| Year | Republican | Democratic |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 26.58% 120,446 | 71.85% 325,588 |
| 2004 | 45.26% 194,191 | 54.01% 231,708 |
| 2000 | 37.46% 137,845 | 55.79% 205,286 |
| 1996 | 31.64% 113,943 | 56.93% 205,012 |
| 1992 | 36.70% 136,822 | 48.09% 179,310 |
| 1988 | 44.75% 158,625 | 54.27% 192,364 |
| 1984 | 55.10% 185,050 | 43.82% 147,154 |
| 1980 | 42.90% 130,112 | 44.80% 135,879 |
| 1976 | 48.06% 140,003 | 50.59% 147,375 |
| 1972 | 62.48% 168,865 | 37.52% 101,409 |
| 1968 | 38.70% 91,425 | 59.83% 141,324 |
| 1964 | 21.24% 44,022 | 78.76% 163,249 |
| 1960 | 49.97% 92,295 | 50.03% 92,410 |
The state government of Hawaii is modeled after the federal government with adaptations originating from the kingdom era of Hawaiian history. As codified in the Constitution of Hawaii, there are three branches of government: executive, legislative and judicial.
The executive branch is led by the Governor of Hawaii and assisted by the Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii, both elected on the same ticket. The governor, in residence at the grounds of Washington Place, is the only public official elected for the state government in a statewide race; all other administrators and judges are appointed by the governor. The lieutenant governor is concurrently the Secretary of State of Hawaii. Both the governor and lieutenant governor administer their duties from the Hawaii State Capitol. The governor and lieutenant governor oversee the major agencies and departments of the executive of which there are twenty.
The legislative branch consists of the Hawaii State Legislature—the twenty-five members of the Hawaii Senate led by the President of the Senate and the fifty-one members of the Hawaii House of Representatives led by the Speaker of the House. They also govern from the Hawaii State Capitol. The judicial branch is led by the highest state court, the Hawaii State Supreme Court, which uses Aliiolani Hale (Aliʻiōlani Hale) as its chambers. Lower courts are organized as the Hawai'i State Judiciary.
The state is represented in the United States Congress by a delegation of four members. They are the senior and junior United States Senators, the representative of Hawaii's 1st congressional district and the representative of Hawaii's 2nd congressional district. Many Hawaii residents have been appointed to administer other agencies and departments of the federal government by the President of the United States. All federal officers of Hawaii administer their duties locally from the Prince Kuhio Federal Building (Kūhiō) near the Aloha Tower and Honolulu Harbor.
Hawaii has supported Democrats in 10 of the 12 presidential elections in which it has participated with the exception of 1972 and 1984. In 2004, John Kerry won the state’s 4 electoral votes by a margin of 9 percentage points with 54% of the vote. Every county in the state supported the Democratic candidate. In 1964, favorite son candidate, Senator Hiram Fong of Hawaii sought the presidential nomination of the Republican Party while Patsy Mink ran in the Oregon primary in 1972.
Honolulu native Barack Obama, serving as United States Senator from Illinois, was elected President of the United States on November 4, 2008 and sworn into office January 20th, 2009. Obama had earlier won the Hawaiian Democratic Caucus on February 19, 2008 with 76% of the vote. Obama was the third Hawaii-born candidate to seek the nomination of a major party and the first presidential nominee to be from Hawaii.
The Prince Kuhio Federal Building also houses agencies of the federal government such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service and the United States Secret Service. The building is the site of the federal courts and the offices of the United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii, principal police officer of the United States Department of Justice in the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii.
Unique to Hawaii is the way it has organized its municipal governments. There are no incorporated cities in Hawaii except Honolulu County. All other municipal governments are administered at the county level. The county executives are the Mayor of Hawaii, Mayor of Honolulu, Mayor of Kauai and Mayor of Maui. All mayors in the state are elected in nonpartisan races.
The officers of the federal and state governments have been historically elected from the Democratic Party of Hawaii and the Hawaii Republican Party. Municipal charters in the state have declared all mayors to be elected in nonpartisan races.