State Rep. Andria Tupola officially kicked off her campaign for governor Saturday.

Dubbed the "Better Hawaii Concert," the event wrapped up after a day of entertainment, food trucks and the launch of Tupola's official campaign. 

Held at the Kapolei Event Center, festivities wrapped up at 7 p.m.

Tupola's Republican primary opponent John Carroll used the day to welcome her to the race, and acknowledge their opposing visions for Hawaii.

In a statement, Carroll said: 

"I sincerely welcome my proudly liberal rival Andria Tupola to the race and look forward to a lively, rigorous, and hard fought contest for votes and support in the upcoming Republican Primary.  While I am certain that GOP voters will ultimately prefer a strong reformer like me -- endorsed by Sam Slom and Bob McDermott -- who is pledged to repeal and replace the failed Democrat economic policies that have weakened Hawaii and caused so much hardship for the majority of island residents, I believe voters deserve to hear from Andria so she can explain why she votes with Democrats 90% of the time and why she has been a champion of those same failed policies which put the needs of political cronies ahead of taxpayers, put illegal immigrants ahead legal residents of our state, and which make Hawaii the worst place in the country to make a living.”

Carroll later added that Tupola largely targets the Polynesian demographic and he vowed to "reject such identity politics and lead a much more inclusive and aloha-based campaign to deliver broad based solutions that benefit all the people from all ethnic backgrounds who call Hawaii home."

Tupola has been an active leader in Hawaii's GOP party. The representative is vocal on issues facing west side residents, and serves as the House Minority Leader. 

Copyright 2018 HawaiiNewsNow. All rights reserved.