President Obama's Own Back Yard Could go Red

[Dos Equis]

Djou declares race 'pretty much over'
By Associated Press
May 13, 2010

Republican Charles Djou is claiming the race for Hawaii's vacant congressional seat is "pretty much over."

Djou made the comment in today's edition of The Hill, a newspaper in Washington D.C.

Campaign manager Dylan Nonaka explained Djou's statement Thursday. Nonaka says that most of the ballots that are likely to be returned in the all-mail special election have been turned in. He also cites voter polls showing Djou with a healthy lead.

About 317,300 ballots were mailed out, of which about 38 percent had been returned as of today.

But Democrat Ed Case responded that many more ballots are outstanding. He describes Djou's comments as "stampeding the voters."

The other leading Democrat in the race is Colleen Hanabusa.

Republican Charles Djou is claiming the race for Hawaii's vacant congressional seat is "pretty much over."

Djou made the comment in today's edition of The Hill, a newspaper in Washington D.C.

Campaign manager Dylan Nonaka explained Djou's statement Thursday. Nonaka says that most of the ballots that are likely to be returned in the all-mail special election have been turned in. He also cites voter polls showing Djou with a healthy lead.

About 317,300 ballots were mailed out, of which about 38 percent had been returned as of today.

But Democrat Ed Case responded that many more ballots are outstanding. He describes Djou's comments as "stampeding the voters."

The other leading Democrat in the race is Colleen Hanabusa.

http://www.starbulletin.com/news/breaking/93727064.html

[Dos Equis]

Pretty desperate. 

Ex-governors issue plea
Trio unites to blast Djou, urge vote for Democratic rivals
By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Government Writer

Three former Democratic governors asked voters yesterday to choose a Democrat in the special election for Congress and prevent Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou, a Republican, from taking advantage of a divided electorate.

Former Govs. George Ariyoshi, John Waihe'e and Ben Cayetano appeared at a news conference at the Democratic Party of Hawai'i headquarters as part of the party's final push to save urban Honolulu's 1st Congressional District.

Ariyoshi and Waihe'e back state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, while Cayetano supports former Congressman Ed Case.

But the former governors agree that either Democrat would be superior to Djou.

"I'm convinced more than ever that this guy will march lock-step with the national Republican Party and try to block everything that President Obama is trying to do," Cayetano said. "That's not good for our country. That's not good for our state."

Public and private polls have Djou leading and Case and Hanabusa splitting the Democratic vote in the winner-take-all special election. The all-mail vote will end Saturday night, and the winner will serve out the remainder of former Rep. Neil Abercrombie's term in Congress, which ends in January 2011.

The September primary and November general election will determine who replaces Abercrombie in Congress. Abercrombie resigned in February to concentrate on his campaign in the Democratic primary for governor.

STATE GOP RESPONSE

Jonah Ka'auwai, the state GOP chairman, said it was no surprise the former governors would support a Democrat to perpetuate what he called a broken political system that they helped create.

"The only news that was made today is the Hawai'i Democrat(ic) Party has taken Hawai'i voters for granted," Ka'auwai said in a statement. "Democrats assumed Hawai'i voters would vote for any Democrat candidate and now that Charles' message has resonated with voters, Democrats realize they have the wrong message for Hawai'i.

"Charles Djou stated yesterday in his keynote address to the Hawai'i Republican Party convention that this congressional seat does not belong to the Democrat(ic) Party of Hawai'i, it belongs to the people of Hawai'i. The former governors simply telling people to vote for a Democrat is a last-minute attempt to hold on to power by people who have shown us how bad things can be when they have it."

Ariyoshi, referring to comments by Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona at the state GOP convention on Saturday that were critical of "old guard" Democrats, said he was proud of being in the old guard and of the party's achievements on issues such as health care and workers' rights.

Ariyoshi described Djou and Republicans as obstacles — the party of "no" — and said voters should consider what that may mean for Hawai'i.

SHOW OF UNITY

Djou has campaigned on principles of lower taxes, less government and a free-market approach to the economy and has said he would have opposed President Obama on issues such as health care reform and the federal stimulus package.

"I've always said, also, that a person who is negative really never achieves anything," Ariyoshi said. "You've got to be able to be for something rather than just be against things."

Waihe'e said Hawai'i has benefited from a united congressional delegation and needs someone who can work with the Hawai'i-born Obama.

Cayetano said electing Djou would essentially cancel out a Democratic vote and reduce the strength of the delegation from four votes to two.

"What is obvious is that the Republican involved in this winner-take-all election is not the type of person that will work well with our delegation, or, hopefully, the new Democratic governor," Waihe'e said.

The joint appeal was an attempt to show party unity after intense behind-the-scenes talks over the past several weeks between Democrats in Washington, D.C., and Honolulu.

