# Brandon Elefante

Brandon Elefante is a Democratic member of the Hawaii Senate for district 16.

- Party: Democrat
- Seat: Hawaii Senate, district 16
- Serving since: 2022-11-08
- Current term: HI 2025–26 session
- Open States ID: ocd-person/22139704-8a26-4f4a-8a03-989990c21f37

Source: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/22139704-8a26-4f4a-8a03-989990c21f37 (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

100% of Elefante’s itemized money in the 2026 cycle came from Hawaii, in the top quarter of State Senate Democrats.

## Ideology (CSIP)

CSIP score −0.53 (standard error 0.05), from 234 donors and 0 roll calls. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it, on one scale for every official. 69% of State Senate Democrats score lower.

## Votes (HI 2025–26 session)

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

Key votes:

- 2026-05-08 · voted yea · Passed Final Reading, as amended (CD 2). · HB 1823 RELATING TO THE COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT ACT. · pass · https://openstates.org/hi/bills/2026/HB1823/
- 2026-05-06 · voted yea · Passed Final Reading, as amended (CD 1). · SB 2074 RELATING TO STATE FACILITIES. · pass · https://openstates.org/hi/bills/2026/SB2074/
- 2026-05-06 · voted yea · Passed Final Reading, as amended (CD 1). · SB 2367 RELATING TO STATE BOATING FACILITIES. · pass · https://openstates.org/hi/bills/2026/SB2367/
- 2026-04-14 · voted yea · Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 1). · HB 1516 RELATING TO PRETRIAL RELEASE. · pass · https://openstates.org/hi/bills/2026/HB1516/
- 2026-04-14 · voted yea · Report Adopted; Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). · HB 1740 RELATING TO THE HAWAII HOUSING FINANCE AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION. · pass · https://openstates.org/hi/bills/2026/HB1740/
- 2026-04-14 · voted yea · Report Adopted; Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). · HB 1334 RELATING TO MEAT DONATION. · pass · https://openstates.org/hi/bills/2026/HB1334/
- 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, as amended (SD 3). · SB 2645 RELATING TO FIRE PREVENTION. · pass · https://openstates.org/hi/bills/2026/SB2645/
- 2026-03-06 · voted yea · Report Adopted; Passed Third Reading. · SB 2074 RELATING TO STATE FACILITIES. · pass · https://openstates.org/hi/bills/2026/SB2074/
- 2025-04-30 · voted yea · Passed Final Reading, as amended (CD 1). · HB 103 RELATING TO SENTENCING. · pass · https://openstates.org/hi/bills/2025/HB103/

## Legislation (HI 2025–26 session)

Sponsored 386 bills: 386 reached committee, 209 passed one chamber, 110 passed both, 28 became law. Cosponsored 132. 57.8% of sponsored bills got out of committee (Hawaii Senate 49.9%; rank 4 of 24).

Recent sponsored bills:

- 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/
- SR 131: REQUESTING THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL TO RECOMMEND TO THE GOVERNOR, FOR INCLUSION IN THE STATE UNIFIED PLAN, A COMPREHENSIVE STATEWIDE WORKFORCE… (passed one chamber, 2026-05-12) https://openstates.org/hi/bills/2026/SR131/
- SR 120: REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS TO EXPAND AND STRENGTHEN FINANCIAL LITERACY, CREDIT READINESS, AND HOMEOWNERSHIP PREPAREDNESS PROGRAMS. (in committee, 2026-03-19) https://openstates.org/hi/bills/2026/SR120/
- SCR 87: ENCOURAGING THE STATE TO EXAMINE REQUIRING AUTOMATED EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATORS IN ALL STATE-OWNED BUILDINGS AND PURSUE EXISTING AUTOMATED EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATOR… (passed both chambers, 2026-05-12) https://openstates.org/hi/bills/2026/SCR87/
- 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 81: ENCOURAGING THE UNITED STATES NAVY TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ERADICATION OF OCTOCORAL AND OTHER INVASIVE SPECIES FROM THE WATERS OF PEARL HARBOR,… (passed one chamber, 2026-05-22) https://openstates.org/hi/bills/2026/SR81/
- SR 185: REQUESTING THE OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR TO CONDUCT A COMPREHENSIVE PERFORMANCE AUDIT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION'S CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. (passed one chamber, 2026-05-12) https://openstates.org/hi/bills/2026/SR185/
- SCR 195: REQUESTING THE BOARD OF EDUCATION, IN COLLABORATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, TO REVISE PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS TO INCLUDE… (became law, 2026-05-12) https://openstates.org/hi/bills/2026/SCR195/
- SCR 79: ENCOURAGING THE UNITED STATES NAVY TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ERADICATION OF OCTOCORAL AND OTHER INVASIVE SPECIES FROM THE WATERS OF PEARL HARBOR,… (passed both chambers, 2026-05-22) https://openstates.org/hi/bills/2026/SCR79/
- SCR 127: REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT TO EXPAND THE AGRICULTURAL ENFORCEMENT PILOT PROGRAM TO THE ISLANDS OF KAUAI AND MAUI. (in committee, 2026-03-19) https://openstates.org/hi/bills/2026/SCR127/

## Campaign money (2026 cycle)

Itemized receipts $49.5K (State Senate Democrats median $55.5K). 100% of itemized individual money came from in state. Aggregates only; no individual donors.

## Links

- Official site: https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/legislature/memberpage.aspx?member=229&year=2024
- Campaign site: https://brandonelefante.com/
- X: https://x.com/brandonelefante
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/electelefante
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/senelefante/
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR5dMpgVlYyG4mXS9QgvmSg/videos
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonelefante/

Full profile, with every chart and the methods: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/22139704-8a26-4f4a-8a03-989990c21f37