Jul 28, 2022
Patrick Pihana Branco is the current State Representative for Hawaiʻi House District 50 (Kailua and Kāne‘ohe Bay). He was born and raised in Kailua, and spent his summers at his great-great grandfather’s small farm in Kurtistown on Hawaiʻi island.
Patrick graduated from the Kamehameha Schools-Kapālama and received a full scholarship to Hawaiʻi Pacific University, where he served as Student Body President. After graduating, he earned a Congressman Charles B. Rangel Fellowship that fully funded his Master’s degree from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, D.C. While studying at SAIS, he earned fellowships at the United States Embassy in the Republic of Korea, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Drawn to public service, Patrick joined the U.S. Foreign Service as a commissioned Diplomat in 2012. Around the world, Patrick dedicated himself to promoting the values he grew up with in Hawaiʻi: aloha, mālama, and kuleana. He served tours in Colombia, Pakistan, the Office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Secretary of State’s Operations Center, and Venezuela.
Patrick is running for Congress to help Hawaiʻi meet this critical moment in our history. He has a plan to diversify Hawaiʻi’s economy beyond just tourism by creating good-paying jobs in clean energy and cybersecurity, and boosting federal support for Hawai’i’s farmers to reduce Hawai’i’s food supply dependence on the continent. He will also work to bring federal funding back to Hawai’i to build housing and infrastructure that will allow people born in Hawai’i to be able to afford to stay in Hawai’i. Hawai’i’s new challenges require bold new leaders. Patrick believes that if we work together in service of our communities, we can honor our past, and deliver for our future.