It was unfortunate that by the time Hawaii became a state, it was already trending hard-left Democrat (Dan Inouye had participated in the 1954 “Revolution” which flipped the HI House from GOP to Democrat, for which has never gone back).
The GOP only got 1 Senate seat out of it in the 1959 statehood special elections (Chinese-American Hiram Fong), and narrowly lost (51-48%) the other seat (Japanese-American Republican Wilfred C. Tsukiyama to Haole Democrat ex-Gov. Oren Long). Leftist Dem Dan Inouye kept the sole House seat and handily took the Senate seat in 1962 when Oren Long stepped down and remained in office for the next 50 years.
Daniel Inouye would respond to his critics with,
“Don’t you dare criticize me! I was in an internment camp! Racist!”