- No Hawaii Senate seat is up for election in 2026. Hawaii's two senators hold Class 3 (Schatz) and Class 1 (Hirono) seats — neither is in the 2026 Class 2 election cycle.
- Brian Schatz (D, Class 3) — appointed 2012 (replacing Daniel Inouye), won full terms in 2014, 2016, and 2022. Re-elected 2022 by +42 pts. Next election: 2028.
- Mazie Hirono (D, Class 1) — first elected 2012, re-elected 2018 and 2024. First Asian American woman and first immigrant elected to the U.S. Senate. Next election: 2030.
- Hawaii is one of the most reliably Democratic states — Harris won it by ~30+ points in 2024. No Republican has won a Hawaii Senate seat since Hiram Fong in 1970.
Brian Schatz: Profile
Brian Schatz is Hawaii’s senior US Senator, appointed in December 2012 by Governor Neil Abercrombie following the death of legendary Senator Daniel Inouye, who had held the seat since 1963. Schatz had previously served as Hawaii’s Lieutenant Governor under Governor Abercrombie and as a state representative. His appointment was somewhat surprising — Inouye had reportedly recommended Colleen Hanabusa to succeed him — but Schatz quickly won a full term in 2014 and has won re-election by large margins since.
Schatz has built his national profile around two signature issues: climate change and indigenous Hawaiian rights. He is one of the Senate’s most visible advocates for aggressive climate policy and has pushed for major clean energy investments in federal legislation, including the Inflation Reduction Act’s climate provisions. He serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee, giving him significant influence over federal spending that flows to Hawaii, including military infrastructure funding for Pearl Harbor and the Pacific Command complex. He is also a member of the Senate Commerce Committee.
Hawaii is one of the most reliably Democratic states in the nation. No Republican has won a Senate seat in Hawaii since Hiram Fong in 1964 (re-elected 1970). The state has a unique demographic profile — no racial majority, large Asian-American and Native Hawaiian populations — and consistently delivers some of the largest Democratic margins in the country. In 2022, Schatz won by more than 42 percentage points. His next election is in 2028 and is expected to be a foregone conclusion given Hawaii's structural Democratic lean.
Historical Results
| Year | Democrat | D % | Republican | R % | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2028 | Brian Schatz (inc.) | ~70% | TBD Republican | ~27% | D +43 (projected) |
| 2022 | Brian Schatz (inc.) | 71.2% | Bob McDermott | 28.8% | D +42.4 |
| 2016 | Brian Schatz (inc.) | 73.6% | John Carroll | 26.4% | D +47.2 |
| 2014 | Brian Schatz (inc.) | 69.4% | Cam Cavasso | 26.7% | D +42.7 |
Key Issues
Climate Change & Sea Level Rise
Hawaii is one of the states most vulnerable to climate change — rising sea levels threaten coastal infrastructure, coral reef bleaching damages the tourism economy, and increased hurricane activity poses existential risks to the island chain. Schatz has made climate legislation his signature issue and has been a leading Senate voice for clean energy investment and carbon reduction targets.
Native Hawaiian Rights
Schatz has been a consistent advocate for Native Hawaiian rights, including federal recognition of Native Hawaiians as an indigenous people, protections for sacred sites and cultural practices, and equitable federal funding for Native Hawaiian programs. The Mauna Kea telescope controversy — which pits scientific development against indigenous sacred land — is a recurring flashpoint that Schatz has navigated carefully.
Military & Pacific Security
Hawaii is the headquarters of US Indo-Pacific Command and home to Pearl Harbor Naval Station, Hickam Air Force Base, and Schofield Barracks. The military is one of Hawaii’s largest economic sectors. Schatz supports robust Pacific military investment as a counterweight to Chinese expansion while also pushing for environmental cleanup of military contamination, including the Red Hill fuel spill that contaminated Oahu’s water supply.
2026 Senate Race Context & National Outlook
The 2026 midterm elections are taking place in an environment shaped by significant economic uncertainty. Trump's Liberation Day tariffs triggered a consumer confidence collapse and PCE inflation surged to 4.5% in Q1 2026. The Trump approval rating stands at 38.1% approve / 59.2% disapprove — among the lowest for any first-year president since modern polling began. The Generic Ballot shows Democrats with a consistent +6.0 advantage, a historically predictive indicator of significant House seat gains.
In the Senate, 33 Class 2 seats are up in 2026. Republicans must defend seats in Georgia, Iowa, North Carolina, Alaska, and Texas, while Democrats defend Nevada, New Hampshire, Michigan, Minnesota, and Virginia. Key battleground races that will determine Senate control include Georgia (Jon Ossoff, D), Iowa (open seat, Ernst retires), Nevada (Jacky Rosen, D), and Alaska (Lisa Murkowski, R). The full Senate map is at the Senate 2026 overview.
Issue-level polling context: The top issues driving 2026 are the economy and tariffs, healthcare, immigration, and Social Security. See the Battleground Tracker for the latest state-level polling and the Trump Policy Tracker for executive action context.
