Rep. Patrick Branco’s future is uncertain after losing to Congress

Rep. Patrick Branco is supporting former rival Senator Jill Tokuda in her congressional campaign and is serving as an unpaid volunteer in Lt. gov. Josh Green to become Hawaii‘s next governor as Branco’s own political future now uncertain after election commercials Names linked Tokuda to the National Rifle Association while images of the Uvalde, Texas school massacre were shown.

Branco was a freshman in the State House, representing Kailua and Kaneohe with only two terms of experience when he announced his candidacy to represent rural Oahu and the neighboring islands in Congress against Tokuda, who had also served 12 years in the Senate as the state representative of Kailua and Kaneohe.

Branco, now 35 and still living in his grandmother’s sewing shop in Kailua, was advised to gain more political experience before attempting to serve in Washington, DC

“They said I have to wait my turn or I have to pay my dues,” Branco said. “This statement is dishonest. Elections are elections. Elections are not coronations.”

Then, just as mail-in ballots were arriving in the hands of voters on the islands, Branco was slammed for advertising spots in his name by a group called VoteVets, which linked Tokuda to the NRA and the Uvalde school massacre.

Tokuda — a mother of two school-age Kaneohe boys — called the first commercial “disgusting.”

Branco had posted red-box information on his campaign website that provided talking points for unaffiliated organizations to support him, including a pronunciation guide for common Hawaiian terms like “ohana.”

In accordance with campaign spending laws, Branco insisted that he did not cooperate with political action committees.

“I had nothing to do with those commercials,” Branco told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

But it was another two weeks – after widespread condemnation – before Branco distanced himself from the second commercial, which also went to Tokuda.

“The second ad was sensational and directly linked Ms. Tokuda’s name to the school shooting,” Branco told the Star Advertiser. “They crossed the line there.”

In a statement Aug. 8, five days before the end of voting, Branco wrote, “I am publicly calling on VoteVets to retract the ad they aired today. During this campaign, I think I raised serious questions about Jill Tokuda’s record that voters deserve answers to before they vote. That being said, Jill Tokuda’s name and likeness should never be associated with school shootings and I sincerely hope that VoteVets will stop airing this ad.”

By then the damage to Branco’s own political standing had been done.

Tokuda defeated him in the Democratic Party primary by just over 35,000 votes — 61,872 to 26,871, or an overwhelming margin of more than 2 to 1.

Branco’s next steps are uncertain.

Prior to the primary, Branco had applied to serve as an intelligence officer in the Navy Reserve and has since been accepted to serve with the Indo-Pacific Command at Camp HM Smith as a Navy ensign.

Branco will lose his state salary of $62,604 and other than his part-time job with the Navy Reserve, he has no immediate prospects for full-time employment.

So he will continue to live with his grandparents — Edna Streadbeck, 72, and Daniel Streadbeck, 76 — in their seven-bedroom, three-and-a-half bath home in Kailua, along with 12 “aunts, uncles and cousins.” Branco said.

Branco sleeps alone in the sewing room but said his grandmother still uses it even when he sleeps.

“I’ll sleep and she’ll sew,” he said.

Branco drove for Uber for six months of his freshman year in the House of Representatives. His ongoing living and financial situation resonated with supporters his age, particularly those considering relocating to more affordable states, Branco said.

“It’s not easy living here in Hawaii,” he said.

Supporters of his generation said, “‘Thank you for stepping on the plate,'” Branco said. “I’m proud to be part of the next generation of service-minded leaders who are ready to step up and run for office.”

But outside attacks on Tokuda backfired and damaged his political future, said Colin Moore, director of the University of Hawaii Public Policy Center.

In retrospect, Branco should have heeded the advice to serve more years of elected office before pursuing “a well-known and popular politician like Jill Tokuda,” Moore said.

“The problem for Patrick Branco is that he’s not someone who’s been known before,” Moore said. “He was practically an unknown. But now, whether it’s fair or not, the public is associating him with these assault charges against Jill Tokuda. Her image is that of a mother, a lawmaker who cares about families and children. Jill Tokuda red-boxing and trying to portray her as an NRA supporter felt particularly harrowing. So it will be difficult to rehabilitate his image. After that it will be difficult to do a national race again.”

In particular, in a primary with low turnout — where politically savvy voters were likely overrepresented — Moore said the campaign tactic against Tokuda “didn’t sit well with Hawaii voters.”

“I’m not sure you would react the same way in other places,” Moore said. “There’s a strong feeling here that you should wait your turn and be respectful of older lawmakers. Otherwise there were no really clear political differences. He’s a liberal Democrat, just like Jill Tokuda.”

Branco said he has no immediate plans to run for elected office and is focusing on backing other progressive candidates like Green and Tokuda as they advance to the Nov. 8 general election.

For himself, Branco said he wants to find other ways to be in public service and inspire others his age to do the same.

He was “very proud” to be the fifth generation of his family in the military, although everyone else was in the army.

Otherwise, Branco said: “We’ll see what comes up. I want to be of service to the people of Hawaii.”

So last week he began volunteering at Green’s campaign headquarters in Kalihi on North King Street.

“I helped clean up and set up the tables,” Branco said. “They needed ice cream, so I got ice cream. I said, ‘I’m happy just to serve, that’s my thing.’ After politics, and even after you don’t win, you can still serve the community. That is the message I want to convey.”