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The 1959 United States Senate elections in Hawaii were held on July 28, 1959, to elect the first two United States senators from the newly admitted state of Hawaii. The elections were held during the transition from territorial government to statehood, after Congress approved the Hawaii Admission Act and Hawaii voters approved statehood in a June 27 plebiscite. Hawaii became the 50th state on August 21, 1959.[1][2]
The two elections were split between the major parties. Republican Hiram Fong defeated Democrat Frank Fasi for the Class 1 seat, while Democrat Oren E. Long defeated Republican Wilfred Tsukiyama and Commonwealth Party candidate Eugene G. Ressencourt for the Class 3 seat. Fong and Long were sworn in on August 24, 1959, and then drew lots for class assignments: Fong drew Class 1, with a term expiring January 3, 1965, and Long drew Class 3, with a term expiring January 3, 1963.[2]
Fong's victory made him the first Asian American elected to the U.S. Senate and the first person of Chinese ancestry elected to Congress.[3]: 328–331 Together with Democrat Daniel Inouye, who was elected the same day as Hawaii's first member of the United States House of Representatives, the election brought the first Chinese American and the first Japanese American members to Congress.: 321–322
Background
[edit source]Hawaii had been an organized U.S. territory since 1900. Congress passed the Hawaii statehood bill in March 1959, and President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed it on March 18. Hawaii voters approved statehood on June 27, 1959, and the first state elections were scheduled for July 28, less than one month later.[2]
The elections were held at the same time as Hawaii's first state elections for governor, lieutenant governor, the state legislature, and the state's single U.S. House seat. Contemporary observers regarded the two Senate elections as part of a larger test of the new state's party system. The Democratic Party had led the postwar political realignment known as the Democratic Revolution of 1954, but Republicans remained competitive in statewide contests. In the 1959 state elections, Republican William F. Quinn won the governorship, Republican James Kealoha won the lieutenant governorship, and Republicans won control of the state senate, while Democrats won the U.S. House seat and retained control of the state house.[5]: 161–165 : 321–322
Race and representation were also central to contemporary discussion of the election. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported in June that the strength of several candidates of Asian ancestry made it likely that Hawaii would send the first Asian American members to Congress.[6] Later scholarship has described the election of Fong and Inouye as a nationally visible moment in the history of Asian American political representation.[7]: 234–235
Class 1
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_election_in_Hawaii_results_map_by_county.svg&mode=clean) County Results_election_in_Hawaii_results_map_by_house_district.svg&mode=clean) State House District ResultsFong: 50–60% 60–70% Fasi: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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Candidates
[edit source]Democratic primary
[edit source]Frank F. Fasi, a territorial senator from Oahu, won the Democratic nomination for Seat A. His principal opponent was former territorial senator William H. Heen, a veteran legislator who had served for decades in territorial politics. The primary campaign included attacks over age, experience, and temperament. Heen criticized Fasi as too "juvenile" and lacking the dignity required to represent Hawaii in Washington, while Fasi implied that Heen, then 76, was too old for the office.[8] Fasi's primary victory was widely treated as an upset.[9]
Fasi campaigned on a broad program that included the release of federal lands not needed for defense, higher sugar quotas, increased federal aid, an international college at the University of Hawaii, expanded harbor development, a space travel base in Hawaii, and changes to immigration and citizenship laws.[10] At a campaign kickoff dinner in May, he called for Hawaii to act as a "diplomatic State" and as a bridge between East and West.[11]
Republican nomination
[edit source]Hiram Fong, a former speaker of the territorial House of Representatives, received the Republican nomination. Fong had been out of elective office since losing his territorial legislative seat in 1954 and had built Finance Factors and related businesses into a substantial financial enterprise. His 1959 campaign drew support from business interests, Chinese American voters, and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), whose endorsement of a Republican candidate was unusual but was partly attributed to the union's opposition to Fasi.[3]: 330–331 : 320–321
Fong campaigned as the "Man of the Pacific" and emphasized Hawaii's connection to Asia and the Pacific. A July newspaper profile described him as a Kalihi-born lawyer and businessman whose early life included shining shoes, delivering poi, and selling algaroba beans before attending the University of Hawaii and Harvard Law School.[12]
Campaign
[edit source]The Fong–Fasi race was regarded as one of the closest statewide contests in the final days before the election. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported on July 28 that the race was considered a toss-up, with Fasi having started as the early favorite after his primary victory over Heen, but Fong having drawn even during the final week of the campaign.[13]
The campaign also included a dispute over a proposed public debate. Fasi challenged Fong to a one-hour televised debate, while Fong said Fasi had backed down after learning the cost. Fasi denied that he was avoiding the debate, saying that he had proposed it.[14]
Fasi received symbolic support from national Democrats. Fifteen Democratic senators elected in 1958 contributed $50 each, for a total of $750, to the campaigns of Fasi and Oren E. Long.[15] Fong, meanwhile, benefited from ILWU support and from the late Republican trend identified by political scientist Dan W. Tuttle after the election.[16]
Results
[edit source]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Hiram Fong | 87,161 | 52.89 | |
| Democratic | Frank Fasi | 77,647 | 47.11 | |
| Total votes | 164,808 | 100.00 | ||
| Republican gain from New seat | ||||
Fong defeated Fasi by 9,514 votes. After conceding, Fasi told supporters that Democrats would return in 1960 and that the party's efforts were "just beginning".[18]
Class 3
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_election_in_Hawaii_results_map_by_county.svg&mode=clean) Long: 50–60% Tsukiyama: 40–50% 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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Candidates
[edit source]Democratic nomination
[edit source]Oren E. Long, a former territorial governor and territorial senator, won the Democratic nomination for Seat B. Long had also served as Hawaii's superintendent of public instruction and secretary of the Territory of Hawaii.[19] According to later accounts, Long's candidacy was understood within the Democratic Party as a temporary one, allowing Daniel Inouye to run for the House in 1959 and then seek the Senate seat in 1962.[5]: 178–179
Republican nomination
[edit source]Wilfred C. Tsukiyama, a former president of the territorial Senate and a Honolulu lawyer, was the Republican nominee. Tsukiyama was born in Honolulu to Japanese immigrant parents and had attended McKinley High School, the University of Chicago, and Northwestern University Law School. He had served as Honolulu city attorney, in the territorial Senate, and in the U.S. Army during World War II.[20]
Tsukiyama emphasized both national issues and Hawaii's role in the Pacific. Early in the campaign, he said that Hawaii's senators would have to handle local, national, and international issues and that Hawaii should seek the return of as much Oahu military land as possible from the federal government.[10] In a July profile, he argued that the election of a senator of Asian ancestry from Hawaii would have symbolic importance in Asia and the South Pacific.[20]
Campaign
[edit source]Unlike the Fong–Fasi race, the Long–Tsukiyama contest was generally viewed before election day as leaning Democratic. A July 28 newspaper analysis stated that Long was strongly favored, although Tsukiyama had recently narrowed the gap.[13]
Tsukiyama's campaign argued that Long's low-key style made him difficult to oppose. At a Republican coffee-hour event in July, Tsukiyama said that he could not attack a person who was "mute", adding that he would have preferred to run against Fasi because Fasi was a more aggressive campaigner.[21] Later in the campaign, Tsukiyama said Long had previously praised him as well qualified to represent Hawaii in Congress, and he contrasted Long's Kansas origins with his own status as a native son of Hawaii.[22]
Results
[edit source]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Oren E. Long | 83,700 | 51.08 | |
| Republican | Wilfred Tsukiyama | 79,123 | 48.28 | |
| Commonwealth | Eugene G. Ressencourt | 1,052 | 0.64 | |
| Total votes | 163,875 | 100.00 | ||
| Democratic gain from New seat | ||||
Long defeated Tsukiyama by 4,577 votes. After the election, Governor William F. Quinn appointed Tsukiyama as the first chief justice of the newly created Hawaii Supreme Court.: 321
Aftermath and significance
[edit source]Fong and Long were sworn in on August 24, 1959, three days after Hawaii formally became a state. The two senators then drew lots to determine their Senate classes: Fong received Class 1 and Long received Class 3.[2] Fong served until 1977 and remained the only Republican ever elected to the U.S. Senate from Hawaii.[3]: 328–333 Long served until 1963, when he was succeeded by Daniel Inouye.
The election has been described by historians as a mixed, bipartisan result. Republicans won the governorship, lieutenant governorship, one of the two Senate seats, and control of the state senate; Democrats won the other Senate seat, the state's U.S. House seat, and control of the state house.: 321–322 Political scientist Dan W. Tuttle attributed several Democratic defeats to a late Republican trend, while noting that Inouye's House victory was not affected by it.[16]
References
[edit source]- ↑ "Hawaii Statehood, August 21, 1959". National Archives. U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved May 30, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 "States in the Senate: Hawaii Timeline". United States Senate. Retrieved May 30, 2026.
- 1 2 3 Asian and Pacific Islander Americans in Congress, 1900–2017 (PDF). U.S. Government Publishing Office. 2018.
- 1 2 Boylan, Dan; T. Michael Holmes (2000). John A. Burns: The Man and His Times. University of Hawaiʻi Press.
- ↑ Horio, Don (June 5, 1959). "Hawaii Election Expected to Send First Oriental to U.S. Congress". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. p. 1-A.
- ↑ Wu, Ellen D. (2014). The Color of Success: Asian Americans and the Origins of the Model Minority. Princeton University Press.
- ↑ "Fasi, Heen Enliven Race". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. June 28, 1959.
- ↑ "Hawaii plebiscite passes 17-1; 58 AJAs win in primaries" (PDF). Pacific Citizen. Vol. 49, no. 1. July 3, 1959. p. 1. Retrieved May 30, 2026.
- 1 2 "2 of 6 U.S. Senate Candidates List Campaign Issues". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. May 19, 1959.
- ↑ "Fasi Calls for Lands Release". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. May 17, 1959. p. A9.
- ↑ Zalburg, Sanford (July 19, 1959). "Meet the Senator: Hiram L. Fong". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. p. A21.
- 1 2 Casey, Brian (July 28, 1959). "3 Races Puzzle Political Pundits". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. p. A9.
- ↑ "Fong, Fasi Debate Agreement to Debate". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. July 23, 1959. p. 23.
- ↑ "15 U.S. Democratic Senators Give $750 for Fasi, Long". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. July 23, 1959. p. 23.
- 1 2 "Tuttle Explains Variations In Poll Figures, Returns". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. July 29, 1959. p. 1-G.
- 1 2 "1959 Elections Showed no Major Trends". CQ Almanac. CQ Press. Retrieved May 30, 2026.
- ↑ "Fasi Says 'Democrats Will Be Back'". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. July 29, 1959. p. 1-D.
- ↑ Zalburg, Sanford (July 26, 1959). "Here's Hawaii's First U.S. Senator: Oren E. Long". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. p. B7.
- 1 2 Zalburg, Sanford (July 26, 1959). "Here's Hawaii's First U.S. Senator: Wilfred C. Tsukiyama". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. p. B7.
- ↑ "Johnston Asks for Comparison Of G.O.P., Democratic Candidates". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. July 8, 1959. p. 16.
- ↑ "Tsukiyama Again Claims He's Backed by Opponent". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. July 25, 1959. p. A4.