Hawaii: Deep Blue Islands in the Deep Blue Sea
Democrats dominate the islands.
Topline Takeaways
Hawaii’s redistricting process is governed by a nine-member commission of appointed politicians.
The new congressional districts are almost identical to the previous ones.
Republicans had virtually no chance of picking up a new seat here (or even creating a competitive seat) as there’s simply no way to draw a district that would lean Republican.
Who’s In Control?
Hawaii’s redistricting process is governed by a nine-member commission of appointed politicians. The majority and minority leaders of both state houses each select two members of their choice. A ninth “tie-breaker” member is then selected by the eight originally appointed members. The commission then draws and votes on new district maps.
District Breakdown
Democrats have dominated in Hawaii throughout the islands’ statehood. In the 66 House elections held in Hawaii since achieving statehood in 1959, Democrats have won 63 of those races. Of the 16 presidential elections its participated in, Hawaii has only voted for a Republican candidate twice. Republicans had virtually no chance of picking up a new seat here (or even creating a competitive seat) as there’s simply no way to draw a district that would lean Republican. As a result, Hawaii’s congressional districts saw almost no changes in this redistricting cycle: the only shift was seen in a small corner of Oahu that was moved out of HI-1 into HI-2.