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 Hawai?i, there are three branches of government: executive, legislative and judicial.

The executive branch is led by the Governor of Hawai?i and assisted by the Lieutenant Governor of Hawai?i, both elected on the same ticket. The governor, in residence at 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 Hawai?i. Both the governor and lieutenant governor administer their duties from the Hawai?i 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 Hawai?i State Legislature - the twenty-five members of the Hawai?i State Senate led by the President of the Senate and the fifty-one members of the Hawai?i State House of Representatives led by the Speaker of the House. They also govern from the Hawai?i State Capitol. The judicial branch is led by the highest state court, the Hawai?i State Supreme Court, which uses Ali?iolani Hale as its chambers. Lower courts are organized as the Hawai?i State Judiciary.

The state is represented in the Congress of the United States by a delegation of four members. They are the senior and junior United States Senators, the representative of the First Congressional District of Hawai?i and the representative of the Second Congressional District of Hawai?i. Many Hawai?i 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 Hawai?i administer their duties locally from the Prince Kuhio Federal Building near the Aloha Tower and Honolulu Harbor.

Hawaii is primarily dominated by the Democratic Party and has supported Democrats in 10 of the 12 presidential elections in which it has participated. 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.

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 law enforcement officer of the United States Department of Justice in the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii.

Unique to Hawai?i is the way it has organized its municipal governments. There are no incorporated cities in Hawai?i except the City and County of Honolulu. All other municipal governments are administered at the county level. The county executives are the Mayor of Hawai?i, Mayor of Honolulu, Mayor of Kaua?i 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 Hawai?i and the Hawai?i Republican Party. Municipal charters in the state have declared all mayors to be elected in nonpartisan races.