Christy MacPherson, a longtime Kalihi community organizer, is taking her pitch straight to apartment walk-ups and neighborhood storefronts, running a door-to-door campaign to unseat state Sen. Donna Mercado Kim in the Aug. 8 Democratic primary for Senate District 14. She has been showing up at shops and housing complexes with a tight message centered on housing costs, wages and neighborhood schools. What started as a race that could have slipped under the radar has turned into one of Honolulu’s more closely watched local contests after unions lined up behind the challenger.
MacPherson's Background
MacPherson is a licensed clinical social worker and a fourth-generation Hawaiʻi resident who serves as director of community engagement at the Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice. Hawaiʻi Appleseed lists her on staff, and her campaign site describes a long record of neighborhood organizing, substance-abuse counseling and tenant advocacy. She says she began laying the groundwork for her run well over a year before the filing deadline, aiming to build an on-the-ground operation across District 14.
Unions Rally Behind MacPherson
Labor organizations have moved early to back MacPherson, giving her a foothold with public-sector and hospitality workers across Kalihi and Kapālama. The University of Hawaiʻi Professional Assembly officially endorsed MacPherson in March, according to UHPA, and union organizers say the Hawaii Government Employees Association has been doing sign-waving and canvassing on her behalf. Civil Beat reports that HGEA director Randy Perreira has criticized Kim’s committee conduct and praised MacPherson’s work with vulnerable communities.
Kim Pushes Back
Donna Mercado Kim, first elected to the Legislature in 1982 and to the Senate in 2000, chairs the Senate Education Committee and says she will not be sidetracked by intraparty attacks. As reported by Hawaii News Now, Kim has pushed back at labor leaders and says many constituents want her to remain in office. Public records and election summaries describe Kim’s long incumbency, noting that she ran unopposed in recent Democratic primaries and won the 2022 general election by a large margin, according to candidate filings.
What Voters Will Decide
With multiple Democrats on the ballot, the Aug. 8 primary will likely decide who represents Kapālama, ‘Ālewa, Kalihi, Kalihi Valley, Fort Shafter and Red Hill at the Capitol. The Office of Elections lists the 2026 Primary Election on Aug. 8, 2026, and local organizers say the contest will turn on turnout in apartment complexes, houses of worship and storefronts where neighbors talk story about housing, schools and the cost of living. Both campaigns are expected to double down on fieldwork, endorsements and neighborhood outreach in the final two weeks before ballots are due.
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