Claudia Naoko

Claudia Ellen Naoko (born May 1, 1980 in Kapolei, Hawaii) (Japanese: クラウディア エレン ナオコ) (Hepburn: Kuraudia Eren Naoko) is an American politician, currently serving as the United States Representative from Hawaii's 1st Congressional District.
Naoko is currently a member of the Democratic Party, though she was a member of the Libertarian Party prior to 2011.
== Pre-Elected Office ==
Prior to entering the political arena, Claudia Naoko was enrolled in Pre-Law studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, graduating in 2003. Shortly thereafter, she was hired as a political advisor to he presidential campaign of Libertarian candidate Michael Badnarik in 2004. She would later work for Bob Barr's presidential campaign in 2008, and ultimately leave the party in 2011.
== Political Opinions ==
Naoko identifies as a "libertarian moderate". She supports civil liberty, open government, economic freedom and sustainability, and an open dialog between people of different political backgrounds. Naoko has been a champion for Asian-American rights in the House, and has been critical of politicians that she says ignore Asian-Americans. Naoko is of half-Japanese (her mother was born in Sapporo), half-German descent, and considers her heritage an important part of her life and political identity. Despite her relatively libertarian ideology, she supports "common sense" gun control measures, advocating for laws similar to Canada's gun laws.
She is an open critic of what she has refereed to as the "extreme" wing of the Democratic party, and advocates for an open platform between people of all political parties to work together for a better nation.
== Personal Life ==
Naoko lives in Honolulu with her husband and son. She is a fan of rugby union, and played it in high school.
Category:People
Category:Democrats
Category:Representative