Hawaiʻi has lost one of its most influential political figures, a loss felt across both parties in the islands.

• Pat Saiki, the first Republican and second woman Hawaiʻi sent to Congress, has died at 96.
• She helped pass the law granting payments to Japanese Americans held in World War II internment camps.
• She also pushed to end bomb testing on Kahoʻolawe and later ran the Small Business Administration under George H.W. Bush.
• In that federal role she steered recovery money to Hawaiʻi businesses wrecked by Hurricane Iniki.
• She kept mentoring young Republican candidates into the 2024 election, arguing Hawaiʻi needed a real two-party system.

Outlook: Flags fly at half-staff through Monday, with memorial services still to be announced.