The Hawaiʻi Republican Party has had a revolving door with three different party chairs in the last six months.
Shirlene Ostrov is back in the driver's seat after a stint five years ago. She said that between then and now, the local party went through nine elected chairs.
Interview highlights
On the RNC helping with President Donald Trump's agenda
SHIRLENE OSTROV: The Republican National Committee is determined to ensure that our president can be a four-year president, and that is trying to make sure that we defy history and make sure that — there's only been three times in 120 years that one of the chambers hasn't flipped after a presidential election. And so in order for the president to continue his agenda, we have to make sure to keep both the House and the Senate in order to be able to have the president's agenda, so focused on very critical races in both chambers nationally. And quite frankly, the president is focused on every race everywhere. So he's asking our state chairman to make sure that we do the same and be as focused as we can to win races — whether it appears to affect the national scene or not, it does have an effect on national politics.
On her hopes as party chair
OSTROV: What we're looking at is we have very focused races. We can look at where our party has a good stronghold, and that's the west side (of Oʻahu). All up and down from ʻEwa Beach, Kapolei, Makakilo, Waiʻanae, that's our people, right? And as well as Mililani, North Shore with Brenton (Awa). And then we have Joe Gedeon in Hawaiʻi Kai, and then Garner Shimizu in Moanalua area. But when you think about the geography and the demographics that make up that geography, that's Hawaiʻi. And so the people that we're trying to make sure that come out and understand what we're trying to do is to make sure that we listen to what the needs are of the people, and kind of push aside all of the other distracting noises, because we do feel like the House caucus package, for instance, is a great representation of what the people are concerned about in the areas, and again, very everyday Hawaiʻi people live in those areas. ... Everyday local people are concerned about public safety, cost of living, and government corruption, and maybe, if we can address that, people will want to come out and vote.
On President Trump
OSTROV: I have to separate the policy and the person, you know. I don't always, I'm not always thrilled. So I'll be honest, so you don't think I'm just a sycophant. I don't like the way he speaks to people sometimes. I do like the tough talk in the places that it's needed, but I don't like anybody who shows people disrespect at all. So I'll give a small, for instance, like when Rob Reiner died, and he was doing a tribute that really wasn't kind — that, I won't ever be OK with that. But I have to separate the policy. And the policies, in my opinion, have been very spot on. Again, the policy and the personality is different. I'm a military officer of several decades, and you go to war, and you may, you may not like them, but you know that we're there to win the war; the commander in chief is here to win the war, and while I may not agree with the tone and tenor of some of the messages, I 100% support him and support the policies that he's put out.
On immigration
OSTROV: If we look at deportations through the past four presidencies, we'll see that President Trump, in this presidency, his second presidency, hasn't even reached a proportion of President Obama, President Clinton. It's the moment, right? We're in a moment. And I get it. President Trump, while he won handily, won all the swing states, won the electoral, won the popular vote; he's still pushing an uphill battle for people who don't want to see this 'America First' agenda, and this was putting Americans first. And I get how some people don't like it. My parents are Filipino immigrants, and they are wildly supportive of it because they say we took a long time to try to be able to get in. And so people 'cutting the line' are actually hurting people who are waiting and waiting for years. And so everyday immigrants like my parents are saying, I support that. And we don't hear those voices. Those voices aren't the ones in the streets with signs, but they are there. And I would love to talk to immigrants, especially the Filipino community, great segment of the immigrants here in Hawaiʻi, and see what they think of us making sure that there is the right coming in the right way, as most of them did. … I feel that what ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is doing is for the betterment of many Americans who don't have a voice, and the people who were disaffected and their cities and towns are kind of getting run over by populations that they haven't seen.
Editor's note: The nonprofit PolitiFact says it is difficult to compare deportation numbers under Trump's second presidency — but that overall, deportations under Trump are lower than those under the Biden and Obama presidencies. "In the Obama administration, they counted being turned away at the border as a deportation," Vice President JD Vance said in a Jan. 14 post. "A person would show up, be sent back, and counted as a deportation."
On prioritizing Hawaiʻi-specific issues
OSTROV: Just like any other organization, there's going to be different views. I mean, if you look at my counterparts in the Democratic Party, I don't know who's leading the national Democratic Party, really, who is the leader? Who will they run in two years? I would be worried about that. But here in Hawaiʻi, we're focused. We're focused on our home, and we're focused on the issues that matter. And so yes, we are concerned about Minnesota, but Minnesota is so far away, when our kūpuna need our help and regular everyday people, again, our people so far are represented up and down the Waiʻanae Coast, the west side, Mililani, North Shore. Those are our everyday people that we are focused on, and it's hard to focus on Minnesota. While we are concerned, we are 100% focused on the House caucus package that they put together, and we're focused on making sure that our keiki can come home. I know my own children cannot afford to live here, and they're on the mainland, and so they can't afford to buy their own home. Home ownership is almost out of reach, and those are the things we care about, bringing our keiki home to be able to live here. More Hawaiians live off the ʻāina, and that should be a concern for us, because they are totally priced out.
This story aired on The Conversation on Feb. 3, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Hannah Kaʻiulani Coburn adapted this interview for the web.
