Sylvia J. Luke (born December 15, 1967) is a

Korean-American Korean Americans are Americans of Korean ancestry (mostly from South Korea). In 2015, the Korean-American community constituted about 0.56% of the United States population, or about 1.82 million people, and was the fifth-largest Asian American ...

attorney and politician who has served as a member of 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 consists ...

for the 25th district since 2013. She is serving as the 15th

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 ...

, since December 2022. She is the first

Korean American Korean Americans are Americans of Korean ancestry (mostly from South Korea). In 2015, the Korean-American community constituted about 0.56% of the United States population, or about 1.82 million people, and was the fifth-largest Asian America ...

politician ever elected to a statewide office in the United States.

Early life and education

She was born on December 15, 1967, in Seoul,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

and later attended Lincoln Elementary School, Kawananakoa Middle School and graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1985. Luke earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa The University of Hawaii at Mānoa (University of Hawaii—Mānoa, UH Mānoa, Hawai'i, or simply UH) is a public land-grant research university in Mānoa, a neighborhood in Honolulu, Hawaii. It is the flagship campus of the University of Haw ...

and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

from the

University of San Francisco School of Law The University of San Francisco School of Law (USF Law) is the law school of the private University of San Francisco. Established in 1912, it received American Bar Association accreditation in 1935 and joined the Association of American Law Scho ...

Career

In addition to serving as a legislator, she worked as an attorney in private practice. Luke consecutively served from January 1999 until 2013 in the

for the 26th district, and from January 2013 until 2022 for the 25th district.

Personal life

She is married to Michael Luke and has one son.

Elections

*1998 When

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 ...

Representative Quentin Kawānanakoa retired and left the District 26 seat open, Luke won the three-way September 19, 1998 Democratic Primary with 1,476 votes (44.9%), and won the November 3, 1998 General election with 4,914 votes (54.4%) against Republican nominee Christopher Dawson. *2000 Luke was unopposed for the September 23, 2000 Democratic Primary, winning with 3,400 votes, and won the November 5, 2002 General election with 4,344 votes (54.4%) against Republican nominee David Pang. *2002 Luke was unopposed for the September 21, 2002 Democratic Primary, winning with 3,474 votes, and won the November 5, 2002 General election with 5,317 votes (57.3%) against Republican nominee Signe Godfrey. who had been redistricted from District 6. *2004 Luke was unopposed for the September 18, 2004 Democratic Primary, winning with 3,520 votes, and won the November 2, 2004 General election with 6,245 votes (62.5%) against Republican nominee Bob Tom. *2006 Luke and Tom were both unopposed for their September 26, 2006 primaries, setting up a rematch; Luke won the November 7, 2006 General election with 4,918 votes (60.1%) against Tom. *2008 Luke was unopposed for the September 20, 2008 Democratic Primary, winning with 3,550 votes, and was unopposed for the November 4, 2008 General election. *2010 Luke won the September 18, 2010 Democratic Primary with 4,688 votes (75.7%), and won the November 2, 2010 General election with 6,189 votes (69.5%) against Republican nominee Norm Katz. *2012 Redistricted to District 25, and with Democratic Representative Della Au Belatti redistricted to District 24, Luke was unopposed for both the August 11, 2012 Democratic Primary, winning with 4,319 votes, and the November 6, 2012 General election. *2022 Luke won the 13 August 2022 Hawaii Lieutenant Governor Democratic Primary, race called by The Associated Press.

References

External links

Official page
at 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, th ...

* , - , - , - 1967 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians American women lawyers American women of Korean descent in politics Hawaii lawyers Lieutenant Governors of Hawaii Living people Democratic Party members of the Hawaii House of Representatives People from Seoul Politicians from Honolulu University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni University of San Francisco School of Law alumni Women state legislators in Hawaii {{Hawaii-politician-stub