Mazie Hirono wins Hawaii Senate primary, setting Dems up for much-needed November win

Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, easily won her primary race on Saturday, setting Democrats up for a likely victory in November.

She was up against Clyde Lewman, a wood products salesman, and Ron Curtis, a retired engineer. 

Curtis was last up against Hirono in 2018 as the Republican nominee for her Senate seat. He lost to the incumbent Democrat by about 29% to 71%. 

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He also challenged Rep. Ed Case, D-Hawaii, for his House seat in 2020, but lost by similar margins.

Hirono, a progressive, is seeking a third six-year term representing the majority-left-wing island state.

The Japan-born U.S. senator is the favorite to win Hawaii’s general election later this year. But her victory will be much welcomed among Democrats as they fight what could be an uphill battle to keep their razor-thin majority in the Senate.

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Her 2024 campaign brought in more than $3 million in individual donations, according to campaign finance data. The Federal Election Commission site did not have records of her opponents’ fundraising.

Hirono was the lieutenant governor of Hawaii before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where she served three terms prior to her 2012 run for Senate.

Hawaii’s congressional delegation, two senators and two House members, is fully Democratic.

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The state’s governor’s office and both houses of its state legislature are also controlled by Democrats.

Democrats are likely to pad their numbers with Hirono's expected victory in November in a Senate map where they're at risk of losing critical races elsewhere, including ruby-red West Virginia.