The 1959 United States Senate elections in Hawaii were held July 28, 1959. Following the admission of Hawaii as the fiftieth State in the union, the state held two simultaneous elections to determine their first senators.

The elections were split between the Republican and Democratic parties. The new senators took office August 21. Oren E. Long was given seniority based on his service as Governor of Hawaii. Hiram Fong became the first Asian American U.S. senator and the first Senator to be born outside of the contiguous United States.

Class 1

1959 class 1 Senate election
 
Nominee Hiram Fong Frank Fasi
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 87,161 77,647
Percentage 52.89% 47.11%
Fong:      50–60%      60–70%
Elected U.S. senator

Hiram Fong
Republican

This election was for the class 1 term expiring in 1965. It was won by Republican Hiram Fong.

General election

Candidates

  • Frank Fasi, Territorial Senator (Democratic)
  • Hiram Fong, former member of the Territorial Legislature (Republican)

Results

1959 United States Senate election in Hawaii (class 1)[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Hiram Fong 87,161 52.89%
Democratic Frank Fasi 77,647 47.11%
Total votes 164,808 100.00%

Class 3

1959 class 3 Senate election
 
Nominee Oren Long Wilfred Tsukiyama
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 83,700 79,123
Percentage 51.08% 48.28%
Long:      50–60%
Tsukiyama:      40–50%      50–60%
Elected U.S. senator

Oren Long
Democratic

This election was for the Class 3 term expiring in 1963. It was won by Democrat Oren Long, who started an as-of-yet uninterrupted streak of Democratic victories in the Class 3 Senate seat in Hawaii. As of 2022, Tsukiyama's loss by a 2.8 point margin is the closest Republicans have come to winning this seat.

General election

Candidates

  • Oren Long, former territorial Governor of Hawaii (Democratic)
  • Eugene Ressencourt (Commonwealth)
  • Wilfred Tsukiyama, former President of the Territorial Senate (Republican)

Results

1959 United States Senate election in Hawaii (class 3)[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Oren 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%

Following Long's victory, Governor William F. Quinn appointed Tsukiyama to the Hawaii Supreme Court.

References

  1. ↑ "Our Campaigns - HI US Senate Race - Jul 28, 1959". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Our Campaigns - HI US Senate Race - Jul 28, 1959". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved June 18, 2020.


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