CNMI ‘Red Kingdom’ candidates file general election petitions

Deemed the CNMI’s “Red Kingdom” due to its community’s steadfast loyalty to the CNMI Republican Party, Tinian’s sons and daughters came out to Saipan last Friday in support of U.S. delegate candidate Kimberlyn King-Hinds, as well as other candidates from Tinian seeking a seat in the local government, as they officially filed their petitions for candidacy.

Last Friday, CNMI Republican Party candidates from Tinian got together to file their petitions for the upcoming general election at the Commonwealth Election Commission.

Among the Tinian contenders were GOP’s U.S delegate candidate King-Hinds, Sen. Karl King-Nabors (R-Tinian), Rep. Patrick San Nicolas (R-Tinian), and Tinian Municipality council members Joseph Santos, Ana San Nicolas, and Esteban Cabrera who are seeking re-election.

CNMI Republican Party president Diego T. Benavente said initially all the Republican Party candidates were supposed to file together, but it ended up not pulling through. However, Benavente expressed that it did work out as it became sort of a special event for members of the Tinian community as its candidates decided to file together, a testament to Tinian’s commitment to its party and to its community.

King-Hinds, who appeared excited and nervous as she filed her petition last week, shared that filing her petition alongside her brother and fellow Tinian folks made the nerve-wracking experience memorable.

“I never in a million years imagined that we would be in this situation. It is very special,” she said.

King-Hinds added that the Tinian Republican Party candidates are running unopposed which she says speaks volumes about the work that they have put into addressing the need of the Tinian community

“I want to take that same spirit of collaboration and unity, that one-team mentality for the CNMI. We are one team fighting for the same thing and that is all of us have the same opportunity whether you are Chamorro, Refaluwasch, Filipino, or from the Federated States of Micronesia, we all deserve a better chance, we all deserve the same opportunities and that is what this election is all about,” she said.

Speaking for herself, King-Hinds said filing her candidacy brought a feeling of nervousness and excitement, but also a somber feeling knowing she is stepping up to the plate to help address issues of the entire CNMI should she be elected.

“[I’m] signing up to seek this office, to take on the responsibility of helping our people. As I go out and knock on doors, you see the state of the quality of life that community members who are often unheard from, and you hear their burdens, it’s not lost of on me that I’m stepping up to the plate to help them. With that responsibility is just this nervousness but also excitement at the same time. This is a serious responsibility and I’m ready to work,” she said.

Ultimately, King-Hinds said her running for office is beyond her party affiliation, rather the CNMI’s well-being as a whole.

“Yes, I am a Republican Party candidate, but this is about the whole CNMI. This election is about choice: whether we’re going to continue with the same path and continue to do the same thing and see the same results or we all level up together and, instead of fighting against one another, we fight for each other and work towards a goal, and the goal right now is to improve the quality of life of our people,” she said.

Aside from King-Hinds, also running for the U.S. Congress are House floor leader Rep. Edwin K. Propst (D-Saipan), freelance business consultant and grants writer John Oliver Delos Reyes Bolis Gonzales running as an independent, and Chamorro activist Liana S. Hofschneider who is also running as an independent.