Beth Fukumoto

Beth Fukumoto
Minority Leader of the Hawaii House of Representatives
In office
December 31, 2014 – February 1, 2017
Preceded byAaron Ling Johanson
Succeeded byAndria Tupola
Member of the Hawaii House of Representatives
from the 36th district
In office
November 2012 – November 6, 2018
Preceded byRedistricted
Succeeded byVal Okimoto
Chair of the Hawaii Republican Party
Acting
In office
September 26, 2011 – November 8, 2011
Preceded byJonah Kaauwai
Succeeded byDavid S. Chang
Personal details
Born (1983-03-30) March 30, 1983 (age 41)
Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic (2017–present)
Other political
affiliations
Republican (Before 2017)
Independent (2017)
SpouseDavid S. Chang (2012–2017)
EducationUniversity of Hawaii, Manoa (BA)
Georgetown University (MA)
WebsiteCampaign website

Beth Keiko Fukumoto[1] (formerly Fukumoto Chang,[2] born March 30, 1983)[3] is an American politician who served in the Hawaii House of Representatives from 2012 to 2018, representing District 36.[4]

Fukumoto was first elected to the state House of Representatives in 2012 and was the youngest person to serve as the House Minority Leader.

In March 2017, she announced plans to change her party identification from Republican to Democrat citing concerns about racism and sexism.[5] Fukumoto remained an independent until approval of her request to join the Democratic Party on June 19, 2017.[6][7]

In 2018, Fukumoto ran in the Democratic primary for Hawaii's 1st congressional district in the 2018 elections to replace Colleen Hanabusa, who ran for Governor.[8] The election was won by former Congressman Ed Case.

  1. ^ Fukumoto, Beth [@bethfukumoto] (August 11, 2018). "Polls close in 3 hours - at 6 pm. Go vote! Here's everything you need to know about where, when and how to vote - https://olvr.hawaii.gov/" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ^ Bussewitz, Cathy (June 19, 2017). "Hawaii lawmaker switches to Democrat after criticizing Trump". Associated Press.
  3. ^ "Beth Fukumoto's Hawaii House District 36 Survey". The Civil Beat. July 30, 2012. Retrieved November 25, 2013.
  4. ^ "Beth Fukumoto Chang's Biography". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved November 25, 2013.
  5. ^ Traci G. Lee, March 23, 2017, NBC News, Hawaii Republican Leader Rep. Beth Fukumoto Officially Resigns From GOP, Retrieved March 23, 2017
  6. ^ Firozi, Paulina (2017-03-23). "Hawaii state lawmaker resigns from GOP". The Hill. Retrieved 2017-03-24.
  7. ^ Cathy Bussewitz (June 19, 2017). "Hawaii lawmaker switches to Democrat after criticizing Trump". ABC News. Archived from the original on 2017-06-22. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
  8. ^ "Hawaii Rep. Beth Fukumoto, Republican turned Democrat, announces bid for Congress". NBC News. March 29, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2018.