Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke announced that she will not seek a second term as lieutenant governor.
This comes about two months after Luke said she was not the "influential lawmaker" who accepted $35,000 dollars in a paper bag during a 2022 meeting. That claim came to light during a federal bribery investigation into former Representative Ty Cullen.
At the time, Luke was chair of the powerful House finance committee, while Cullen was vice chair.
Luke said her family has always been supportive of her work in politics, but the past three months have been difficult.
"While I have always been a fighter, I cannot tolerate the toll that they are paying," she said on her campaign website.
Luke is a longtime Hawaiʻi politician and represented the Makiki-Punchbowl area in the state House from 1999 until 2022.
Kauaʻi Mayor Derek Kawakami announced a run for lieutenant governor last month, but he has yet to pull papers, according to the Hawaiʻi Office of Elections website. Mike Peacock and Ku Lono Cuadra have already pulled papers for the LG race.
The primary election is on August 8th.
This is a developing story.
