Brian Evans (Hawaii)

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Brian Evans

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

August 8, 2020

Personal

Birthplace

Haverhill, Mass.

Religion

Catholic

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Personal Instagram

Brian Evans (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District. He lost in the Democratic primary on August 8, 2020.

Evans completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Evans switched his party affiliation from Republican to Democratic in February 2020.

Biography

Brian Evans was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts. He graduated from high school in 1988. His career experience includes working as an author, singer, and activist.

Elections

2020

See also: Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District election, 2020

Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District election, 2020 (August 8 Republican primary)

Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District election, 2020 (August 8 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Hawaii District 2

The following candidates ran in the general election for U.S. House Hawaii District 2 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kaiali'i Kahele (D)	63.0	171,517
		Joseph Akana (R)	30.9	84,027
		Michelle Rose Tippens (L)	2.5	6,785
		Jonathan Hoomanawanui (Aloha Aina Party)	2.4	6,453
		Ron Burrus (Nonpartisan)	1.0	2,659
		John Giuffre (American Shopping Party)	0.2	661

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 272,102
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Watch the Candidate Conversation for this race!

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Hawaii District 2

Kaiali'i Kahele defeated Brian Evans, Brenda Lee, and Noelle Famera in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Hawaii District 2 on August 8, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kaiali'i Kahele	76.5	100,841
		Brian Evans	9.4	12,337
	Submit photo	Brenda Lee	8.1	10,694
		Noelle Famera	6.1	7,992

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 131,864
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• David Cornejo (D)
• Ryan Meza (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Hawaii District 2

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Hawaii District 2 on August 8, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Joseph Akana	44.1	15,107
		Elise Hatsuko Kaneshiro	15.4	5,294
	Submit photo	David Hamman	10.0	3,430
	Submit photo	Robert Nagamine	8.4	2,887
	Submit photo	Nicholas Love	7.6	2,616
		Steven Bond	6.5	2,218
	Submit photo	Felipe San Nicolas	4.3	1,465
		Karla Gottschalk	2.8	953
	Submit photo	Raymond Quel	0.9	305

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 34,275
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House Hawaii District 2

Ron Burrus defeated Byron McCorriston in the primary for U.S. House Hawaii District 2 on August 8, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ron Burrus	59.2	1,308
	Submit photo	Byron McCorriston	40.8	901

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,209
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Aloha Aina Party primary election

Aloha Aina Party primary for U.S. House Hawaii District 2

Jonathan Hoomanawanui advanced from the Aloha Aina Party primary for U.S. House Hawaii District 2 on August 8, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jonathan Hoomanawanui	100.0	3,423

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,423
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

American Shopping Party primary election

American Shopping Party primary for U.S. House Hawaii District 2

John Giuffre advanced from the American Shopping Party primary for U.S. House Hawaii District 2 on August 8, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Giuffre	100.0	134

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 134
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Libertarian primary election

Libertarian primary for U.S. House Hawaii District 2

Michelle Rose Tippens advanced from the Libertarian primary for U.S. House Hawaii District 2 on August 8, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Michelle Rose Tippens	100.0	1,014

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,014
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2018

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Hawaii, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Hawaii District 2

Incumbent Tulsi Gabbard defeated Brian Evans in the general election for U.S. House Hawaii District 2 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tulsi Gabbard (D)	77.4	153,271
		Brian Evans (R)	22.6	44,850

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 198,121 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Hawaii District 2

Incumbent Tulsi Gabbard defeated Sherry Alu Campagna and Anthony Tony Austin in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Hawaii District 2 on August 11, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tulsi Gabbard	83.5	94,629
		Sherry Alu Campagna	12.3	13,947
		Anthony Tony Austin	4.1	4,688

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 113,264
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• John Reiss (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Hawaii District 2

Brian Evans advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Hawaii District 2 on August 11, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brian Evans	100.0	12,331

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 12,331
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2014

See also: United States Senate elections in Hawaii, 2014

Evans ran in the 2014 election for the U.S. Senate, to represent Hawaii. Evans sought the Democratic nomination in the primary on August 9, 2014. The 2014 Democratic primary was too close to call. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa and incumbent Brian Schatz were separated by less than one percent of the votes.

