Daniel Anthony spends his days farming taro, coconuts, lychee and breadfruit across Kahana, Waimānalo and Kahaluʻu, raising sheep and pigs, and carving wood and stone between poi-pounding workshops. Now the 48-year-old activist, artist and farmer wants to add a new title to that list: lieutenant governor of Hawaiʻi. He is running on the Republican ticket alongside gubernatorial candidate Gary Cordery, and he says he is done merely pushing back against the state and ready to try running it.
As reported by Honolulu Civil Beat, Anthony initially launched his campaign for governor as a Green Party candidate before switching course and entering the Republican primary for lieutenant governor. He won that four-way statewide primary on August 8 with 16,982 votes, according to the same report, joining Cordery to form the GOP's ticket for governor and lieutenant governor. Ballotpedia also lists Cordery as the Republican gubernatorial nominee.
Anthony was born and raised in Waiʻanae and has been involved in Hawaiʻi politics for decades, the Civil Beat report notes, having helped organize the annual Kuʻi at the Capitol poi-pounding event and joined a campaign for a moratorium on genetically modified taro farming and breeding. He also joined Cordery and the Aloha Freedom Coalition for a 2021 land rights demonstration in which protesters clogged traffic at Honolulu's airport, per the same account. The Aloha Freedom Coalition organized a 2021 anti-mask rally in Waikīkī, according to the Associated Press.
A Farmer's Long Fight With State Regulators
Anthony's agricultural roots run deeper than this campaign. He farms taro and offers poi-making workshops.
Anthony has farmed and helped other farmers for 20 years, and beyond crops he offers poi-making and Korean natural farming workshops and runs Aloha Organic, his nonprofit fertilizer operation, per the Civil Beat profile. He also joined efforts to limit or stop the coconut rhinoceros beetle, an invasive pest, and said the government's response to the infestation was ineffective, the outlet reports.
Questioning Statehood While Seeking State Office
The most striking element of Anthony's candidacy is philosophical. He says Hawaiʻi needs to examine its legal standing regarding the independent Kingdom of Hawaiʻi and that Native Hawaiian independence must be addressed, describing statehood itself as an emperor-has-no-clothes story, according to Civil Beat. The June 27, 1959 vote drew roughly 140,000 ballots, with at least 93% in favor and fewer than 8,000 against, according to the Eisenhower Presidential Library.
Anthony frames his run as an attempt to work from inside a system he views skeptically. “I'm tired of fighting against the government,” he told Civil Beat, saying he wants to help lead generational change and intends to help steer the Republican Party toward land stewardship rather than abandon politics altogether.
Food Security and Cost of Living Take Center Stage
On policy, Anthony identifies the high cost of living as the most important issue in the race and proposes expanding agriculture to reduce Hawaiʻi's dependence on imported food, according to the Civil Beat report, arguing that expanded agriculture could create 15,000 to 20,000 new jobs. That platform lands against a stark backdrop: Hawaiʻi imports between 85% and 90% of its total food supply, and 80% to 90% of all food consumed in the state is delivered through Honolulu Harbor, according to the Bishop Museum. Anthony also supports body autonomy in both vaccination and abortion decisions, the outlet notes.
An Uphill Climb Against an Entrenched Democratic Ticket
Cordery and Anthony face Democratic candidates Josh Green and Derek Kawakami in the general election. Kawakami won the five-way Democratic primary for lieutenant governor with 140,247 votes, according to Civil Beat, after he officially entered the race in March 2026, launching a primary bid against incumbent Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke before winning the nomination to join Green on the ticket.
The financial gap between the two tickets is wide. Green has raised $3.5 million since 2022, while Kawakami has raised $578,000. Anthony and Kawakami are competing for lieutenant governor.
The last Republican governor-lieutenant governor team Hawaiʻi elected was Linda Lingle and James “Duke” Aiona, two decades ago, according to Civil Beat. The Cook Political Report lists Hawaiʻi's gubernatorial contest as Solid Democratic.
A Record-Turnout Statehood Vote
Hawaiʻi's 1959 statehood vote had the highest turnout ever, with approximately 140,000 votes cast out of 155,000 registered voters.
