Coconut palm trees in Kailua-Kona are beginning to suffer from coconut rhinoceros beetles Wednesday, April 30, 2025, at the Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole. (Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025)

Dru Kanuha

Democrat, State Senate

District 3, Hawaiʻi

Time in office:

Senate: 2018-present

News coverage of Dru Kanuha

Bio

Dru Mamo Kanuha represents Kona and Ka‘ū. He is the current Senate Majority Leader. A former Hawai‘i County Council member, he was born in Kealakekua and raised near the shore in the ahupua‘a of Hōlualoa.

Kanuha attended Moku‘aikaua Preschool, Kahakai Elementary and Kealakehe Intermediate and High Schools and earned degrees in political science and business administration from the University of San Diego. He is a volunteer with Kealakehe High School Waveriders Against Drugs.

Leader Badges

Bill Activity

Of 93 bills:

8 Passed

0 Failed

85 Pending

For this session year, this legislator initiated 93 bills: 8 passed, 0 failed, and 85 are currently pending.

Alignment Meter

See all-time percentage of this legislator’s alignment with any organization based on total votes.

xx%votes: xx

Financials

This feature tracks sources of money intended to help a candidate win election.

Election

This display shows money given directly to the incumbent’s campaign committee (NOTE: The industry categories for donors come from Open Secrets, a nonpartisan research organization for campaign finance. Some contributions are “uncoded,” meaning they have not been assigned to an industry sector. As a result, the total for each sector is also an estimate).

Agriculture

Communications & Electronics

Construction

Finance, Insurance & Real Estate

General Business

Health

Labor

Lawyers & Lobbyists

Transportation

Uncoded

Candidate Donations

Individuals, corporations, organizations and committees are limited to a maximum donation to candidates of $4000 for the Senate and $2000 for the house.

Total

$50.2K

8.0% lower than the average legislators

Independent Expenditures

Money from Independent Expenditure Committees (IEC) for advertising or grassroots activity targeting a candidates run for office is unlimited, but it cannot be spent in coordination with the candidate or the candidate's campaign.

Total

$372.0

31.0% lower than the average legislators

Grand Total for Elections

$50.6K

8.0% lower than the average legislators

This is a total of the money targeting this legislator's campaign(s) including direct donations to the candidate, money spent by Independent Expenditure Committees and money from political parties.

Influence

There are two categories of donations to legislators after they are elected that encourage a working relationship between the donor and the legislator. The categories are: 1-Gifts, 2-Travel.

Giver	Value	Date	Description
Republic of China (Taiwan)	$5,800	Oct 20, 2019	U.S. Hawaii State Senate Legislative Leaders to the Republic of China (Taiwan)
National Conference of State Legislators	$2,479.58	Jun 25, 2019	NCSL Budget and Tax Academy
National Conference of State Legislators	$405.98	Jun 13, 2019	NCSL Emerging Leaders West

Gifts

For gifts that are allowed, legislators must file an annual gifts disclosure statement with the Hawai'i State Ethics Commission if they or their spouse or dependent child receive from a single source one or multiple gifts and the whole aggregate value exceeds $200.