Since

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 ...

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 po ...

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 The U.S. state of Hawaii is divided into two congressional districts for representation in the United States House of Representatives. Before statehood, the Territory of Hawaii was represented by a non-voting delegate. From statehood until 1963, H ...

. 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 at-large to Congress from 1900 to 1958. The longest-serving senator was

Daniel Inouye Daniel Ken Inouye ( ; September 7, 1924 – December 17, 2012) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Hawaii from 1963 until his death in 2012. Beginning in 1959, he was the first U.S. representative ...

, from 1963 to 2012—he served as

President pro tempore of the United States Senate The president pro tempore of the United States Senate (often shortened to president pro tem) is the second-highest-ranking official of the United States Senate, after the vice president. According to Article One, Section Three of the United S ...

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 The 118th United States Congress is the next 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 is scheduled to meet in Washing ...

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 th ...

, 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 Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differently ...

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

, in office since 2013, and

Brian Schatz Brian Emanuel Schatz (; born October 20, 1972) is an American educator and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Hawaii, a seat he has held since 2012. A member of the Democratic Party, Schatz served in the Hawaii House ...

, in office since 2012.

U.S. House of Representatives

Territorial delegates

The

was an

organized incorporated territory of the United States The territory of the United States and its overseas possessions has evolved over time, from the colonial era to the present day. It includes formally organized territories, proposed and failed states, unrecognized breakaway states, internationa ...

formed by the Hawaiian Organic Act on April 30, 1900, following the annexation of Hawaii. The territory initially consisted of the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost ...

, 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

. 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 The 91st 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, 1969, ...

, 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 and

second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ea ...

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,

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.

Notes

References

{{Hawaii Politics of Hawaii Congressional Delegations