‘She’s been fighting for Hawaiʻi, fighting for Hawaiʻi’s keiki and kupuna’
Posted: February 2, 2026
The Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association Monday announced its support for re-electing Jill Tokuda to a third term in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Tokuda represents Hawaiʻi’s Second Congressional District, which covers suburban and rural Oʻahu, including the Leeward and Windward coasts and all neighbor islands.
HSTA President Osa Tui, Jr. says Tokuda has a proven record of supporting public education.
During an announcement with Tokuda and teacher leaders at HSTA headquarters, Tui said, “We’ve been very proud of the work that Jill has been doing on Capitol Hill. She’s been fighting for Hawaiʻi, fighting for Hawaiʻi’s keiki and kupuna, and fighting for our public schools, which is really important to us.”
“She’s a public school parent. She’s a public school graduate, and she is a loud voice making sure that all the things that are going on in DC have pushback, and we appreciate that more than ever,” Tui added.
Tokuda said, “If it wasn’t for teachers, our educators, our public school teachers who took us in, who taught us, who embraced us, who supported us, who told us nothing was impossible, I wouldn’t be in Congress […] We all know we have to fight like hell right now to support our teachers, our public schools, democracy itself, and I would never have been able to do that if a teacher had not been there for me. To have your support, your endorsement, all of you here, right there with me fighting along. I’m so grateful and so humbled.”
From 2006 to 2018, Congresswoman Tokuda represented Kāne’ohe and Kailua in the Hawai’i State Senate, chairing its Ways and Means Committee and overseeing the state’s $14 billion budget.
Married to Kyle Michibata, she and her husband have two sons, Matt and Aden, who now attend the same public school their parents graduated from — Castle High in Kāneʻohe.