen (D)

District 8

David Tarnas (D)

District 9

Justin Woodson (D)

District 10

Tyson Miyake (D)

District 11

Terez Amato (D)

District 12

Kyle Yamashita (D)

District 13

Mahina Poepoe (D)

District 14

Elle Cochran (D)

District 15

Nadine Nakamura (D)

District 16

Luke Evslin (D)

District 17

Dee Morikawa (D)

District 18

Joe Gedeon (R)

District 19

Mark Hashem (D)

District 20

Tina Nakada Grandinetti (D)

District 21

Jackson Sayama (D)

District 22

Andrew Takuya Garrett (D)

District 23

Ikaika Olds (D)

District 24

Adrian Tam (D)

District 25

Kim Iwamoto (D)

District 26

Della Belatti (D)

District 27

Jenna Takenouchi (D)

District 28

Daniel Holt (D)

District 29

Ikaika Hussey (D)

District 30

Shirley Templo (D)

District 31

Linda Ichiyama (D)

District 32

Garner Shimizu (R)

District 33

Sam Kong (D)

District 34

Gregg Takayama (D)

District 35

Cory Chun (D)

District 36

Rachele Lamosao (D)

District 37

Trish La Chica (D)

District 38

Lauren Matsumoto (R)

District 39

Elijah Pierick (R)

District 40

Julie Reyes Oda (R)

District 41

David Alcos (R)

District 42

Diamond Garcia (R)

District 43

Kanani Souza (R)

District 44

Darius Kila (D)

District 45

Chris Muraoka (R)

District 46

Amy Perruso (D)

District 47

Sean Quinlan (D)

District 48

Lisa Kitagawa (D)

District 49

Scot Matayoshi (D)

District 50

Michael Lee (D)

District 51

Lisa Marten (D)

Democratic Party (42)

Republican Party (9)