U.S. Senate, Hawaii Democratic Primary, 2014

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Brian Schatz Incumbent	49.3%	115,445
Colleen Hanabusa	48.6%	113,663
Brian Evans	2.1%	4,842
Total Votes		233,950
Source: Hawaii Office of Elections

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Brian Evans completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Evans' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

My name is Brian Evans. For too long, we have allowed politicians to make promises they don't keep. Once elected, you're lucky to hear from them again. I pledge to donate half of my salary to charity if I am elected, and I refuse to take donations from the Hawaiian people, or anyone, for my campaign.

Sacred land is being disrespected, mental health care is all but nothing, good doctors and teachers are leaving the island because they can't afford to live here, and students leave because they find themselves in the same economic situation.

School and colleges must be tuition free, and I am a supporter of Bernie Sanders and his beliefs.

We also have a serious crisis in America with hospitals. 240,000 to 440,00 patients die a year due to medical error. And do you know how many death certificates claim those errors as a "cause of death"?

0.

There is a serious crisis in our hospitals that not one candidate is talking about, so I will be that candidate. I want to save lives, give Hawaii the respect it deserves, and not be one of these candidates who just seek to get rich off of it.

If you elect me, you'll always hear from me, not a staff member, even if I have to stay up 24 hours a day.

People have called me "cynical." I'm sorry, but if you vote for someone to represent you: Cynical is the job. You don't need another candidate who smiles for camera while your life is unwinding.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Stopping the disrespect to sacred Hawaii land.
• Making foreigners pay their fair share of taxes to better our communities.
• Medical errors.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Medical errors and the desecration of ancient Hawaiian lands and burial sites.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Barack Obama and Bernie Sanders. They both have America's interests at heart.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Watch the new movie "Dark Waters" with Timothy Robbins. That's who I want to be, the man who stepped up.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

That they aren't afraid to take on the big boys. For me, it's just that simple.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I don't stop until I accomplish what I seek to.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

That they care. Most don't. That's why I am donating half my salary to charity, should I win.

What legacy would you like to leave?

That I made people happier.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I was 15 when I recall the Challenger blowing up.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I am a singer and an author. I have been a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences for over 25 years. I have received Commendations from the last three Hawaii governors for my work in this state, and personally received 40 from US Governors in the form of Sleep Apnea Proclamations regarding the use of opioids in the US, and leaving patients unmonitored while they are on them following surgery. I lost my mother this way following knee surgery.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Autobiography of a Yogi. It is very inspiring.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Superman.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Walk This Way by Aerosmith

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Losing my mother from medical errors, and Joan Rivers, also from medical error (I was her opening act).

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

It gives the state a voice and allows it to be part of the national consensus. Hawaii is too often voiceless.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

I've had it, just in a different way. When the actions I took changed hospital policy for how sleep apnea patients were handled post surgery, I did that as a citizen.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Coronavirus must be taken to task and fast. I believe also that a full reconstruction of our hospitals are in order that hold doctors and nurses accountable when they commit negligence in hospitals, some surgeons have even shown up drunk prior to major surgeries.

If you are not a current representative, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

Health, and I want the citizens of Hawaii to be better protected as well as their heritage.

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

Yes, because if I don't come through on my promises: I'm out of a job in two years.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I believe in them.

If you are not currently a member of your party’s leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives, would you be interested in joining the leadership? If so, in what role?

I want to represent Hawaii. Hawaii's interests.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Bernie Sanders and Barack Obama, but I also have my own beliefs beyond that where people in these positions of power stop worrying about their donors and pay attention to the people.

Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

They are VERY upset at what's happening here with telescopes being places on sacred land, and affordable housing where it begins at $400,000. Affordable to who?

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2020 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. President U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

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External links

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• Campaign website
• Campaign Twitter page

Footnotes

[show]

Hawaii's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Mazie Hirono (D)

Brian Schatz (D)

Representatives

District 1

Ed Case (D)

District 2

Jill Tokuda (D)

Democratic Party (4)