Les S. Ihara Jr. (born April 19, 1951, in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

) is an American politician and a Democratic member of the

Hawaii Senate The Hawaii Senate is the upper house of the Hawaii State Legislature. It consists of twenty-five members elected from an equal number of constituent districts across the islands and is led by the President of the Senate, elected from the membe ...

since November 6, 2012 representing District 10. Ihara served consecutively from 1994 until 2012 in the District 9 and District 10 seats, having served consecutively in the

Hawaii State Legislature The Hawaii State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state legislature is a bicameral body consisting of a lower house, the Hawaii State House of Representatives, with 51 representatives, and an upper house, the ...

from 1986 until 1994 in the

Hawaii House of Representatives The Hawaii House of Representatives is the lower house of the Hawaii State Legislature. Pursuant to Article III, Section 3 of the Constitution of Hawaii, amended during the 1978 constitutional convention, the House of Representatives consis ...

Education

Ihara attended

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

and earned his BA in

liberal studies Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the ...

from the

University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

Elections

*1986 Ihara was initially elected the Hawaii House of Representatives in the November 4, 1986 General election. *1988 Ihara was re-elected in the November 8, 1988 General election. *1990 Ihara was re-elected in the November 6, 1990 General election. *1992 Ihara won the House District 19 September 19, 1992 Democratic Primary with 2,583 votes (67.7%), and won the November 3, 1992 General election with 5,971 votes (69.1%) against

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

candidate Merrielea Dolle. *1994 Ihara won the Senate District 10 September 17, 1994 Democratic Primary with 4,637 votes (65.2%), and the November 8, 1994 General election with 8,032 votes (59.5%) against Republican nominee Steve Colt. *1998 Ihara was unopposed for the September 19, 1998 Democratic Primary, winning with 2,362 votes, and won the November 3, 1998 General election with 9,241 votes (67.8%) against Republican nominee Darrel Gardner. *2002 Redistricted to District 9, and with Democratic Senator Matt Matsunaga running for

Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii The lieutenant governor of Hawaii ( haw, Hope kiaʻāina o Hawaiʻi) is the assistant chief executive of the U.S. state of Hawaii and its various agencies and departments, as provided in the Article V, Sections 2 though 6 of the Constitution of H ...

, Ihara was unopposed for the September 21, 2002 Democratic Primary, winning with 6,264 votes, and won the November 5, 2002 General election with 11,328 votes (61.1%) against Republican nominee Gladys Hayes. *2006 Ihara won the September 26, 2006 Democratic Primary with 6,666 votes (55.7%); his Republican opponent from 2002, Gladys Hayes won her primary, also, setting up a rematch. Ihara won the November 7, 2006 General election with 11,599 votes (72.3%) against Hayes. *2010 Ihara won the September 18, 2010 Democratic Primary with 7,841 votes (66.4%), and won the November 2, 2010 General election with 11,058 votes (64.7%) against Republican nominee Lisa Shorba. *2012 Redistricted back to District 10, and with Democratic Senator

Brian Taniguchi Brian T. Taniguchi (born November 7, 1951 in Honolulu, Hawaii) is an American politician and a Democratic member of the Hawaii Senate since January 16, 2013 representing District 10. Taniguchi served consecutively from 1995 until 2013 in the Dis ...

redistricted to District 11, Ihara was unopposed for the August 11, 2012 Democratic Primary, winning with 8,595 votes, and won the November 6, 2012 General election with 13,703 votes (69.0%) against

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

nominee Eric Marshall, who had run for the seat in 2010.

References

External links

Official page
at the

Campaign site
* 1951 births Living people George Washington University alumni Democratic Party Hawaii state senators Democratic Party members of the Hawaii House of Representatives Politicians from Honolulu University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni Hawaii politicians of Japanese descent 21st-century American politicians {{Hawaii-politician-stub