Hawaii's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is represented by Jill Tokuda, who succeeded Kai Kahele after the 2022 election. The district encompasses all rural and most suburban areas of Oahu/Honolulu County, as well as the entire state outside of Oahu. It includes the counties of Kauai, Maui, Kalawao, and Hawaii ("the Big Island"). The district spans 331 miles. The most populous community entirely within the district is Hilo. Major segments of the economy include tourism, ranching, and agriculture.

Under the U.S. Constitution, a candidate for this district has to be a resident of Hawaii, but does not have to live in the district itself. The first non-resident elected to this seat was Ed Case, a Honolulu attorney, though he was born and raised on the Big Island of Hawaii. The home state office of the second congressional district is at the Prince Kuhio Federal Building near Honolulu Harbor.

History

When Hawaii and Alaska were admitted to the Union in 1959, both new states were granted one at-large representative to Congress pending the next United States census. In the reapportionment following the 1960 U.S. census, Hawaii gained a second U.S. representative. Instead of creating two congressional districts, the state continued to elect its U.S. representatives at large. Two representatives were first elected in 1962, and Hawaii was first represented by two U.S. representatives on January 2, 1963, upon the convening of the 88th Congress. The 2nd congressional district was created in 1971 when Hawaii began electing its representatives from districts instead of electing at-large representatives statewide.

The 2nd congressional district has a Cook Partisan Voting Index of D+14. It has supported the Democratic nominee in every presidential election since 1988, and has never elected a Republican U.S. representative. In October 2019, Representative Tulsi Gabbard announced that she would not seek reelection, instead choosing to focus on her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.

In January 2019, Hawaii state senator Kai Kahele announced he would run for the seat in 2020.^[4] Other Democrats who announced were David Cornejo, Brian Evans (a self-described "Berniecrat" who ran for the seat as a Republican in 2018), Noelle Famera, and Ryan Meza. Republicans Joseph Akana and Jonathan Hoomanawanui also announced. Kahele won the Democratic nomination on August 8 and the general election on November 3.

Recent results from statewide races

List of members representing the district

Member	Party	Years	Cong ress	Electoral history	District map
District created January 3, 1971
Patsy Mink (Waipahu)	Democratic	January 3, 1971 — January 3, 1977	92nd 93rd 94th	Redistricted from the at-large district and re-elected in 1970. Re-elected in 1972. Re-elected in 1974. Retired to run for U.S. senator.
Daniel Akaka (Honolulu)	Democratic	January 3, 1977 — May 15, 1990	95th 96th 97th 98th 99th 100th 101st	Elected in 1976. Re-elected in 1978. Re-elected in 1980. Re-elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1984. Re-elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Resigned when appointed U.S. senator.
Vacant		May 15, 1990 — September 22, 1990	101st
Patsy Mink (Waipahu)	Democratic	September 22, 1990 — September 28, 2002	101st 102nd 103rd 104th 105th 106th 107th	Elected to finish Akaka's term. Re-elected in 1990. Re-elected in 1992. Re-elected in 1994. Re-elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Re-elected in 2000. Died. Re-elected posthumously in 2002.
Vacant		September 28, 2002 — November 30, 2002	107th
Ed Case (Honolulu)	Democratic	November 30, 2002 — January 3, 2003		Elected to finish Mink's term in the 107th Congress. Had not been a candidate for the next term.
Vacant		January 3, 2003 — January 4, 2003	108th		2003–2013
Ed Case (Honolulu)	Democratic	January 4, 2003 — January 3, 2007	108th 109th	Elected to finish Mink's term in the 108th Congress. Re-elected in 2004. Retired to run for U.S. senator.
Mazie Hirono (Honolulu)	Democratic	January 3, 2007 — January 3, 2013	110th 111th 112th	Elected in 2006. Re-elected in 2008. Re-elected in 2010. Retired to run for U.S. senator.
Tulsi Gabbard (Honolulu)	Democratic	January 3, 2013 — January 3, 2021	113th 114th 115th 116th	Elected in 2012. Re-elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2016. Re-elected in 2018. Retired to run for U.S. president.	2013–2023
Kai Kahele (Hilo)	Democratic	January 3, 2021 — January 3, 2023	117th	Elected in 2020. Retired to run for Governor of Hawaii.
Jill Tokuda (Kāne'ohe)	Democratic	January 3, 2023 — present	118th	Elected in 2022.	2023–present

Election results

2020

2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Hawaii

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Kai Kahele	172,517	63.0%	14.4
	Republican	Joe Akana	84,027	30.9%	8.3
	Libertarian	Michelle Rose Tippens	6,785	2.5%	2.5
	Aloha ʻĀina	Jonathan Hoomanawanui	6,453	2.4%	2.4
	Independent	Ron Burrus	2,659	1.0%	1.0
	American Shopping	John Giuffre	661	0.2%	0.2
Total votes			273,112	100.0%	N/A
	Democratic hold

Historical district boundaries

2003–2013

2013–2023

See also

• Hawaii's congressional districts
• List of United States congressional districts

References

• Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
• Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
• Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

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