Despite 65 seats up for election Nov. 8 in the Hawaii Legislature, only a handful of races are expected to be even remotely competitive in this Democrat-dominated state.
Twenty-five candidates are unopposed and six Democrats have no Republican challenger, making them likely shoo-ins given that the Libertarian and Green parties have never won a state legislative seat.
In other races, incumbents are facing first-time candidates who lack campaign funds and name recognition.
There are a few contests worth watching, however.
Republican Rep. Beth Fukumoto Chang is trying to fend off a challenge from former Democratic state Rep. Marilyn Lee — again.
It’ll be the third time they’ve battled each other to represent Mililani in the Legislature.
Lee held the seat from 1996 until she lost to Fukumoto Chang in 2012 by less than 5 percentage points. Fukumoto Chang was re-elected in 2014 by a 2-1 margin.
Fukumoto Chang, the House minority leader, has shown herself to be a moderate Republican who works well with the Democratic majority — something her fellow Republicans have not always welcomed.
She caught significant flak in May during Hawaii’s Republican state convention for not supporting Donald Trump. She said she was concerned about his racist and sexist remarks.
Some called on her to resign or switch parties as former House Minority Leader Aaron Ling Johanson did shortly after he was elected as a Republican in 2014. But Fukumoto Chang has said she’s staying put for now.
She is one of just seven Republicans in the 51-member House, and not the only one whose seat could change hands.
Rep. Andria Tupola, pursuing her second two-year term representing District 43 on Oahu’s west side, is up against Democrat Stacelynn Eli, who defeated former Rep. Karen Awana in the August primary.
Tupola won the seat in 2014 against Awana, who resigned from her House leadership position a year earlier while facing thousands of dollars in fines for campaign-finance violations.
In the Senate, Republican Sam Slom is fighting to fend off Democrat Stanley Chang, a former Honolulu City Council member who is hoping to unseat the longtime Hawaii Kai lawmaker.
If Slom loses, the 25-member Senate would become the first one-party chamber in the nation since 1980, according to the .
Slom, who has held the District 9 seat since 1996, has often provided the lone conservative voice in the Senate. While different views exist among the Democrats, they are debated less publicly than when Slom dissents on a bill or other matter before the chamber.
The district’s voters have two distinct choices for who they want to represent them the next four years.
Slom has long pushed for limited government and lower taxes while Chang has promoted progressive values ranging from increased funding for public schools to equal rights for gay couples.
In another interesting Senate race, Democrat-turned-Republican Rod Tam is running for an open seat against Democratic Rep. Karl Rhoads and Libertarian Harry Ozols.
Tam served two days in jail in 2011 for stealing city funds and violating campaign finance laws as a Honolulu City Council member, but state Republican Party officials welcomed him as their candidate nonetheless and say he deserves a fresh start.
The District 13 seat opened up when Sen. Suzanne Chun Oakland, who’d represented the downtown Honolulu area since 1990, announced in May that she would not be seeking another term.
Rhoads later announced his intent to leave the House after 10 years, where he chaired the powerful Judiciary Committee, for a chance to move over to the Senate. He bested two Democratic opponents in the primary.
The Legislature is guaranteed to see at least three new faces after this election.
Democrat Daniel Holt or Republican Kaiwiola Coakley will be representing House District 29, the downtown seat Rhoads gave up to run for Senate.
And it will be either Democrat Cedric Gates or Republican Marc Pa’aluhi in the District 44 position representing Waianae and west Oahu. Democratic Rep. Jo Jordan was the only incumbent to lose in the August primary.
Gates’ candidacy was subsequently challenged because he was not technically a formal member of the Democratic Party, having run as a Green Party candidate in 2014. But Democratic Party officials, while acknowledging “procedural or bureaucratic errors,” ultimately offered him membership earlier this month.
Also in the House, Democrat Nadine Nakamura or Republican Sandi Combs will fill the District  14 seat covering east Kauai. Rep. Derek Kawakami opted to run for the County Council instead of seeking another term.
Stay plugged in to campaigns and candidates this election season with Civil Beat’s Hawaii Elections Guide 2016, your source for information on federal, state and local elections.
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About the Author
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Nathan Eagle is a deputy editor for Civil Beat. You can reach him by email at neagle@civilbeat.org or follow him on Twitter at , Facebook and Instagram .