Aumua Amata unopposed for reelection  

Amata

PAGO PAGO, American Samioa—Upon being advised Friday by the American Samoa Election Office that she has qualified to be on the ballot for Congress in the November 8 general election and that she will be unopposed, Congresswoman Amata Coleman Radewagen made the following statement:

“I am humbled by the announcement from the ASG Election Office that the deadline has closed and I will be unopposed for re-election in November. I have given my heart and soul to our people for the past eight years and will look forward to serving as your Member of the U.S. House of Representatives for the next two years. As always, I pledge to make sure that all legislation under consideration by Congress applies to American Samoa when it benefits our people and excludes us when it does not. And as a wise old retired congressman told me when I first joined the House in 2015: ‘My job is to convince 440 other Members of Congress that my district is the most important.’ A tall order to be sure and I am thankful that our people have shown confidence in me to continue to make our case in Washington. I have been invited to attend the Pacific Islands Conference of Leaders in Honolulu coming up soon, and will return to our islands thereafter to visit the villages in the weeks before the election to answer questions and hear from the people how I can best represent them over the next two years. I want to take this opportunity to thank my congressional staff for all the hard work they do to meet our needs and my supporters for taking our message to the people. God Bless you and God bless American Samoa!”

This year marks the 14th time Congresswoman Amata’s name has been on the ballot and a 15th time she has received votes for the office she now holds. She was unsuccessful in her first ten tries but succeeded in 2014 and has seen her vote totals steadily rise since that time to the point this year that she is unopposed. Over the past four elections she has defeated among others a 13-term incumbent, a former two-term governor and senior members of two governors’ cabinets. In 2020 she gained the distinction of winning more votes than any other candidate for any office in American Samoa history. When she takes office in January, she can be expected to hold leadership positions no matter which party is in the majority including her role as co-chair of the Congressional Pacific Islands Caucus. (PR)