U.S. Congressional Delegations from Hawaii
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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 state ...
became a state in 1959, it has sent congressional delegations to the
United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...
and
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
. Each state elects two senators to serve for six years. Members of the House of Representatives are elected to two-year terms, one from each of Hawaii's congressional districts. Before becoming a state, the
Territory of Hawaii The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory ( Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 30, 1900, until August 21, 1959, when most of its territory, excluding ...
elected a non-voting
delegate Delegate or delegates may refer to: * Delegate, New South Wales, a town in Australia * Delegate (CLI), a computer programming technique * Delegate (American politics), a representative in any of various political organizations * Delegate (Unit ...
at-large to Congress from 1900 to 1958. The longest-serving senator was Daniel Inouye, from 1963 to 2012—he served as President pro tempore of the United States Senate from 2010 to 2012 as the longest-serving senator.
Patsy Mink Patsy Matsu Mink (née Takemoto; December 6, 1927 – September 28, 2002) was an American attorney and politician from the U.S. state of Hawaii. Mink was a third-generation Japanese American, having been born and raised on the island of Maui. ...
was the first woman of color to serve in the House, and the first woman to represent Hawaii in Congress.


Current delegation

Hawaii's current congressional delegation in the 118th Congress consists of its two senators and two representatives, all of whom are Democrats. The current dean of the Hawaii delegation is
Mazie Hirono Mazie Keiko Hirono (; Japanese name: , ; born November 3, 1947) 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 t ...
, having served in the Senate since 2013 and in Congress since 2007.


United States Senate

Each state elects two senators by statewide popular vote every six years. The terms of the two senators are staggered so that they are not elected in the same year, meaning that each seat also has a class determining the years in which the seat will be up for election. Hawaii's senators are elected in classes 1 and 3. There have been seven senators elected from Hawaii, of whom six have been Democrats and one has been a
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 ...
. Hawaii's current senators, both Democrats, are
Mazie Hirono Mazie Keiko Hirono (; Japanese name: , ; born November 3, 1947) 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 t ...
, in office since 2013, and Brian Schatz, in office since 2012.


U.S. House of Representatives


Territorial delegates

The
Territory of Hawaii The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory ( Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 30, 1900, until August 21, 1959, when most of its territory, excluding ...
was an organized incorporated territory of the United States formed by the
Hawaiian Organic Act The Hawaiian Organic Act, , was an organic act enacted by the United States Congress to establish the Territory of Hawaii and to provide a Constitution and government for the territory. The Act was replaced by the Hawaii Admission Act on Au ...
on April 30, 1900, following the annexation of Hawaii. The territory initially consisted of the Hawaiian Islands, although the
Palmyra Atoll Palmyra Atoll (), also referred to as Palmyra Island, is one of the Northern Line Islands (southeast of Kingman Reef and north of Kiribati). It is located almost due south of the Hawaiian Islands, roughly one-third of the way between Hawaii a ...
was separated from Hawaii when it was admitted into the Union. The territorial delegates were elected to two-year terms from the at-large congressional district in the Hawaii Territory. Delegates were allowed to serve on committees, debate, and submit legislation, but were not permitted to vote on bills. The first delegate, Robert William Wilcox, took office on December 15, 1900, and the last delegate,
John A. Burns John Anthony Burns (March 30, 1909 – April 5, 1975) was an American politician. Burns was born in Montana and became a resident of Hawaii in 1913. He served as the second governor of Hawaii from 1962 to 1974. Early life John Burns was ...
, left office on August 21, 1959, succeeded on the same day by representative Daniel Inouye. Delegates only served in the House of Representatives, as there was no representation in the Senate until Hawaii became a state.


Representatives from the State of Hawaii

Members of the House of Representatives are elected every two years by popular vote within a congressional district. From in the
86th Congress The 86th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 195 ...
through the 91st Congress, both of Hawaii's representatives were elected from
Hawaii's at-large congressional district Before achieving statehood in 1959, the Territory of Hawaii was represented by a non-voting territorial delegate. From statehood until 1963, Hawaii had one Representative. From 1963 to the creation of the two districts in 1971, Hawaii was repres ...
, but in 1969, the Hawaii legislature passed a law creating Hawaii's
first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
and second congressional district, which elected representatives to the
92nd Congress The 92nd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1971, ...
. The representatives from the two new districts,
Patsy Mink Patsy Matsu Mink (née Takemoto; December 6, 1927 – September 28, 2002) was an American attorney and politician from the U.S. state of Hawaii. Mink was a third-generation Japanese American, having been born and raised on the island of Maui. ...
and
Spark Matsunaga Spark Masayuki Matsunaga ( ja, 松永 正幸, October 8, 1916April 15, 1990) was an American politician and attorney who served as United States Senator for Hawaii from 1977 until his death in 1990. Matsunaga also represented Hawaii in the U.S. ...
, were also the last two representatives of the seats in the at-large district. Every ten years, the number of seats in the House apportioned to every state is recalculated based on the state's population as determined by the United States census. Hawaii had one seat until the 1960 United States census allotted Hawaii a second seat, which was first filled by
Thomas Gill Thomas or Tom Gill may refer to: * Thomas Gill (1788–1861), British Whig politician and industrialist * Thomas Gill (architect) (1870–1941), American architect * Thomas Gill (footballer) (born 1965), Norwegian football goalkeeper * Thomas G ...
in the 1962 House elections.


See also

*
List of United States congressional districts Congressional districts in the United States are electoral divisions for the purpose of electing members of the United States House of Representatives. The number of voting seats in the House of Representatives is currently set at 435, wit ...
* Hawaii's congressional districts * Political party strength in Hawaii


Notes


References

{{Hawaii Politics of Hawaii Congressional Delegations
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 state ...