Senator Chris Lee Contact information

Christopher Kalani Cushman Lee, born on January 28, 1981, in Honolulu, Hawaii, is an American politician and a Democratic member of the Hawaii Senate. He was the youngest member and only millennial serving in the Hawaii State Legislature when elected in November 2008. He currently serves as Majority Whip and Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

Lee has been a strong advocate for addressing climate change and has authored laws making Hawaii the first state to mandate 100 percent renewable energy by 2045, the first state to commit to economy-wide carbon neutrality by 2045, and the first state requiring all public schools and universities to upgrade and become net-zero facilities by 2035. He is also an advocate for equal rights, serving as spokesperson for the campaign to pass the Hawaii Marriage Equality Act in 2013, and authoring two laws protecting transgender individuals.

In addition to his work on climate change and equal rights, Lee has made significant contributions to marine conservation. He successfully helped lead the campaign to expand the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument into the world’s largest marine protected area, and successfully led the opposition to defeat a $4.3 billion takeover of Hawaii’s electric utilities by Florida-based Nextera Energy.

Lee was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, and graduated in 1999 from Iolani School. He later graduated with a BA in political science from Oregon State University. Before getting involved in politics, he worked at Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawaii, Hawaiian Airlines, and at the Hawaii State Capitol. At 30 years old, Lee suffered a stroke while speaking at a community meeting. He spent four days in the hospital and over the succeeding months made a full recovery. Lee credits the stroke with “changing everything” for him.

In 2008, when Democratic State Representative Tommy Waters retired and left the District 51 seat in the House of Representatives open, Lee won the three-way September 20, 2008, Democratic primary against Ikaika Anderson and Shaun Christensen with 2,292 votes (54.0%), and won the November 4, 2008, general election with 5,885 votes (61.9%) against Republican nominee Quentin Kawananakoa. In 2010, Lee was unopposed for the September 18, 2010, Democratic primary, winning with 4,102 votes, and won the November 2, 2010, general election with 5,626 votes (70.9%) against Republican nominee Maka Wolfgramm. In 2012, Lee was unopposed for the August 11, 2012, Democratic primary, winning with 5,120 votes, and won the November 6, 2012, general election with 8,550 votes (77.8%) against Republican nominee Henry Vincent.