Many national Democrats believe Case has the best chance against Djou, while key local Democrats — including U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, the state's leading Democrat — support Hanabusa and resisted suggestions that she step aside.

All three governors said they did not believe either Democrat should have dropped out.

"First of all, we couldn't get together because we are Democrats," Waihe'e joked, describing the division within the party as part of the "agony and ecstasy" of being Democrats.

Waihe'e also articulated some of the anguish many Democrats have been feeling over the past few days about a possible Djou victory in a district the party has held for two decades.

"That would be a nightmare," Waihe'e said. "I don't even want to dream that."

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100517/NEWS01/5170321/Ex-governors+issue+plea

[Dos Equis]

Democrats are nervous. 

Family Feud may give GOP rare Hawaii victory
Posted: May 21st, 2010

From CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser

(CNN) – An intra-party fight among Democrats will most likely allow Republicans to win a House seat in a place they rarely win congressional elections: Hawaii.

Results are expected late Saturday in a special election for the state's 1st Congressional District, a battle for seat of former Rep. Neil Abercrombie. The 10-term Democratic lawmaker stepped down earlier this year to concentrate full-time on his bid for Hawaii governor.

The seat should be safe for the Democrats, who dominate the district, which includes Honolulu and some surrounding suburbs. Abercrombie won more than three-quarters of the vote in his most recent re-election and President Obama, who spent parts of his childhood in the district, won 70 percent of the vote in the 2008 presidential election.

But there are two Democratic candidates on the ballot in this election and recent polls indicate they are splitting the vote, with the Republican candidate, Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou, in first place in the surveys. The special election is a winner-take-all contest, with only a plurality needed for victory.

The two Democrats are former Rep. Ed Case, considered the more moderate candidate, and state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, considered the more liberal candidate. Hanabusa was in third place, according to recent polls, but she refused to step aside. She disputes the surveys' findings and says they are wrong, according to local reports.

. . . .

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/?fbid=XPBeW4MfwYo

[Dos Equis]

Very nervous. 

Hawaii Race: Crucial Test for GOP, Democrats
Friday, 21 May 2010     
By: John Mercurio

Democrats are nervous in paradise.

A special election in the Honolulu-based congressional district of President Obama’s birthplace has divided Democrats so sharply that Republicans have a rare shot at a House seat in Hawaii.

It’s a district as blue as the ocean waters that lap its shore. But House Democrats recently abandoned the race, acknowledging that a split between their two candidates, former Rep. Ed Case and state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, has paved the way for Republican Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou to win the May 22 contest.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Few Democrats raised an eyebrow in December when former Rep. Neil Abercrombie announced he would resign the seat to focus full-time on his gubernatorial bid. Democrats have held the district since Hawaii became a state in 1959, and Obama took a whopping 70 percent of the vote here in 2008.

But that was before Democrats failed to resolve internal rifts and unite behind Case or Hanabusa. Case, a wealthy maverick whose cousin is AOL founder Steve Case, has received strategic advice from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. But he alienated the state’s Democratic elders in 2006 when he challenged Sen. Daniel Akaka in the Democratic primary.

As payback, Akaka and Democratic Sen. Daniel Inouye, the undisputed boss of Hawaii politics, are backing Hanabusa for the House seat. Inuoye, who claims Case lied to him in the process of deciding to challenge Akaka in 2006, recently moved $10,000 to Hanabusa's campaign from his political action committee.

Even Djou admits he wouldn’t be heading toward victory on Saturday if not for the Democratic split and, more specifically, Inouye’s involvement in the race.

“Senator Inouye, I think, enjoys an enormous amount of respect in Hawaii, from myself included. He has an almost mythical level of gravitas in Hawaii politics,” Djou recently told Politico. “In a typical congressional election, in the other 50 states, the DCCC would have gotten their way. But not in Hawaii — and that's because of Senator Inouye.”

The race also has sparked divisions back in Washington, where House Democrats are frustrated with the White House for refusing to intervene. Obama, for his part, recorded a robocall this month that went out to voters in the district.

But the president’s message was vague, encouraging voters only to support a Democrat on May 22. Obama, it seems, has little interest in wading into an intra-party dispute with the powerful chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Ultimately, insiders from both parties believe Democrats will reclaim the House seat, probably as soon as November. While the state allows for open primaries in special elections, Democrats will select a nominee in their September primary for the 2010 midterms. Presumably the party will be able to unify behind that nominee and reclaim the seat.

But then again, maybe not. After all, stranger things have happened.

http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/Hawaii-Race-Test-GOP/2010/05/21/id/359753

[Dos Equis]

President Obama's former back yard goes red.     Great win.  Djou will be a good Rep. 

