Republicans have selected Sen. Samantha DeCorte to be their new Senate minority leader after Sen. Brenton Awa left the party to become an independent.
The GOP is now down to two members in the 25-seat chamber, DeCorte and Bob McDermott, who was elected Tuesday to represent ʻEwa Beach..
McDermott said the two agreed that DeCorte, who has been in the Senate for two years, would lead the caucus.
McDermott said he told DeCorte she should be the leader and he would be her sidekick. He said his job would be to support her and make her the best leader possible.
"There's no arguing, there's no acrimony. This isn't baloney. I'm too old for that," McDermott said.
DeCorte didn't immediately return a phone call from HPR seeking comment. She was first elected in 2022, to the Ko ʻOlina and Waiʻanae seat.
McDermott spent more than a decade in the state House, first representing the Salt Lake area and then ʻEwa Beach.
Awa told HPR on election night he was considering leaving the party because Hawaiʻi voters were reluctant to vote for candidates with an "R" next to their name. He said his efforts to bring local values to the party and fight for the poor and underprivileged didn't yield more votes for the GOP.
He said he may run for Honolulu mayor, which is a non-partisan position. Candidates do not declare a party affiliation when they run for that office.
