The Hawaii State Teachers Association is backing challengers to upset established Maui incumbents in two primary legislative races.

The union representing more than 13,700 public school teachers statewide picked Kihei Democrat Terez Amato over West and South Maui Sen. Roz Baker in the 6th Senate District, and it chose Pukalani Democrat Tiare Lawrence over Upcountry Rep. Kyle Yamashita for the 12th House District, which includes Spreckelsville and parts of Kahului.

In other Maui County Senate and House races, the union backed:

• Democratic Sen. J. Kalani English for the 7th Senate District (East Maui, Upcountry, Molokai and Lanai).

• Democratic Rep. Justin Woodson for the 9th House District (Kahului, Puunene, Old Sand Hills and Maui Lani).

• Democrat Tina Wildberger for the 11th House District (South Maui).

• Democratic Rep. Lynn DeCoite for the 13th House District (East Maui, Molokai and Lanai).

The union took no position on the 8th House District contest to win the seat formerly held longtime Rep. Joe Souki, who resigned March 30 amid sexual harassment allegations. Among the four Democrats vying for the seat is Wailuku resident Justin Hughey, vice president of the HSTA and a special education teacher at King Kamehameha III in Lahaina.

When asked why he didn’t win his union’s endorsement, Hughey said he had been interviewed and endorsed by the union’s Maui Executive Committee and its Government Relations Committee, as well as Maui teachers. But he said when his endorsement reached the union’s board, “it was a handful of board members who didn’t ask me any questions about my campaign that changed the endorsement to open.”

Those board members were the same people who challenged the union’s election results in 2015, he said, “but enough sour grapes.”

In an emailed statement, HSTA President Corey Rosenlee said that of the four candidates that sought the union’s endorsement in the 8th House race, none of them received a required majority of votes from the union’s board of directors.

In other endorsements, the union supported the re-election of Gov. David Ige and backs the election of Big Island Sen. Josh Green, a physician, to lieutenant governor.

The HSTA endorsed the re-election of Democratic U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, and it backed Democrat Sherry Campagna, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard for the 2nd Congressional District seat that includes Neighbor Islands and rural Oahu.

In an announcement of the endorsements, Rosenlee said that every incumbent state lawmaker endorsed by the union supported the union-backed constitutional amendment to create a new revenue stream for underfunded public schools.