James Kealoha - Lieutenant Governor

Lieutenant Governor

Kealoha served for years as Hawaii County Chairman, because of his popularity and leadership, was selected in 1959 by the Republican Party as its candidate for lieutenant governor in the state of Hawaii’s first gubernatorial election, running alongside William F. Quinn, the party’s candidate for governor. The pairing worked well, as Quinn and Kealoha successfully defeated their Democratic opponents John Burns and Mitsuyuki Kido. Kealoha was the first Chinese American and Native Hawaiian to be elected lieutenant governor in the United States.

Kealoha’s term as lieutenant governor was described as “unpleasant” for him (Kim). Governor Quinn was not confident in allowing a Native Hawaiian, even a friend like Kealoha to make important decisions on his behalf. Kealoha found himself relegated to presiding at ceremonial functions. He also had disagreements with Governor Quinn about the issue of political patronage (Kim).

A highlight of his term as lieutenant governor came in 1960 when Kealoha gained national attention after ordering an audit of ballots cast in the close presidential election between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. The election nationwide was so close, Hawaiʻi effectively had the power to decide the winner. Kealoha certified the vote total in favor of fellow Republican Nixon resulting in the call of national Democrats for a recount. The recounts were tied up in the Hawaiʻi State Judiciary. Confusion led to crisis as the Democrats submitted their three electoral votes for Kennedy while at the same time Republicans submitted their three electoral votes for Nixon. The result was finally resolved on the floor of the United States Senate during the electoral college certification process.