# Karl Rhoads

Karl Rhoads is a Democratic member of the Hawaii Senate for district 13.

- Party: Democrat
- Seat: Hawaii Senate, district 13
- Serving since: 2016-11-09
- Current term: HI 2025–26 session
- Open States ID: ocd-person/099756de-3b84-4531-b5da-6d1c5d4c89ee

Source: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/099756de-3b84-4531-b5da-6d1c5d4c89ee (America’s Political Pulse, Polarization Research Lab), data through 2026-10-27. Data under CC BY 4.0. Cite as: Westwood, Sean J., and Yphtach Lelkes. 2024. America's Political Pulse [data set].

## Headline

Rhoads sits at −1.22 on the CSIP scale, more liberal than 97% of State Senate Democrats.

## What Rhoads says (HI 2025–26 session)

31 classified statements: 31 posts on X. Each rate is the share of statements with the label, against the State Senate Democrats average; rank 1 is the highest rate.

| Label | Rhoads | State Senate Democrats average | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal attacks | 19.4% | 2.4% | 4 of 329 |
| Policy criticism | 12.9% | 10.3% | 104 of 329 |
| Policy discussion | 25.8% | 42.9% | 261 of 329 |
| Bipartisanship | 0.0% | 3.4% | 294 of 329 |
| Credit claiming | 0.0% | 16.1% | 321 of 329 |
| Extreme labels | 16.1% | 0.8% | 1 of 329 |

Most discussed policy areas: Foreign Trade and International Finance 25% (State Senate Democrats 1.0%); Immigration 25% (State Senate Democrats 4.2%); Armed Forces and National Security 13% (State Senate Democrats 3.5%); Crime and Law Enforcement 13% (State Senate Democrats 8.4%); Economics and Public Finance 13% (State Senate Democrats 10%).

## Ideology (CSIP)

CSIP score −1.22 (standard error 0.05), from 113 donors and 0 roll calls. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it, on one scale for every official. 3.3% of State Senate Democrats score lower.

## Votes (HI 2025–26 session)

18 roll calls. Attendance 100% (Hawaii Senate 99.5%).

Key votes:

- 2026-03-10 · voted yea · Report Adopted; Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). · SB 2367 RELATING TO STATE BOATING FACILITIES. · pass · https://openstates.org/hi/bills/2026/SB2367/
- 2026-03-10 · voted yea · Report Adopted; Passed Third Reading. · SB 2401 RELATING TO REGIONAL SHORELINE MITIGATION DISTRICTS. · pass · https://openstates.org/hi/bills/2026/SB2401/
- 2026-03-06 · voted yea · Report Adopted; Passed Third Reading. · SB 3069 RELATING TO CIVIL SERVICE EXEMPT POSITIONS WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF ACCOUNTING AND GENERAL SERVICES. · pass · https://openstates.org/hi/bills/2026/SB3069/
- 2026-03-06 · voted yea · Report Adopted; Passed Third Reading. · SB 3138 RELATING TO INDEPENDENT AUDITS OF DEPOSIT BEVERAGE DISTRIBUTORS. · pass · https://openstates.org/hi/bills/2026/SB3138/
- 2025-04-30 · voted yea · Passed Final Reading, as amended (CD 1). · SB 935 RELATING TO GOVERNMENT. · pass · https://openstates.org/hi/bills/2025/SB935/

## Legislation (HI 2025–26 session)

Sponsored 1,206 bills: 1,206 reached committee, 430 passed one chamber, 208 passed both, 45 became law. Cosponsored 0. 42.4% of sponsored bills got out of committee (Hawaii Senate 49.9%; rank 20 of 24).

