Linda Lingle is an American politician, who was the sixth governor of Hawaii from 2002 to 2010. She was the first Republican elected governor of Hawaii since 1959, and was the state's first female and first Jewish governor. Prior to serving as governor, Lingle served as mayor of Maui County from 1991 to 1999 and as chair of the Hawaii Republican Party from 1999 to 2002.
Edward Espenett Case is an American lawyer and Democratic politician. Since 2019, he has served as the U.S. representative for Hawaii's 1st congressional district, which covers the urban core of Honolulu. He represented the 2nd district, which covers the rest of the state, from 2002 to 2007.
Patsy Matsu Mink was an American attorney and politician from the U.S. state of Hawaii. She served in the United States House of Representatives for 24 years as a member of the Democratic Party, initially from 1965 to 1977, and again from 1990 until her death in 2002. She was the first woman of color and the first Asian-American woman elected to Congress, and is known for her work on legislation advancing women's rights and education.
Mazie Keiko Hirono is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Hawaii since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Hirono previously served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district from 2007 to 2013. Hirono also served as a member of the Hawaii House of Representatives from 1981 to 1995 and as Hawaii's tenth lieutenant governor from 1994 to 2002, under Ben Cayetano. She was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for governor of Hawaii in 2002, defeated by Republican Linda Lingle in the general election.
The politics of the U.S. state of Hawaii typically take place within the framework of a Democrat-dominated government. The Democratic Party in Hawaii was formed in 1900, by supporters of Queen Liliʻuokalani. For the first half of the twentieth century, the Republican Party ruled comfortably, dominating local politics until the end of World War II. After the war, Honolulu police officer John A. Burns began organizing plantation laborers, including many Japanese Americans and Filipino Americans and built a coalition that gradually strengthened the Democratic Party in Hawaii. This culminated in the Hawaii Democratic Revolution of 1954, after which Republican political influence in the islands was greatly diminished.
The 2002 Hawaii gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002, to select the Governor of Hawaii. Incumbent Democratic Governor of Hawaii Ben Cayetano was term-limited and therefore could not run for re-election. Former Maui Mayor Linda Lingle, who had narrowly lost the 1998 election, was nominated once again by the Republicans while Lieutenant Governor Mazie Hirono earned the Democratic nomination in a tight race. Lingle and Hirono duked it out in a hard-fought campaign, with Hirono's campaign crippled by allegations of corruption within the Hawaii Democratic Party and many voters desiring a change. Ultimately Lingle defeated Hirono in a close election, making her the first Republican Governor of Hawaii elected since 1959 and the state's first-ever female governor. She was the first white person to be elected governor of the state since 1970. Lingle and Hirono faced off again in Hawaii’s 2012 U.S. Senate election; Hirono won that race and thus became the first female U.S. Senator in Hawaii history.
Susan Oki Mollway is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii and the first East Asian woman and Japanese-American woman ever appointed to a life-time position on the federal bench.
The 2012 United States Senate election in Hawaii took place on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the 2012 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate and House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic senator Daniel Akaka decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth full term. Democrat Mazie Hirono defeated Republican Linda Lingle in a rematch of Hawaii’s 2002 gubernatorial election. This was the first open Senate seat in the state of Hawaii since 1976.
The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Hawaii were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 to elect the two U.S. representatives from the state, one from each of the state's two congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election and an election for the United States Senate. Primary elections were held on August 11, 2012.
The 2018 United States Senate election in Hawaii took place on November 6, 2018. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono ran for reelection to a second term. Hirono ran unopposed in her party's primary and was easily reelected, defeating Republican challenger Ron Curtis. She won the highest vote percentage of any U.S. Senate candidate in 2018. This election was the fifth consecutive cycle in which a senate election was held in Hawaii after elections in 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016.
Jill Aiko Otake is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii.
Almeda Eliza Hitchcock Moore was the first female lawyer and notary public in the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1888.
Rhoda Valentine Lewis was the first female justice on the Supreme Court of Hawaii.
Marguerite Kamehaokalani Ashford became the first woman attorney to practice in the Territory of Hawaii. At the time of her 1916 admission to the Hawaii bar, she was the only woman attorney in Hawaii. Almeda Eliza Hitchcock had previously practiced law in the islands while Hawaii was still a kingdom, but had ceased her practice before the 1893 overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii. The third woman attorney in Hawaii was Carrick Hume Buck who was admitted to the Hawaii bar in 1924, making Ashford and Buck the only two practicing women attorneys in the territory as of that date.
Henrietta Hume Pettijohn Buck was New Mexico’s first female lawyer.
Sau Ung Loo Chan (1906–2002) was Hawaii's first female lawyer of Asian descent.
Carrick Hume Buck was the first woman to be appointed a judge in Hawaii.
Marybeth Yuen Maul was the first Asian-American female magistrate in Hawaii. She also served as a Molokai District Court judge for the County of Maui. Maul died on April 23, 2010, in Eugene, Oregon, at 85 years old.
Micah William Janso Smith is an American lawyer from Hawaii who has served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii since 2024. He served as an assistant United States attorney for the District of Hawaii from 2018 to 2024.
