'Everything is changing': Della Au Belatti's campaign for lieutenant governor
By Audrey McAvoy
July 16, 2026 at 11:04 AM HST
Editor's note: HPR's Audrey McAvoy will report on two other lieutenant governor candidates, Derek Kawakami and John Choi. Kawakami's story is scheduled to air Thursday, July 23, and Choi's on Friday, July 24.
Della Au Belatti is changing plans.
She was going to spend a recent Sunday handing out campaign flyers at a farmers market in Mililani. The leaflets she had with her said she’s running for Congress. That’s a problem since she’s now running for lieutenant governor.
“Emblematic of my race for lieutenant governor. Everything is changing,” Belatti said.
Belatti is mounting what she calls an underdog campaign for the second-highest elected office in the state. Her entry into the race less than three months before primary Election Day has given her limited time to boost her name recognition around the islands.
Ballots are expected to arrive in voter mailboxes by Tuesday. Election Day is Aug. 8.
Belatti, a Democrat, was born in Honolulu and grew up in Mānoa. She represented Makiki in the state House for 20 years. She rose to House majority leader and led the Health Committee.
She initially announced last year she would challenge U.S. Rep. Ed Case in the primary.
Then Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke unexpectedly said she was a target of the attorney general's bribery investigation. Kauaʻi Mayor Derek Kawakami jumped in the race for lieutenant governor and Luke pulled out.
It looked like Kawakami would glide into the job without facing meaningful competition. Given the Democratic Party’s grip on political power in Hawaiʻi, he would be in prime position to eventually succeed Gov. Josh Green.
Lt. Gov. candidate Della Au Belatti lays out her campaign poster on the floor of her condo on June 28, 2026. (4032x3024, AR: 1.3333333333333333)
“People were talking to me and asking me to run because they are very concerned that there is this one special interest that's going to be dominating politics for the next 12 years,” Belatti said.
Belatti launched her campaign on May 28. She printed new campaign literature and has been repurposing her old yard signs and banners by placing stickers saying “for lieutenant governor” over the words “for Congress.”
The 1st Congressional District seat she was seeking includes about 700,000 people in urban Honolulu. Hawaiʻi's lieutenant governor represents the entire state with twice as many people.
To meet voters, she went to a bon dance in Puna and sat down with voters over dinner in Hilo. She walked the July 4th parades in both Kailua, Oʻahu and Kailua-Kona. She attended a rodeo in Makawao.
She said affordability and the high cost of housing, education, childcare, food, gas and healthcare are the most important issues facing Hawaiʻi now.
“People will say, ‘You've been part of a leadership in the Democratic Party that's caused this affordability crisis,’ and I would respond to them, ‘Yes, I've been part of it, and I no longer want to be part of the problem,’” Belatti said.
Belatti said Hawaiʻi's leaders need to impose what she calls a “mansion tax” or to hike the conveyance tax on expensive properties.
“That Democratic leadership, right now, is like they're so tied to certain corporate interests that they're not willing to move on those things. We need to move on those things,” Belatti said.
She said New York City has shown that millionaires don’t flee when they’re taxed.
“They're not running away. We can tax them their fair share,” Belatti said.
State Rep. Della Au Belatti bakes cranberry bread in her condo in Honolulu on Sunday, June 28, 2026. (4032x3024, AR: 1.3333333333333333)
Belatti spoke to HPR while making cranberry bread in her condo's kitchen in Makiki.
She hands out the small breads to voters she meets.
She later visited Kapiʻolani Park for a See Dai Do Society picnic. Her late father was a member of the group, which promotes Chinese culture.
“I just really want to be able to make sure that we represent all of the working families here in Hawaiʻi, of which the Chinese community is such an important part,” Belatti told the crowd gathered for a day for games and food.
Former state senator Will Espero knows the challenges that Belatti faces competing for lieutenant governor. He and three others lost their primary to Green in 2018.
“I didn't have the big money that my opponents have,” Espero said. “I didn't have the union endorsements that my opponents have, and those two are items that are — are not essential, but they are certainly very important.”
State Rep. Della Au Belatti, center, in pink, and supporters of her campaign for lieutenant governor, pose for a photo at a picnic in Honolulu on Sunday, June 28, 2026 (4032x3024, AR: 1.3333333333333333)
The state's largest union — the Hawaii Government Employees Association — is endorsing Belatti. But Kawakami has more endorsements from more unions.
Plus, the super political action committee, For a Better Tomorrow, is running ads for him. It’s primarily funded by Pacific Resource Partnership, a coalition of contractors and carpenters.
It's also the same super PAC that supported Green’s 2018 lieutenant governor campaign.
Belatti says she doesn’t have the money to compete with Kawakami and the super PAC ads. She feels like an underdog.
“If we pull this off, it will be a miracle. It will be a miracle,” Belatti said.
She's more optimistic when she’s out with her team.
