You may not know this, and I only learned of it this last year, but Hawaii is only a state because of a bargain struck with Democrats in congress.
It seems that Alaska had met the requirements to be designated a state, but the Democrats were loath to allow the addition of another Republican state to the Union because that would upset the balance of Senators and Representatives against their favor.
Republicans worked a compromise with them to admit heavily Democrat Hawaii at the same time as Alaska so that Democrats would not be so negatively affected by the addition of another two Republican Senators.
Isn't it nice how our Parties can work so closely together to make sure they keep the status quo the way they like it?
Hawaii shouldn't have been a state, and wouldn't have been were it not for this "compromise".
Hawaii wasn't heavily Democrat back then. Territorial Hawaii had long been dominated by White Yankees.
Hawaii sent a Republican, Hiram Fong, to the Senate. It was Alaska that sent all Democrats to Washington.
It was only after the Japanese got involved in politics in a big way that Hawaii was reliably Democrat. But people didn't know that back in 1959-1960
You’ve got that backwards. Alaska was the solid Democrat territory (had not elected a GOP Delegate since 1930, and would not elect a House Republican until 1966 or to the Senate until 1968, and that only because the incumbent Dem died and Ted Stevens was appointed to the vacancy).
Hawaii (until the 1950s) was Republican and except for one instance in 1932, didn’t elect a Democrat Delegate from 1924 until 1956. Republicans didn’t want AK admitted and Democrats (especially Southern Dems) didn’t want Hawaii sending Asian Republicans.