Nāwahī first entered politics during the last year of the reign of King Kamehameha V. His election as a member of the House of Representatives, the lower house of the Hawaiian legislature, for the district of Puna, was reported on February 14, 1872. During this first term, Kamehameha V died without naming an heir and he and his fellow legislators unanimously elected the popular Lunalilo to the throne. The new king died in 1874 after a short reign, also without naming a successor, causing the legislators to convene and elect a new monarch again. Nāwahī, now in his second term, became one of the six legislators who cast their votes in favor of the defeated Queen Emma of Hawaii. Kalākaua, who won the legislative election, ascended the throne as Hawaii's second elected monarch in the wake of the Honolulu Courthouse riot led by Emma's defeated supporters.