Hawaii State Senate elections, 2024
| 2024 Hawaii Senate Elections | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Primary | August 10, 2024 |
| General | November 5, 2024 |
| Past Election Results |
| 2022・2020・2018・2016・2014 2012・2010・2008 |
| 2024 Elections | |
|---|---|
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Elections for the Hawaii State Senate took place in 2024. The general election was on November 5, 2024. The primary was August 10, 2024. The filing deadline was June 4, 2024.
Following the election, Democrats maintained a 22-3 veto-proof majority.
The Hawaii State Senate was one of 85 state legislative chambers with elections in 2024. There are 99 chambers throughout the country.
Party control
| Hawaii State Senate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 5, 2024 | After November 6, 2024 | |
| Democratic Party | 23 | 22 | |
| Republican Party | 2 | 3 | |
| Total | 25 | 25 | |
Candidates
General election
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Hawaii State Senate general election 2024
- Incumbents are marked with an (i) after their name.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
Office Democratic
Republican
Other District 1 This general election was canceled. District 3
Dru Kanuha (i)
District 4 This general election was canceled. District 6
District 7
District 12
District 16
District 18
District 19 This general election was canceled. District 22 District 23
District 24 This general election was canceled.
Primary
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Hawaii State Senate primary 2024
- Incumbents are marked with an (i) after their name.
Office Other District 1 The Republican primary was canceled.
District 3
District 4
The Republican primary was canceled.
Did not make the ballot:
Christine Danzilo Coletta
District 6
Did not make the ballot:
Jackie Keefe
Green Party
This primary was canceled.
Did not make the ballot:
Jackie Keefe (Green Party)
District 7
District 12
District 16
Nonpartisan
This primary was canceled.
Did not make the ballot:
Kevin Okazaki (Nonpartisan)
District 18
District 19
The Republican primary was canceled.
District 22 District 23
District 24 The Republican primary was canceled.
Voting information
- See also: Voting in Hawaii
General election race ratings
The table below displays race ratings for each race in this chamber from CNalysis.
Incumbents who were not re-elected
Incumbents defeated in general elections
No incumbents lost in general elections. This was less than the average of 0.3 incumbent defeats per cycle from 2010 to 2022.
Incumbents defeated in primaries
No incumbents lost in primaries. This was less than the average of 0.9 incumbent defeats per cycle from 2010 to 2022.
Retiring incumbents
One incumbent did not file for re-election in 2024.[1] The average number of retirements each election cycle from 2010 to 2022 was 1.9. That incumbent was:
| Name | Party | Office |
|---|---|---|
| Maile Shimabukuro |  Democratic |
District 22 |
Primary election competitiveness
This section contains data on state legislative primary election competitiveness in Hawaii. These totals include data from all regularly-scheduled House and Senate elections. For more information about Ballotpedia's competitiveness analysis of state legislative elections, please click here.
Post-filing deadline analysis
The following analysis covers all state legislative districts up for election in Hawaii in 2024. Information below was calculated on June 17, 2024, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.
Hawaii had 31 contested state legislative primaries on August 10, 2024.
There were 146 candidates, including 96 Democrats and 50 Republicans, running for 63 seats in the state legislature. The average number of total primary candidates in Hawaii from 2010 to 2024 was 158.5.
Fifty-eight incumbents ran for re-election in 2024 and 19 of them faced primary challengers. That was the lowest number of contested incumbents since Ballotpedia started tracking in 2010. Among the contested incumbents, 18 were in the House and one was in the Senate.
Five incumbents did not seek re-election in 2024, marking the lowest number of retirements since 2016. All five of the retiring incumbents were Democrats.
Open seats
The table below shows the number and percentage of open seats in the Hawaii State Senate from 2010 to 2024.[2]
| Open Seats in Hawaii State Senate elections: 2010 - 2024 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Total seats | Open seats | Seats with incumbents running for re-election |
| 2024 | 12 | 1 (8 percent) | 11 (92 percent) |
| 2022 | 25 | 4 (16 percent) | 21 (84 percent) |
| 2020 | 13 | 2 (15 percent) | 11 (85 percent) |
| 2018 | 13 | 3 (23 percent) | 10 (77 percent) |
| 2016 | 14 | 1 (7 percent) | 13 (93 percent) |
| 2014 | 13 | 2 (15 percent) | 11 (85 percent) |
| 2012 | 25 | 0 (0 percent) | 25 (100 percent) |
| 2010 | 15 | 3 (20 percent) | 12 (80 percent) |
Legislative referrals
- See also: Legislative referral
A legislative referral, or legislatively referred ballot measure, is a ballot measure that appears on the ballot due to a vote of the state legislature. A legislative referral can be a constitutional amendment, state statute, or bond issue.
As of the 2024 election, a two-thirds vote was required during one legislative session for the Hawaii State Legislature to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounted to a minimum of 35 votes in the Hawaii House of Representatives and 17 votes in the Hawaii State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments did not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.
At the time of the 2024 election, Democrats held a 22-2 majority in the Senate and a 45-6 majority in the House. Democrats had the minimum votes necessary to put a legislative referral on the ballot without any Republican votes. Democrats needed to lose six Senate seats and 11 House seats to be able to lose that ability. Republicans needed to win 15 Senate seats and 29 House seats to pass legislative referrals without Democrats.
Process to become a candidate
See statutes: Chapter 12, Part I of the Hawaii Revised Statutes
In Hawaii, all candidates, regardless of partisan affiliation, must be nominated via the state's primary election before appearing on a general election ballot. In the primary election, a candidate may run as a nonpartisan or as a member of a political party. Nonpartisan candidates appear on a separate, nonpartisan ballot.[3][4][5]
