13 things about 11th Hawaii lieutenant governor Duke Aiona

James Richard “Duke” Aiona Jr. is the 11th lieutenant governor of Hawaii, United States. Among the 50 U.S. states, Alaska and Hawaii are the only ones that are non-contiguous.

BIOGRAPHY

Aiona was born in Pearl City, Honolulu, Hawaii to James Richard “Jimmy” Aiona Sr. and Frances Helena Lum Aiona. Jimmy is William Gabriel Aiona Sr. and Conceisao “Cosie” Cardoza Aiona‘s son.

Jimmy is of Portuguese descent and Frances is of Chinese descent. He worked as a life insurance agent and she was a second-grade teacher at Navy Hale Keiki School in Honolulu. 

Duke is a Republican. Here are 13 more things about him:

1. His grandmother Cosie turned 62 on September 17, 1956 and died in Hilo, Hawaii on January 15, 1957.
2. His grandfather William turned 77 on October 7, 1963 and died in Hilo on June 20, 1964.
3. In 1977, he graduated from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, USA with a bachelor’s degree in political science and met Vivian Welsh Aiona at a dance in Waikiki, Honolulu.
4. In 1981, he married Vivian and graduated from the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in Honolulu.
5. His father turned 65 on September 22, 1983 and died in Honolulu on December 24, 1983.
6. In 1990, he was appointed to the Hawaiʻi State Judiciary as a family court judge.
7. In 1996, he became the first administrative judge and primary architect of the Drug Court Program in Hawaii.
8. From December 4, 2002 to December 6, 2010, he served as the 11th lieutenant governor of Hawaii.
9. In 2010, he ran for governor in Hawaii and lost to Neil Abercrombie.
10. His mother turned 93 on September 28, 2010 and died in Pearl City on November 23, 2010.
11. In 2014, he ran for governor in Hawaii and lost to David Ige.
12. In 2022, he ran for governor in Hawaii and lost to Josh Green.
13. On June 8, 2024, he turned 69.

TIMELINE

Vivian is of Filipino descent. She and Duke have two sons namely Kulia Aiona and Makana Aiona and two daughters namely Ohulani Aiona and Kaimilani Aiona.

2000s

• On October 1, 2002, he was introduced as the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor of Hawaii at a forum organized by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) in Honolulu.
• On October 31, 2004, he met Dick Cheney at a campaign rally in Honolulu.
• On January 9, 2005, he attended the Sony Open Tournament blessing and prayer at the Waialae Country Club in Honolulu.
• On May 18, 2006, he met Kelly Preston at the state capital of Hawaii in Honolulu while she was promoting a drug-free kit.
• Onn May 24, 2007, he, Preston and John Travolta attended a fundraiser in Honolulu for Narconon Hawaii, a non-religious program to help solve the drug problem in the state.

2010s

• On November 2, 2010, he lost to Abercrombie in the general election for governor of Hawaii.
• On August 9, 2014, he became the Republican nominee for governor of Hawaii.
• On November 4, 2014, he lost to Ige in the general election for governor of Hawaii.

2020s

• On August 13, 2022, he won the Republican primary for governor of Hawaii.
• On November 8, 2022, he lost to Green in the general election for governor of Hawaii.