Charles Djou

In 1998, Djou ran as a Republican for the Hawaii State House of Representatives District 47 seat. He was unopposed in the primary election,[10] but lost to Iris Ikeda Catalani in the general election by 190 votes.[11]

In 2000, he again ran for the Hawaii State House of Representatives District 47 seat. Unopposed in the primary, he faced Catalani in the general election. Catalani faced controversy in the campaign, with allegations that she broke a promise to the Outdoor Circle, a community beautification organization,[12] by posting yard signs.[13] Djou won the race with 52.5 percent of the vote to Catalani's 44.2 percent.[14]

As a member of the State House of Representatives, Djou had one term in the Hawaii House of Representatives from 2000 to 2002 and was the Minority Floor Leader. Djou launched a successful campaign to open the State Budget worksheets to the public after being told he could look at the budget worksheets in the committee room but was not allowed to take any notes or make copies of them. The documents detail the budget for various state departments and agencies. He opposed the state "van cam" program launched in 2002 to catch speeders using automated cameras instead of police officers, and successfully campaigned for its elimination.[15]

Djou in 2004

In 2002, Djou announced he would run for the Honolulu City Council. He also announced he would move to East Honolulu (City Council District IV) from Kaneohe (City Council District III) to avoid running against fellow Republican Stan Koki.[16] Honolulu City and County elections are officially nonpartisan, and any candidate who wins a majority of the votes in the primary election can win outright. No candidate received a majority of the votes in the primary election,[17] so Djou and Robert Fishman, a former City Managing Director and Chief of Staff to the Governor, faced each other in a runoff in the general election. Djou won with 51.3 percent of the vote to Fishman's 39.2 percent.[18]

Djou ran for reelection to the Honolulu City Council. He was unopposed and won the seat by default.[19]

In 2002, Djou was elected to the Honolulu City Council, representing District IV (Waikiki to Hawaii Kai). He was reelected in 2006 and was on the council until his election to Congress. On the City Council he was the Chairman of the Zoning Committee, Vice Chair of the Planning Committee and as a member of the Transportation and Public Safety & Services committees.

In March 2008, Djou announced well ahead of time that he would run for U.S. Congress in the 2010 cycle, seeking Hawaii's 1st congressional district seat.[20] The seat became vacant on February 28, 2010, when incumbent Neil Abercrombie resigned to run for Governor of Hawaii.[21] Abercrombie's resignation precipitated a special election on May 22, 2010, which Djou entered. Djou was endorsed by former Massachusetts Governor and Presidential candidate Mitt Romney.[22] Djou subsequently endorsed Romney for president in the summer of 2011.[23] Former Hawaii Congresswoman Patricia Saiki, a Republican for whom Djou had once volunteered as a teenager, was Djou's campaign chair.

In the special election, Djou received 39.4 percent of the vote. He defeated five Democrats, four Republicans, and four independent candidates.[24][25] Among the candidates Djou defeated were former Congressman Ed Case and State Senator Colleen Hanabusa, two Democrats who together polled over 58% of the vote.[26] Djou was sworn in three days later and was in office for the remainder of Abercrombie's 2008 term. He was the first Republican to represent the district in 20 years.[27] He followed Abercrombie and Patsy Mink as the third person to have been in the Honolulu City Council, Hawaii State Legislature and U.S. Congress, and was the first to be elected to all three chambers before age 40.

Djou ran for a full term in November 2010.[26] There was some controversy over the use of robocalling by the Congressman's official U.S. House office, both before the election and afterward,[28][29][30][31] but as with all official mass communication between members of the House and their constituents, the phone survey conducted on behalf of Djou's office was approved by the bipartisan Franking Commission as an appropriate use of official resources for the purpose of communicating with constituents.[31]

Djou was defeated by the Democratic nominee, State Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, 53% to 47%.[3] Djou was one of only two Republican incumbents to lose a general election in 2010, along with Joseph Cao in Louisiana.[32]

Djou serving with the 10th Mountain Division in Kandahar, Afghanistan in 2011

Djou announced on August 17, 2011, that he would challenge Hanabusa in the 1st district in 2012. A major in the U.S. Army Reserve, Djou suspended his campaign for six months while deployed to Afghanistan with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, from September 2011[33] to March 2012.[34] Djou lost to Hanabusa in the general election,[35] with 45.4% of the vote.[36]

Djou ran for the 1st district again in 2014.[37] Although he garnered a greater percentage of the vote in a general election than any other Republican running for Congress in Hawaii since 1988, he still narrowly lost to Democratic state representative Mark Takai, who received 51.2% of the vote.[38]

• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Readiness
  • Subcommittee on Terrorism and Unconventional Threats
• Committee on the Budget

Civil unions and gay marriage

Djou opposed Hawaii House Bill 444, a bill to legalize civil unions for same-sex and opposite-sex couples, and supports the federal Defense of Marriage Act. He stated that lawmakers "ignored the will of the people" who enacted Hawaii Constitutional Amendment 2.[39]

Don't ask, don't tell

Djou was one of a handful of Congressional Republicans who voted in favor of an amendment to the 2011 Department of Defense Authorization Bill that would repeal the "Don't ask, don't tell" law and allow gays to serve in the U.S. military.[40]

Immigration

Djou supported comprehensive immigration reform and was one of eight Republicans who voted for the DREAM Act to allow immigrants brought to the U.S. as children earn citizenship through service in the military or obtaining a college education and a job.[41]

South Korean Free Trade Agreement

On May 28, 2010, Djou spoke on the floor of the House in support of approving the South Korean Free Trade Agreement, which was signed by former President George W. Bush on June 30, 2007.[42] Congress approved the agreement on October 11, 2011.[43]