Hawaii

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Democrats swept to victory in the major races in Hawaii, with President Obama easily carrying the state where he grew up, while Representative Mazie K. Hirono defeated Linda Lingle, a former Republican governor, in the Senate race.

Mr. Obama’s victory in the state was never in doubt. But just a few months ago, Republicans had targeted the Senate seat that is being vacated by retiring Senator Daniel K. Akaka as a potential pickup for the party. Ms. Lingle, a supporter of abortion rights and a moderate Republican, was a strong crossover candidate in this staunchly Democratic state. Well financed, with strong support from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Ms. Lingle created a television channel this year that played her ads, speeches and endorsements 24 hours a day. And she had already defeated her Democratic opponent, Ms. Hirono, once before, in the 2002 race for governor.

But Ms. Hirono’s built-in advantage, as a Democrat in a state that has not elected a Republican to the Senate in more than four decades, proved too much for Ms. Lingle to overcome.

In Honolulu, Kirk Caldwell defeated Benjamin J. Cayetano, a former governor, in a fierce race for mayor that many voters saw as a referendum on a contentious rail project on the island of Oahu. Mr. Caldwell, a former acting mayor of Honolulu, was a supporter of the project, while Mr. Cayetano had vowed to try to stop construction of the rail line.

Construction on the project began in February but was halted in August after the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that the project had not been adequately planned.