A native of American Samoa, Mike Gabbard, has been elected to the Hawaii state senate, making him the first person of Samoan ancestry to serve in the Hawaii legislature.
Mr Gabbard won the election over retired Honolulu police captain George Yamamoto, receiving 56 percent of votes cast and has since been selected to be Minority Policy Leader.
A former teacher in American Samoa he also served as guidance counselor and assistant dean of instruction at the American Samoa Community College.