Recent sponsored bills:

- SCR 148: REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO CREATE A PLAN THAT REMOVES CARCINOGENS FROM SCHOOL MEALS. (in committee, 2026-03-19) https://openstates.org/hi/bills/2026/SCR148/
- SR 77: REQUESTING ALL STATE AGENCIES TO UTILIZE BI-LEVEL LIGHTING SYSTEMS IN ALL STATE BUILDINGS AND FACILITIES, THE DESIGN OF WHICH IS FINALIZED ON OR AFTER JANUARY… (passed one chamber, 2026-05-12) https://openstates.org/hi/bills/2026/SR77/
- SCR 145: REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO CONVENE A TASK FORCE TO EVALUATE WHETHER THE STATE SHOULD IMPLEMENT A DEMERIT POINT SYSTEM FOR TRAFFIC… (passed both chambers, 2026-04-16) https://openstates.org/hi/bills/2026/SCR145/
- SCR 187: SUPPORTING THE REQUEST BY THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MANOA FACULTY SENATE FOR A COMMITMENT FROM UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII LEADERS TO REMAIN STEADFAST IN… (in committee, 2026-03-19) https://openstates.org/hi/bills/2026/SCR187/
- SCR 178: URGING ALL STATE AND COUNTY AGENCIES INVOLVED IN CONSTRUCTION PROCUREMENT TO IMPLEMENT PROMPT PAYMENT TRANSPARENCY MEASURES AND EXPRESSING APPRECIATION TO THE… (became law, 2026-05-12) https://openstates.org/hi/bills/2026/SCR178/
- SR 182: REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS TO EVALUATE REGISTRATION, REPORTING, AND TRANSPARENCY MECHANISMS FOR TRUSTS FORMED UNDER CHAPTER… (in committee, 2026-04-07) https://openstates.org/hi/bills/2026/SR182/
- SCR 76: REQUESTING THE AUDITOR TO ASSESS THE SOCIAL AND FINANCIAL EFFECTS OF MANDATORY HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR BIOMARKER TESTING. (passed one chamber, 2026-03-31) https://openstates.org/hi/bills/2026/SCR76/
- SR 166: REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION TO CONDUCT A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF CORPORATE INCOME REPORTING STRUCTURES, INCLUDING THE TREATMENT OF FOREIGN… (in committee, 2026-03-19) https://openstates.org/hi/bills/2026/SR166/
- SR 165: REQUESTING THE HAWAIʻI CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION TO EXAMINE THE APPLICABILITY OF EXISTING STATE ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAWS TO ALGORITHMIC AND AUTOMATED DECISION… (passed one chamber, 2026-05-12) https://openstates.org/hi/bills/2026/SR165/
- SR 168: SUPPORTING THE REQUEST BY THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MANOA FACULTY SENATE FOR A COMMITMENT FROM UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII LEADERS TO REMAIN STEADFAST IN… (in committee, 2026-03-19) https://openstates.org/hi/bills/2026/SR168/

## Campaign money (2026 cycle)

Itemized receipts $1,450 (State Senate Democrats median $55.5K). 100% of itemized individual money came from in state. Aggregates only; no individual donors.

## Recent statements

Newest first. Posts on X are listed by date and link only.

- 2025-06-04 · Post on X · https://x.com/KarlRhoads1/status/1930354261034254704
- 2025-06-03 · Post on X · https://x.com/KarlRhoads1/status/1929737129787285698
- 2025-05-05 · Post on X · https://x.com/KarlRhoads1/status/1919225690265657749
- 2025-04-27 · Post on X · labels: personal attacks, policy discussion · https://x.com/KarlRhoads1/status/1916575814264779136
- 2025-04-16 · Post on X · https://x.com/KarlRhoads1/status/1912381092432343296
- 2025-04-10 · Post on X · https://x.com/KarlRhoads1/status/1910464054327730296
- 2025-04-02 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/KarlRhoads1/status/1907507802631016615
- 2025-03-24 · Post on X · https://x.com/KarlRhoads1/status/1904038463562797465
- 2025-03-24 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/KarlRhoads1/status/1904041109476831248
- 2025-03-23 · Post on X · https://x.com/KarlRhoads1/status/1903697038107369928

## Links

- Official site: https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/legislature/memberpage.aspx?member=201&year=2020
- Campaign site: https://www.karlrhoads.org/
- X: https://x.com/KarlRhoads1
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/karl.rhoads.1
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karl_rhoads_13/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karl-rhoads-28674b21

Full profile, with every chart and the methods: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/099756de-3b84-4531-b5da-6d1c5d4c89ee