Nomination papers
To be placed on the ballot, a candidate must first file an application for nomination papers with the Hawaii Office of Elections. Nomination papers are available on the first business day in February in every even-numbered year.[4][6]
Nomination papers must be signed by voters qualified to vote for the office being sought by the candidate. The number of signatures required is as follows:[4][7]
- A candidate seeking the offices of United States senator, United States representative, governor or lieutenant governor must collect 25 signatures.
- A candidate seeking office in the Hawaii State Legislature must collect 15 signatures.
A signer may sign for only one candidate per office, unless there is more than one seat available for that office. When signing the nomination paper, the signer must provide the following information:[4][8]
- his or her name
- his or her residential address
- his or her date of birth
- the last four digits of his or her Social Security number
- a statement verifying that he or she is qualified to vote for the candidate and that he or she nominates the candidate for the office specified
The following must also be included on the nomination paper:[8]
- the residential address and county in which the candidate resides
- a sworn certification, by self-subscribing oath, by the candidate affirming that he or she is qualified for the office being sought and that all the information provided by the candidate on the nomination paper is correct
- a sworn certification, by self-subscribing oath, by a party candidate that the candidate is a member of the party whose affiliation is indicated on the nomination paper (this is only required of political party candidates)
Filing nomination papers
The deadline to file nomination papers is the first Tuesday in June. Candidates are advised to file papers early and to collect more than the minimum number of signatures. Exceptions or extensions on filing are prohibited, and once a nomination paper has been filed, a candidate cannot add more signatures.[9][4]
A candidate who holds a public office other than that being sought must resign from his or her current office before filing to be a candidate for a new office. When filing nomination papers, the candidate must certify, by self-subscribing oath, that he or she has resigned from his or her former office.[4]
At the time of filing, the candidate must designate what name he or she wishes to appear on the ballot. A candidate is allowed a maximum of 27 typed spaces on the ballot for names, which includes all letters, spaces, and punctuation marks. Titles are not permitted as part of a candidate's name.[4]
Upon filing, the candidate must sign before a notary public a written oath of affirmation. In order to sign the oath, the candidate must provide a photo ID to the notary public.[4][10]
Any challenges or objections to a candidate's nomination paper must be raised before the 60th day prior to the primary election. Challenges and objections may be raised by registered voters, political party officers who were named on the nomination paper, or by the state's chief elections officer.[4][11]
Filing fees
Filing fees are due at time of filing and must be paid by cash, money order, or certified cashier’s check. Personal or campaign checks will not be accepted. Filing fees may be discounted if the candidate agrees to abide by the state’s voluntary campaign spending limits. Filing fees vary according to the office being sought and are detailed in the table below.[4][9]
| Filing fees | ||
|---|---|---|
| Office sought | Filing fee | Discounted filing fee |
| United States senator or United States representative | $75 | Not applicable |
| Governor or lieutenant governor | $750 | $75 |
| All other offices | $250 | $25 |
If a candidate cannot afford to pay the filing fee, he or she can instead file an affidavit attesting to that fact and submit a petition in lieu of the filing fee. The petition must be signed by one-half of 1 percent of the total number of registered voters as of the most recent general election in the district in which the candidate is seeking election.[4][9]
Qualifying for the general election ballot
The party candidate who receives the most votes at the primary election advances to the general election.[12]
A nonpartisan candidate can move on to the general election ballot in one of the following ways:[5]
- by receiving at least 10 percent of the votes cast for the office
- by receiving a number of votes equal to the lowest number of votes received by a partisan candidate who was nominated in the primary election for the office
If more nonpartisan candidates gain access to the general election ballot than there are offices up for election, only the nonpartisan candidate who received the highest vote for the office will move on to the general election.[5][12]
Qualifications
From Article III, Section 7 of the Hawaii Constitution: No person shall be eligible to serve as a member of the senate unless the person has been a resident of the State for not less than three years, has attained the age of majority and is, prior to filing nomination papers and thereafter continues to be, a qualified voter of the senatorial district from which the person seeks to be elected; except that in the year of the first general election following reapportionment, but prior to the primary election, an incumbent senator may move to a new district without being disqualified from completing the remainder of the incumbent senator's term.
Salaries and per diem
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
| State legislative salaries, 2024[13] | |
|---|---|
| Salary | Per diem |
| $74,160/year | $225/day; only for legislators who do not reside on Oahu. |
When sworn in
Hawaii legislators assume office on the day they are elected in the general election.[14]
Hawaii political history
Trifectas
A state government trifecta is a term that describes single-party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government.
Hawaii Party Control: 1992-2025
Twenty-six years of Democratic trifectas • No Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| Senate | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| House | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
Presidential politics in Hawaii
2020
- See also: Presidential election, 2020
Presidential election in Hawaii, 2020
Candidate/Running mate |
% |
Popular votes |
Electoral votes |
||
| ✔ |
 
