State executive race · November 3, 2026
Governor
The governor is Hawaiʻi's chief executive, who oversees state departments, proposes the state budget and signs or vetoes bills passed by the Legislature.
4-year term. Governor and lieutenant governor are nominated in separate primaries and then run together as a joint ticket in the general election. Incumbent Gov. Josh Green (D) is seeking a second term. No nonpartisan, Green Party or Libertarian candidate for governor qualified for the general election ballot.
The candidates
Listed alphabetically by last name.
Gary Cordery
General contractor; founder of Kingdom BuildersRunning mate: Daniel Anthony (Lieutenant Governor)
Gary Cordery is a general contractor who founded the construction company Kingdom Builders and has not held public office. He ran for governor in 2022 and won the 2026 Republican primary, campaigning on the cost of living, lower taxes, housing and government transparency.
Josh Green
Governor of HawaiʻiRunning mate: Derek Kawakami (Lieutenant Governor)
Josh Green is a physician who has served as Hawaiʻi's governor since 2022, after terms as lieutenant governor and in both chambers of the state Legislature. He is seeking a second term with a campaign focused on the cost of living, affordable housing, homelessness and energy prices.
Compare on the issues
Summaries of each candidate's stated positions. See each profile for sources and details.
| Issue | Gary Cordery Republican | Josh Green Democratic |
|---|---|---|
| Abortion | Said in 2022 that he would sign legislation "to overturn abortion" if it came to his desk as governor. | Signed SB1 (2023), which states the state will not interfere with the right to terminate a pregnancy and shields providers from out-of-state legal action. |
| Elections & Democracy | Supports banning donations from local unions and national PACs, an Office of Transparency and Audits, an elected attorney general, and ballot initiative and referendum. | Signed bills on lobbyist disclosure, gift bans and campaign spending; says he will protect the independence of the Ethics and Campaign Spending Commissions. Has not taken a position on adding a ballot initiative and referendum process; says any change should involve broad public engagement. |
| Energy & Environment | Calls the visitor climate fee another tax and says its revenue should go to tangible projects for water, shorelines and natural resources. Says he is not necessarily opposed to liquefied natural gas and points to hydrogen, fission and small modular reactors as future options. | Supports using liquefied natural gas as a temporary bridge from oil while expanding solar, storage and renewables toward a 100% renewable goal. Supports the state's visitor climate fee, projected at about $100 million a year for climate resilience and disaster mitigation. |
| Housing | Proposes 15,000 fee-simple homes on state land priced at $400,000 to $600,000, expanding zoned land from 5% to 6%, and an independent permit department. On homelessness, says the issue requires assessing why people are on the street and supports work participation as a condition of benefits for able-bodied adults. | Declared a housing emergency and used emergency proclamations to remove regulations; says thousands of affordable units have been accelerated. On homelessness, supports expanding kauhale villages, rapid re-housing, and mental health and addiction services. |
| Taxes | Proposes freezing property taxes at retirement age on primary residences and eliminating the general excise tax on food and medicine. Says he is committed to keeping the state income tax cuts and would add further tax relief, paired with audits of state spending. | Says he is committed to keeping the 2024 middle-class income tax cuts and the expanded earned income, food and child care tax credits. |