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With all , Democrats dominated Republicans and independents in all but six of the 48 contested seats for the Hawaii Legislature.

They include Laura Thielen, who beat Fred Hemmings 57 percent to 39 percent in the race for the District 25 Senate seat (Hawaii Kai, Kailua, Waiamanalo).

Same goes for House Speaker Calvin Say, who took 55 percent of the vote compared with 30 percent for Green Party candidate Keiko Bonk and 11 percent for Republican Julia Allen in the District 20 seat that represents Palolo and St. Louis Heights.

Overall, Senate Democrats retained their 24-1 majority while House Democrats kept their large majority despite eventually losing some close races that had still been unclear late into the evening.

Key Contests

One Republican incumbent who won re-election was Sam Slom. In the Senate District 9 seat that runs from Hawaii Kai to Kahala, Slom crushed Democrat Kurt Lajala 55 percent to 36 percent.

But another Republican, Jeremy Low, lost to Democrat Rep. Mark Hashem 36 percent to 56 percent. The District 18 House seat was redistricted, and incumbent Barbara Marumoto, the longtime GOP incumbent, chose not to seek another term.

GOP incumbent Rep. George Fontaine lost to Democrat Kaniela Ing in the race for the South Maui District 11 seat, 35 percent to 61 percent.

Republican incumbent Corinne Ching also lost to her Democrat challenger, Takashi Ohno, 41 to 56 percent.

But Republicans did have some bright spots.

Richard Fale defeated Democrat Ululani Beirne 54 percent to 39 percent in the District 47 seat on Oahu’s North Shore.

In one of the big upsets of the night, veteran Democrat Rep. Marilyn Lee lost to Republican Beth Fukumoto 51-46 percent in the District 35 seat in the Mililani area.

Republican Bob McDermott returned to legislative office with a narrow win over Democrat Chris Manabat, 49-47 percent.

In another tight race, Republican Lauren Cheape beat Democrat Jake Bradshaw 49-47 percent in the District 45 race on Oahu.