| Joe Biden/Kamala D. Harris (D) |
63.7
|
366,130 | 4 |
 
| Donald Trump/Mike Pence (R) |
34.3
|
196,864 | 0 | |
 
| Jo Jorgensen/Spike Cohen (L) |
1.0
|
5,539 | 0 | |
 
| Howie Hawkins/Angela Nicole Walker (G) |
0.7
|
3,822 | 0 | |
 
| Brock Pierce/Karla Ballard (American Shopping Party) |
0.2
|
1,183 | 0 | |
 
| Don Blankenship/William Mohr (Constitution Party) |
0.2
|
931 | 0 | |
 |
Total votes: 574,469 |
2016
- See also: Presidential election, 2016
| U.S. presidential election, Hawaii, 2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic | Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine |
62.2% | 266,891 | 4 | |
| Republican | Donald Trump/Mike Pence | 30% | 128,847 | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Gary Johnson/Bill Weld | 3.7% | 15,954 | 0 | |
| Green | Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka | 3% | 12,737 | 0 | |
| Constitution | Darrell Lane Castle/Scott Bradley | 1.1% | 4,508 | 0 | |
| Total Votes | 428,937 | 4 | |||
| Election results via: Hawaii Office of Elections | |||||
Hawaii presidential election results (1900-2024)
- 15 Democratic wins
- 2 Republican wins
| Year | 1900 | 1904 | 1908 | 1912 | 1916 | 1920 | 1924 | 1928 | 1932 | 1936 | 1940 | 1944 | 1948 | 1952 | 1956 | 1960 | 1964 | 1968 | 1972 | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winning Party | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | D | D | D | R | D | D | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Ballotpedia defines an incumbent as retiring if the incumbent did not file for office or filed for office but withdrew, was disqualified, or otherwise left a race in a manner other than losing the primary, primary runoff, or convention. If an incumbent runs as a write-in candidate, Ballotpedia does not consider them to be retiring. If an incumbent runs in the same chamber for a different seat, Ballotpedia does not consider them to be retiring.
- ↑ Ballotpedia defines a seat as open if the incumbent did not file to run for re-election or filed but withdrew and did not appear on any ballot for his or her seat. If the incumbent withdrew from or did not participate in the primary but later chose to seek re-election to his or her seat as a third party or independent candidate, the seat would not be counted as open. If the incumbent retired or ran for a different seat in the same chamber, his or her original seat would be counted as open unless another incumbent from the same chamber filed to run for that seat, in which case it would not be counted as open due to the presence of an incumbent.
- ↑ Hawaii Revised Statutes, "Chapter 12, Part I, Section 2," accessed March 12, 2014
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 Hawaii Office of Elections, "Factsheet: 2014 Filing Process," Revised February 3, 2014
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Hawaii Office of Elections, "Factsheet: Nonpartisan Candidates Qualification for the General Election," accessed March 12, 2014
- ↑ Hawaii Revised Statutes, "Chapter 12, Part I, Section 2.5," accessed March 12, 2014
- ↑ Hawaii Revised Statutes, "Chapter 12, Part I, Section 5," accessed March 12, 2014
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Hawaii Revised Statutes, "Chapter 12, Part I, Section 3," accessed March 12, 2014
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Hawaii Revised Statutes, "Chapter 12, Part I, Section 6," accessed March 12, 2014
- ↑ Hawaii Revised Statutes, "Chapter 12, Part I, Section 7," accessed March 13, 2014
- ↑ Hawaii Revised Statutes, "Chapter 12, Part I, Section 8," accessed March 13, 2014
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Hawaii Revised Statutes, "Chapter 12, Part IV, Section 41," accessed March 13, 2014
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
- ↑ Legislative Reference Bureau, "Hawaii Constitution, Article III, Section 4," accessed November 1, 2021
