Republican JoAnne Georgi will have a difficult climb to defeat Kauai’s incumbent Sen. Gary Hooser, Senate majority leader.

Hooser, of Kapaa, has been in the Senate since 2002, after serving on the County Council for four years. He is also the vice president of public affairs for Loomis-ISC, a marketing and communications company.

Georgi, of Eleele, is seeking to strengthen Hawaii’s sex crime laws, encourage small-business growth and fix Hawaii’s public schools.

The mother of seven children and a host of numerous foster children, she works in the tourism industry. She also ran unsuccessfully for the state House in 2002, 2004 and 2006.