Adrian Tam

Adrian Kar-Tsing Tam (Chinese: 譚家昇; Jyutping: Taam⁴ Gaa¹ Sing¹; born September 11, 1992) is an American politician serving as a member of the Hawaii House of Representatives. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the interim Chair of the Democratic Party of Hawaii.

Adrian Tam
譚家昇
Member of the Hawaii House of Representatives from the 24nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office November 3, 2020
Preceded by	Tom Brower
Chair of the Democratic Party of Hawaii
In office December 2, 2023 – May 19, 2024
Preceded by	Donna Domingo (acting)
Succeeded by	Derek Turbin
Personal details
Born	(1992-09-11) September 11, 1992 (age 32) Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Education	Pennsylvania State University (BA)

Early life

Tam is a second-generation Asian American of Taiwanese ancestry.^[1][2] His father had served as an assistant to a draftsman, and his mother worked in sales.^[1] Following graduation from Kalani High School,^[3] he graduated with a degree in history from Pennsylvania State University, and upon returning to Hawaii, began working for his family's real estate company.^[1][2]

Political career

Tam worked in the Hawaii Senate for Senator Stanley Chang before running for public office in 2020.^[4][5] He defeated incumbent Tom Brower in the Democratic Party primary election,^[3][6] then won the general election for the 22nd district of the Hawaii House of Representatives against Republican Party candidate Nicholas Ochs, who previously served as the vice chairman of Donald Trump's Hawaii campaign in the 2016 United States elections, had strong support from Roger Stone and drew media attention for founding the Hawaii chapter of the Proud Boys.^{[7][8][9][10][11]} After Tam was seated, he became the only openly gay member of the Hawaii State Legislature.^[12][13][a]

Following the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol, Tam and other Hawaii lawmakers signed a letter requesting rioters to be placed on the federal No Fly List.^[15][b]

Tam is a member of the Progressive Legislative Caucus.^[20]

In December 2023, Tam was elected interim Chair of the Democratic Party of Hawaii by the State Central Committee. His term ended on May 19, 2024 and was succeeded by Derek Turbin.^[21]

Personal life

Tam lives with his dog, Winston.^[22]

Awards and honors

In June 2021, Queerty named Tam one of its "Pride50" people "who made a positive impact in the last year and who are helping to lead the nation toward equality, acceptance, and dignity for all queer people".^[23]

Electoral history

Hawaii's 22nd House District Democratic primary, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Adrian Tam	1,964	51.9
	Democratic	Tom Brower (incumbent)	1,820	48.1
Total votes			3,784	100.0

Hawaii's 22nd House District General Election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Adrian Tam	6,080	67.9
	Republican	Nicholas Ochs	2,869	32.1
Total votes			8,949	100.0
	Democratic hold

Notes

1. During the 2020 United States elections, the Proud Boys were supported by Iranian cyber actors according to the United States National Intelligence Council (NIC).^[14]
2. After returning from the failed January 6, 2021 Putsch, Nick Ochs was arrested on the evening of January 7, 2021 at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu for his participation in the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol. He retained both Myles Breiner in Honolulu and the Washington DC attorney Edward MacMahon, Jr. and entered a not guilty plea on February 12, 2021. Previously, Edward MacMahon, Jr. represented Zacarias Moussaoui, who was a 9/11 hijacker. MacMahon was involved in the proceedings during the Iran–Contra affair as well.^{[7][16][17][18][19]}