Gene Ward

Gene Rinna Ward (March 9, 1943 – April 4, 2025) was an American politician and Republican member of the Hawaii House of Representatives, serving in that body from 1990 to 1998 and 2006 to 2025. He previously served as the Minority Leader from 2018 to 2020. He was a Vietnam veteran and former Peace Corps Country Director in East Timor. He also served with the United Nations in Malawi, Africa and was a presidential appointee to the USAID during the George W. Bush administration.

On March 21, 2025, after nearly 27 years of public service, Ward announced his retirement on March 31 due to health issues. Until his retirement, he was the longest-serving member of the Hawaii House of Representatives.

Background Ward was born on March 9, 1943. He earned his BA, his MA in urban sociology, and his PhD in business sociology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. His dissertation was a comparative study of Hawaiians in business compared to Europeans in business in Hawaii.

Ward died on April 4, 2025, at the age of 82.

Electoral history 1990: Ward initially won the November 6, 1990, general election. 1992: Ward was unopposed for the District 16 September 21, 1992, Republican primary, winning with 1,508 votes, and won the November 3, 1992, general election with 6,562 votes (69.5%) against Democratic nominee Steve Boggs. 1994: Ward won the September 17, 1994, Republican primary, and won the November 8, 1994, general election with 7,213 votes (78.7%) against Democratic nominee Mark Auerbach. 1996: Ward was unopposed for the September 21, 1996, Republican primary, winning with 3,088 votes, and won the November 5, 1996, general election with 6,323 votes (68.3%) against Democratic nominee William Hoshijo. 1998: To challenge incumbent Democratic United States Representative Neil Abercrombie for Hawaii's 1st congressional district seat, Ward won the September 21, 1996, Republican primary, winning with 54,844 votes (65.6%) against Quentin Kawānanakoa, but lost the November 5, 1996, general election to Abercrombie, who held the seat until 2010. 2006: When Republican Representative William Stonebreaker retired and left the District 17 seat open, Ward was unopposed for the September 26, 2006, Republican primary, winning with 855 votes, and won the November 7, 2006, general election with 5,450 votes (55.1%) against Democratic nominee A.J. Halagao. 2008: Ward was unopposed for the September 20, 2008, Republican primary, winning with 2,142 votes, and the November 4, 2008, general election with 6,979 votes (55.3%) against Democratic nominee Amy Monk. 2010: Ward was unopposed for both the September 18, 2010, Republican primary, winning with 1,741 votes, and the November 2, 2010, general election. 2012: Ward was unopposed for both the August 11, 2012, Republican primary, winning with 2,039 votes, and the November 6, 2012, general election. 2014: Ward and Democrat Chris Stump, neither of whom were opposed in their party's August 9, 2014, primary election, faced each other in the November 4, 2014, general election, with Ward winning 7,535 votes (71.6%) to 2,555 (24.3%).