Hawaii's 2nd congressional district

Hawaii's 2nd congressional district
Current Representative		Mazie Hirono (D)
Population (2000)	604,819
Median income	$48,686
Ethnicity	29.8% White, 1.6% Black, 28.8% Asian, 9.0% Hispanic, 0.4% Native American, 13.5% other
Cook PVI	D+14

The Second Congressional District of Hawaii is a Congressional district in the State of Hawaii, officially established in 1977, created when Hawaii started using two representative districts instead of electing two at-large Representatives. From January 2, 1963, to the creation of the district, the state of Hawaii was represented in the United States House of Representatives with two Congressmen voted to at-large seats. Prior to January 2, 1963, the state of Hawaii had only one seat in the House. However, both Hawaii and Alaska had been granted one Representative upon admission in 1959. Then, from the results of the 1960 U.S. Census, it was found that Hawaii was entitled to two Representatives. The first time that this change could be implemented was with the November 1962 national election, at which time Hawaii elected two Representatives. They were sworn in at the U.S. Capitol Building on January 2, 1963, and took their offices then.

Geography

The district encompasses all rural and most suburban areas administered by the City & County of Honolulu in the Windward, North Shore, Central, and Leeward regions of Oahu as well as areas administered by the Kauai County, Maui County, and Hawaii County. The entire Second District spans 331 miles and it is composed of towns, villages, and rural areas, plus the city of Hilo, Hawaii, with historical roots in the pineapple and sugarcane plantations, plus ranching, and tourism.

Political demography

The incumbent President George W. Bush received just 44% of the vote in this district in 2004, with most of the remainder going to his Democratic Party opponent. The district has a Cook Partisan Voting Index score of D +14.

In 2008, the Democrat and Hawaii native Barack Obama carried this district overwhelmingly.

Residency requirement

Based on the Laws of Hawaii^{[citation needed]}, a candidate to represent this district does not necessarily have to be a resident of it. The first non-resident to be elected to this House seat was Ed Case, a Honolulu attorney, though Case was born and raised on the Big Island of Hawaii). The home state office of the Second Congressional District is at the Prince Kuhio Federal Building near Honolulu Harbor.

List of representatives

The district was created in 1973.

Representative	Party	Years	District home	Note
Spark Matsunaga	Democratic	January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1977		Redistricted from one of the two At-large seats.
Daniel Akaka	Democratic	January 3, 1977 – May 15, 1990		Resigned when appointed to the U.S. Senate
Vacant		May 16, 1990 – September 21, 1990
Patsy Mink	Democratic	September 22, 1990 – September 28, 2002		Died
Vacant		September 29, 2002 – November 29, 2002
Ed Case	Democratic	November 30, 2002 – January 3, 2007		Chose to run for the higher office of U.S. Senator
Mazie Hirono	Democratic	January 3, 2007 – Present		Incumbent