Politics of Hawaii


The politics of the U.S. state of Hawaii take place within the framework of a Democrat-dominated government.

State government

The Hawaii state government is composed of a bicameral system, with the Hawaii senate and the Hawaii House of Representatives making up the upper and lower houses.

Congressional representation

Hawaii's congressional politics are typically dominated by Democrats. The state has elected just one Republican U.S. senator, Hiram Fong, who served from 1959 to 1977, and two GOP House members. The rest have been Democrats. Hawaii is currently represented in the Senate by Democrats Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz. In the House, Ed Case and Tulsi Gabbard represent the state.

County governments

City and County of Honolulu - Kirk Caldwell

County of Hawaii - Harry Kim

County of Maui - Michael Victorino

County of Kauai - Derek Kawakami

Political parties

The Democratic Party has maintained power in the state for more than forty years. Prior to that, the Republican Party ruled comfortably, winning almost every election in the first half of the twentieth century.

Hawaiian nationalism

is focused on producing a national identity. Most Hawaiian nationalists have argued that the Hawaiian race and their descendants should govern the islands as a constitutional monarchy. It is also important to note that Hawaiian nationalism is not limited to Native Hawaiians but have included other groups including whites and Asians such as Walter M. Gibson.
However, most citizens of Hawaii do not share the same sentiments of the sovereignty movement with public opinion seemly being in favor of remaining a part of the United States. As of 2014 a poll by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser found that only 6% of respondents supported the creation of a Native Hawaiian nation with 63% being against it.

Presidential elections

Hawaii is dominated by the Democratic Party and has supported Democrats in every presidential in which it has participated, except 1972 and 1984, when the incumbent Republican candidates won 49-state landslides. In 2004, John Kerry won the state's 4 electoral votes by a margin of 9 percentage points with 54% of the vote. Every county in the state supported the Democratic candidate. In 2008, Barack Obama won by an overwhelming 45 point lead: 72% for the Democrat and 27% for Republican John McCain. Hawaii is the only actual state that gave either candidate more than 70% of the vote. Obama again won Hawaii by a large margin in 2012, suffering only a small swing against him, winning 71% to 28% for Republican Mitt Romney. Hawaii once again gave a higher vote share to Obama than any of the 49 other states, though on this occasion, Obama's vote was not quite as high as his challenger's best state.