As major leadership changes come to the state House, thanks to primary-election upsets and no-incumbent races, voters also will have a hand in influencing the chamber’s dynamics and policymaking, via the representatives they elect on Nov. 5.

Today, the Star-Advertiser offers Day 2 of Legislature endorsements, focusing on some intriguing House races:

>> House District 38 (Mililani, Waipio Acres, Mililani Mauka): Life experience matters here, where many middle- class adults know the challenges, and rewards, of sustaining a household. Republican incumbent Lauren Cheape Matsumoto, married with two children, deserves to retain this office, despite an impressive showing in the primary election by Democrat Alexander Ozawa, just 19 years old and a legislative budget analyst. Cheape Matsumoto’s deep roots in Mililani have included a range of community volunteerism and board service. Like other GOP lawmakers, she wants to eliminate the general excise tax on food and medicine, a worthy effort to lower Hawaii’s high cost of living. She’s worked well across the aisle with colleagues and has been diligent in responding to constituents.

>> District 39 (Royal Kunia, Village Park, Honouliuli, Hoopili, Waipahu): This rematch of 2022 pits Republican incumbent Elijah Pierick, a religious-based counselor and educator, against Democrat Corey Rosenlee, an educator and former Hawaii State Teachers Association leader. We endorse Rosenlee, a longtime advocate for remedies to benefit Hawaii’s workforce: from better wages to paid family leave to capping child care costs. Further, the Democratic plank of protecting civil rights for all — including for women’s reproductive care and LGBTQ+ rights — is particularly resonant in this race: Pierick’s conservative-religious beliefs have caused flashpoints of divisiveness, such as his social-media posting of a video criticizing a middle school for hanging a Pride flag in its office and campus.

>> District 42 (Varona Village, Ewa, and Kapolei, Fernandez Village): In just his first term in the House, GOP incumbent Diamond Garcia has been a charimastic, minority-party leader with a strident voice. Both Garcia, who has a ministry background and chaired Hawaii’s GOP, and Democratic rival Anthony Makana Paris, a small business owner with degrees in law, theology and environmental science, are knowlegdeably articulate about their district’s many issues. Both rightly cite as priorities the need to produce more housing to combat homelessness, especially for Native Hawaiians via the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands; Garcia also notes ensuring that infrastructure keep up with growth.

Whether Garcia gets reelected will reflect how much voters in Oahu’s fastest-growing district agree with, or can overlook, his other views — such as on gun rights (he’s for them, even hosting a town hall in which applications were passed out for concealed-carry firearms); and against legalization of recreational marijuana, which he says is a view shared by 70% of his constituents. Some of Garcia’s stances are controversial, but as 1 of only 6 Republicans in the 51-member House, he is not wrong in stressing the need for a cogent ”loyal opposition” voice amid Hawaii’s Democratic supermajority.

>> District 45 (Waianae, Makaha): Having prevailed over a crowded field in the Democratic primary, Desire DeSoto faces Republican business owner and youth coach Chris Muraoka for this seat, vacated by Cedric Gates in his bid for the Senate. DeSoto’s experience as a Waianae school counselor should go a long way toward advocating for more resources and funding for the troubled West Side, where high-profile shootings and violence have occurred recently. Both candidates are from this area and clearly care about these communities, but DeSoto has a sharper grasp of possible solutions — including retention of quality teachers, quicker certification for more school counselors, and funding for youth services and career-oriented educational opportunities. Such pathways to advancement will be vital to combat this area’s violence and socioeconomic-rooted problems.

>> District 50 (Kailua, Kaneohe Bay): This is the community that elected GOP stalwart Cynthia Thielen for years before her retirement. Now it’s Democrat Mike Lee who is best qualified to take the job. He faces Republican Timothy Connelly, a retired Army brigadier general whose career took him through the Pacific to Asia, Iraq and Afghanistan — and who recently resettled in Kailua. At this time, it’s Lee who has a better grounding, including two years on the Kailua Neighborhood Board, and put in community time to deal with the truly local issues he would face. He also coordinates the Windward Neighborhood Security Watch and works as director of education and stewardship programs at the Moanalua Garden Foundation.

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COMING UP: The Star-Advertiser’s general election endorsements continue with state constitutional amendments on Wednesday; City Charter amendments on Thursday; and Office of Hawaiian Affairs on Friday.