Sen. Michelle Kidani waited just long enough to retire from her Mililani seat to trigger a new law governing her replacement that will cut voters out of much of the process.

Instead of any potential candidate being able to run in the Aug. 8 primary with winners going on to the general election, the Democratic Party and Gov. Josh Green will pick someone to fill her seat until the Nov. 3 general election when each political party will designate one candidate to compete in a special election. Voters would then be able to choose between party-anointed contenders from the Democratic, Republican, Libertarian and Green parties.

Kidani announced Saturday she is stepping down after 18 years due to health reasons. She indicated she could no longer meet the responsibilities of the office.

The timing of Kidani’s departure raises questions about whether it was intentional so as to favor some candidates while barring others. That’s because the vacancy will likely impact Senate leadership, as Kidani, who is also Senate vice president, is part of the coalition that supports the current leadership of Senate President Ron Kouchi and Ways and Means Chair Donovan Dela Cruz.

Dela Cruz emailed out his own press release praising Kidani shortly after she made her announcement on Saturday. Other press releases from Kouchi and prominent leaders soon followed.

Had Kidani resigned before the June 2 filing deadline, there would have been a primary race for her seat. But a new law that went into effect April 29 spells out a new timeline for filling the District 18 seat, which covers Mililani Town, Waipi‘o Gentry, Crestview, Waikele, a portion of Waipahu, Village Park and Royal Kunia.

Instead, the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi will interview applicants and send the names of three candidates to Green for his consideration.

Whoever he picks will then serve until Nov. 3, when a special election coinciding with the general election will decide who serves for the remaining two years of Kidani’s term. The candidates for that election will be chosen by the political parties that have been certified to participate in this year’s elections.

While concerns about Kidani’s health were reported in February by Civil Beat, Democratic Party officials appear to have been caught by surprise by Saturday’s announcement and the new law, which received little attention when it was considered during the 2026 session.

A contested primary would likely have drawn a wide field, as is typical when open seats emerge at the Legislature.

At least one area House member, Rep. Trish La Chica, may be boxed out of the process, as she is running for reelection — even though parts of her House District 37 are part of Senate District 18. The deadline to withdraw from the Aug. 8 primary, where La Chica faces fellow Democrat Trevor Nagamine, was June 3.

Dems are also worried that a Republican might win the seat. The greater Mililani area is increasingly viewed as receptive to Republican candidates, and the Hawaiʻi Republican Party has picked up legislative seats on Oʻahu in recent elections.

But experienced GOP candidates like Rep. Lauren Matsumoto — the House minority leader whose House District 38 also shares parts of Kidani’s district — is already running in the primary unopposed and faces no general election opponent.

The deadline to withdraw from the general election was June 19 and can only be done for reasons of ill health.

Change In The Law

House Bill 2099, introduced at the request of the Hawaiʻi Office of Elections, clarifies and updates timelines related to a state Senate vacancy to ensure compliance with federal and state election requirements, according to Chief Election Officer Scott Nago.

The bill was largely unopposed. Janet Mason of the League of Women Voters of Hawaii said at the time that it was important to ensure that the timing of Senate elections not violate federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act timelines.

“But the League believes it would be better to have special elections when such vacancies occur, especially when the unexpired term of the vacant office is relatively long,” she testified. “Twenty-five states fill legislative vacancies this way. The League of Women Voters supports direct, representative democracy, not the current ‘appointment from Party options’ approach.”

Mason cited a 2025 report from the National Conference of State Legislatures on filling vacancies. Updated in May, the report says, “In six of the 23 states that use appointments to fill legislative vacancies, the person appointed to fill the vacant seat serves for the remainder of the term, no matter how much of the term remains.”

The other 17 states, including Hawaiʻi, fill vacancies by appointment when they first occur “but then require the remainder of the unexpired term to be filled at the next general election under certain circumstances.”

Phil Roque, executive director of Democratic Party of Hawai’i, said in an email Tuesday that the party would work with its Oʻahu County Committee as it goes through the process. Roque said it would be similar to how Democrats filled the Senate District 19 vacancy when Henry Aquino retired last last year.

“We will send out an official press release with these details and the relevant dates soon,” said Roque, who said the party could not yet comment on how the appointment process would work for the general election.

Shirlene Ostrov, chair of the Hawaiʻi Republican Party, said in a text Tuesday that Kidani’s resignation “creates a significant opportunity for the people of Senate District 18 to consider new leadership and a fresh perspective.”

She pointed out that the Central Oʻahu area has a long history of supporting Republican leaders including Matsumoto, Rep. Elijah Pierick, who is now running for Senate, and Honolulu City Councilwoman Val Okimoto, who is running unopposed for reelection to a nonpartisan seat.

“We are excited to begin the process of identifying the right candidate,” she added.

It was not clear who that might be. But several Democrats said a likely applicant for the seat could include Danielle Bass, the state sustainability coordinator with the Hawaiʻi Office of Planning and Sustainable Development and chair of the Mililani, Waipi‘o and Melemanu Neighborhood Board.

Beth Fukumoto, a former GOP House leader who later left the party to become a Democrat (including serving as the party’s executive director), was expected to announce her campaign for the seat this week. She is currently on leave as a Civil Beat columnist.

Ken Inouye’s name has also been mentioned. He is the son of the late U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye and lost a primary challenge to La Chica two years ago.