“When I'm with my peeps, when we're out campaigning, when we're out sign waving, it feels positive,” Belatti said. “It feels like there's a race.”
Stay up to date with the upcoming election:
Della Au Belatti is changing plans.
She was going to spend a recent Sunday handing out campaign flyers at a farmers market in Mililani. The leaflets she had with her said she’s running for Congress. That’s a problem since she’s now running for lieutenant governor.
“Emblematic of my race for lieutenant governor. Everything is changing,” Belatti said.
Belatti is mounting what she calls an underdog campaign for the second-highest elected office in the state. Her entry into the race less than three months before primary Election Day has given her limited time to boost her name recognition around the islands.
Ballots are expected to arrive in voter mailboxes by Tuesday. Election Day is Aug. 8.
Belatti, a Democrat, was born in Honolulu and grew up in Mānoa. She represented Makiki in the state House for 20 years. She rose to House majority leader and led the Health Committee.
She initially announced last year she would challenge U.S. Rep. Ed Case in the primary.
Then Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke unexpectedly said she was a target of the attorney general's bribery investigation. Kauaʻi Mayor Derek Kawakami jumped in the race for lieutenant governor and Luke pulled out.
It looked like Kawakami would glide into the job without facing meaningful competition. Given the Democratic Party’s grip on political power in Hawaiʻi, he would be in prime position to eventually succeed Gov. Josh Green.
Lt. Gov. candidate Della Au Belatti lays out her campaign poster on the floor of her condo on June 28, 2026. (4032x3024, AR: 1.3333333333333333)
“People were talking to me and asking me to run because they are very concerned that there is this one special interest that's going to be dominating politics for the next 12 years,” Belatti said.
Belatti launched her campaign on May 28. She printed new campaign literature and has been repurposing her old yard signs and banners by placing stickers saying “for lieutenant governor” over the words “for Congress.”
The 1st Congressional District seat she was seeking includes about 700,000 people in urban Honolulu. Hawaiʻi's lieutenant governor represents the entire state with twice as many people.
To meet voters, she went to a bon dance in Puna and sat down with voters over dinner in Hilo. She walked the July 4th parades in both Kailua, Oʻahu and Kailua-Kona. She attended a rodeo in Makawao.
She said affordability and the high cost of housing, education, childcare, food, gas and healthcare are the most important issues facing Hawaiʻi now.
“People will say, ‘You've been part of a leadership in the Democratic Party that's caused this affordability crisis,’ and I would respond to them, ‘Yes, I've been part of it, and I no longer want to be part of the problem,’” Belatti said.
Belatti said Hawaiʻi's leaders need to impose what she calls a “mansion tax” or to hike the conveyance tax on expensive properties.
“That Democratic leadership, right now, is like they're so tied to certain corporate interests that they're not willing to move on those things. We need to move on those things,” Belatti said.
She said New York City has shown that millionaires don’t flee when they’re taxed.
“They're not running away. We can tax them their fair share,” Belatti said.
State Rep. Della Au Belatti bakes cranberry bread in her condo in Honolulu on Sunday, June 28, 2026. (4032x3024, AR: 1.3333333333333333)
Belatti spoke to HPR while making cranberry bread in her condo's kitchen in Makiki.
She hands out the small breads to voters she meets.
She later visited Kapiʻolani Park for a See Dai Do Society picnic. Her late father was a member of the group, which promotes Chinese culture.
“I just really want to be able to make sure that we represent all of the working families here in Hawaiʻi, of which the Chinese community is such an important part,” Belatti told the crowd gathered for a day for games and food.
Former state senator Will Espero knows the challenges that Belatti faces competing for lieutenant governor. He and three others lost their primary to Green in 2018.
“I didn't have the big money that my opponents have,” Espero said. “I didn't have the union endorsements that my opponents have, and those two are items that are — are not essential, but they are certainly very important.”
State Rep. Della Au Belatti, center, in pink, and supporters of her campaign for lieutenant governor, pose for a photo at a picnic in Honolulu on Sunday, June 28, 2026 (4032x3024, AR: 1.3333333333333333)
The state's largest union — the Hawaii Government Employees Association — is endorsing Belatti. But Kawakami has more endorsements from more unions.
Plus, the super political action committee, For a Better Tomorrow, is running ads for him. It’s primarily funded by Pacific Resource Partnership, a coalition of contractors and carpenters.
It's also the same super PAC that supported Green’s 2018 lieutenant governor campaign.
Belatti says she doesn’t have the money to compete with Kawakami and the super PAC ads. She feels like an underdog.
“If we pull this off, it will be a miracle. It will be a miracle,” Belatti said.
She's more optimistic when she’s out with her team.
“When I'm with my peeps, when we're out campaigning, when we're out sign waving, it feels positive,” Belatti said. “It feels like there's a race.”
Stay up to date with the upcoming election: