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Jarrett Keohokalole is so pumped to go to Chicago for the Democratic National Convention that he’s willing to serve as a page.

“It’s still coming together,” Keohokalole, a Hawaii state senator, texted last week from the Republic of Palau. “I’m prepared to pour coffee and mop floors.”

In fact, the senator’s role at the DNC, which begins Monday and concludes Thursday, is much more than that. Keohokalole, a co-founder of the Native Hawaiian Caucus in the Hawaii Legislature, is also co-chair of a Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander group that on Friday enthusiastically endorsed the Democratic Party ticket of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.

The hui includes other members of the Legislature, former Hawaii Gov. John Waihee, Honolulu City Council members Tommy Waters and Esther Kiaaina, several trustees with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and dozens of others including NHPI officials on the mainland and in other parts of the Pacific.

“Organizing our NHPI communities is vital to ensuring our voices are heard at every level of government,” Kiaaina said in a statement. Harris and Walz, she said, “recognize the strength and resilience of our people, and they are committed to uplifting our communities through meaningful engagement and representation.”

Keohokalole is also one of 41 convention delegates representing the Democratic Party of Hawaii. The delegation includes Gov. Josh Green and Hawaii’s four members of Congress.

(The full list of Hawaii delegates is below. In an illustration of how rapidly things have changed in this year’s presidential election, most are still identified as pledged to President Joe Biden.)

After Biden’s awful performance in his debate with former President Donald Trump six weeks ago, the presidential election has been transformed. When Biden dropped out, he freed his delegates to support Harris.

Trump has since been in a political tailspin. Harris now has growing leads in some polls, including some of the swing states expected to decide the election.

While the remarkable turn of fortune should underscore how the election can change dramatically in a flash, most Democrats are increasingly hopeful that the nation will elect its first woman president Nov. 5, one who is also of Black and South Asian ancestry.

“It’s the most exciting DNC since Obama,” said Keohokalole, who first got involved in the party in 2008, when Barack Obama was elected president. “The feeling in the party is elation.”

And yet, while the Hawaii delegates and their more than 4,000 compatriots will gather at the United Center, the party is not entirely united.

Of the 31 voting delegates from Hawaii, at least six remain “uncommitted” to Harris over the Biden-Harris administration’s continuing support for Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. While they do not expect nor necessarily want to thwart the Harris nomination, they are outraged at the slaughter of civilians in the region that begin Oct. 7 in Israel and has continued in Gaza.

They want the U.S. to impose an embargo on sales of weapons to Israel. At a minimum, they want to hear a more supportive stance from Harris.

Hawaii Democrats are not alone in support for Gaza, and some have been in frequent contact with Democrats from states like Michigan. Not only is it one of the crucial “blue wall” states for Democrats, Michigan is home to many Arab Americans who could sway the vote and thus the Electoral College.

Supporters of Gaza are taking their message to Chicago.

“We are hoping that Vice President Harris will understand the wisdom of shifting her position on Israel and Palestine,” said Bart Dame, the local party’s national committeeman. “In particular, we are looking for some strong statement that she is open to an arms embargo conditioning future military aid to Israel.”

Giving Voice To Gaza

Dame and other Gaza advocates from Hawaii do not expect that their concerns will have a major impact on the convention this week. Security is tight, and so far there is no indication that the Chicago of 2024 will resemble in any way the Chicago of 1968, which saw riots in the streets during the DNC.

But there will be protests, forums and vigils. The Arab American Institute, Rev. Jesse Jackson’s RainbowPUSH Coalition and Progressive Democrats of America are also hosting three days of events in Chicago beginning Wednesday that focus on Palestinian rights and related issues.

Many, including Dame and Hawaii delegate Shay Chan Hodges, would also like to see  Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan, an American pediatric intensive care physician, address the DNC in a evening speaking slot. She has volunteered at a Gaza Strip hospital and seen the consequences of violence first hand.

In some ways, Hawaii Democrats have played an outsize role in addressing the Israel-Gaza war. At its state convention In May, the party adopted urging Biden to take specific actions to achieve peace in Israel and the “Occupied Palestinian Territories of Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem.”

Earlier that month, Hawaii became to have its Legislature call for “a permanent and immediate ceasefire” in the ongoing conflict.

did not require Gov. Josh Green’s signature for approval. U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, who like Green is one of Hawaii’s nine superdelegates by virtue of their posts, told Civil Beat on Thursday that he had confidence U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken was nearing success in negotiating a ceasefire agreement, one that would free the hostages taken Oct. 7.

The reason Hawaii has a significant number of uncommitted delegates is because 29% of Democrats in March voted for “uncommitted” rather than Biden in the presidential primary. That was a larger percentage of uncommitted votes than were cast by Democrats in Michigan (13%), Minnesota (19%) and North Carolina (13%)

Dame and Hodges know the Harris nomination is not in trouble. Indeed, she has already secured the nomination by winning the support of 99% of the more than 4,400 national delegates. Nor do they want to see the election swing to Trump.

But the Gaza stance has not gone unnoticed. Hodges was among the Hawaii delegates who wrote in the name of a Palestinian killed in the conflict by the Israel Defense Forces rather than vote for Harris on the virtual ballot. A total of 29 uncommitted delegates did the same, including from Michigan, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Washington.

A Party, A Pep Rally And Participation

Hawaii has other significant ties with Chicago. Its favorite son, Obama, was born in Hawaii, but he cut his political teeth in the Windy City.

Honolulu and Chicago are also ethnically diverse with deep labor roots. The DNC has boasted of the unionized workers putting the convention together while the city itself has gone so far as to decorate its rail trains with democrat (note: that’s a lowercase “D”) motifs.

Members of the Hawaii delegation will meet for breakfast each morning at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, where they are staying. Guest speakers are expected to include Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and U.S Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland.

There is also a benefit concert for Maui set for Monday at the Harris Theater, which is headlined by Green.

There are caucus events scheduled at the McCormick Place convention center and other venues from midmorning or so until 3:30 pm. Shuttles will transport the delegates and media between the hotels and arenas.

The main events run from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the United Center (Central Time, five hours ahead of Hawaii). It all begins with Biden and First Lady Jill Biden speaking Monday, with Barack and Michelle Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton and others to follow throughout the week. Walz speaks Wednesday and Harris on Thursday.

“I’m just really excited and grateful for the opportunity to be a delegate to the Democratic National Convention to vote for our nominee,” said Adrian Tam, a state representative and former party chair who is going to his first-ever convention. “It is a privilege and an honor to get to go and represent Hawaii.”