GOP's Djou wins Hawaii special election for Congress
Advertiser Staff

Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou has won the special election in urban Honolulu's 1st Congressional District, the first Republican sent to Washington, D.C., to represent the Islands in two decades.

According to the state Office of Elections, Djou leads with 39.5 percent of the vote, followed by 30.8 percent for state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa and 27.6 percent for former congressman Ed Case. The remaining 11 other candidates attracted the rest of the vote.

The results are for ballots mailed in or dropped off through Friday and a portion of ballots received today, accounting for most of the votes cast in the winner-take-all special election. The Office of Elections plans to release a final count later tonight.

Djou would serve out the remaining months of former congressman Neil Abercrombie's term in Congress, which ends in January 2011. Abercrombie resigned in February to concentrate on his campaign in the Democratic primary for governor.

The September primary and November general election will determine who replaces Abercrombie in Congress.

Djou would be the first Republican from Hawaii sent to Congress in 20 years and only the third since statehood.

Case and Hanabusa split the Democratic vote, as public and private polls had predicted.

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20100522/BREAKING01/100522028/1352

[Dos Equis]

Case drops out of Hawaii battle
Posted: May 31st, 2010

From CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser

(CNN) - One of the two candidates in a Democratic party family feud that resulted in a rare Republican congressional victory in Hawaii says he's giving up his quest to return to the House of Representatives.

Former Rep. Ed Case announced Sunday that he's dropping his bid for the state's first congressional district, which the GOP captured in a special election nine days ago - the party's first win in a House or Senate election in Hawaii in nearly two decades.

"My heart tells me to stay in this fight, but my head says this has become the wrong fight," said Case, in an e-mail to supporters and in a statement on his campaign website.

National Democrats attempted, without success, to convince either Case or Hawaii State Senate President Colleen Hanabusa to drop out of the May 22 special election, held to fill the seat of former Rep. Neil Abercrombie, the longtime Democratic congressman who stepped down earlier this year to run for governor.


Both candidates stayed in the race, splitting the vote, and allowing Honolulu city councilman Charles Djou, a Republican, to capture the plurality of the only-winner take all contest with less than 40 percent of the vote. Hanabusa, considered the more liberal candidate, came in second and Case, the more moderate Democrat, finished third. Combined, they won 58 percent of the vote.

National Democratic Party organizations favored Case but did not formally endorse either of their party's candidates. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee ran ads that criticized Djou. But earlier this month, after it was clear neither candidate would drop out, the DCCC stopped spending any more money or time on the race.

Djou now has to defend the seat in November, most likely against Hanabusa, who called Case's decision a "magnanimous gesture."

The seat includes Honolulu and some surrounding suburbs. President Barack Obama, who spent parts of his childhood in the district, won 70 percent of the vote in the 2008 presidential election.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/31/case-drops-out-of-hawaii-battle/?fbid=54YJ106g8kS#more-106453

[Dos Equis]

I voted for him today. 

CNN 100: The GOP has a good shot to win in Hawaii
By: CNN's Molly Levinson

Editor's Note: In the final 100 days before Election Day, CNN has been profiling one race at random each day from among the nation's top 100 House races, which we've dubbed "The CNN 100." Read the full list here.

Today's featured district is:
HI 01: Rep. Charles Djou (R) is fighting to keep the seat he won in a special election.
Primary: September 18, 2010
Days until the election: 13

This race is a little quirky. Hawaii's first congressional district, former home to President Barack Obama, longtime Democratic district, but the GOP has a great shot at keeping this seat. Why? Well – a couple reasons: foremost being that this year seems to be the year where the impossible becomes possible in Hawaii politics: a Republican, Charles Djou, won the special election for former Democratic Rep. Neil Abercrombie's seat and now, when Democrat Colleen Hanabusa is trying to take it back, Djou is well-positioned to keep the seat.

Just about everything in this race is nasty: the candidates zing each other in debates, there are negative ads saturating the airwaves (funded by the candidates and party committees). The internal politics of the race are pretty nasty as well, with just about anyone who is anyone in Hawaii politics jumping into the fray, slinging endorsements.

Both candidates are pretty well funded (they each raised over $2 million by the end of September) and, aided by the party committees, they have money in the bank to take them through election day.

Turnout will play a huge role here – Djou needs all of the GOP vote (obviously) and if he makes inroads with independents, that could take him over the top. Hannabusa will have to rally all of her troops to win.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/10/21/cnn-100-the-gop-has-a-good-shot-to-win-in-hawaii/#more-130051

[Dos Equis]

I hope they send him back, but he has an uphill battle with Obama on the ticket. 

Djou Running To Reclaim Congressional Seat
But He's Deploying To Afghanistan For Six Months

Jodi Leong KITV4 News Reporter
POSTED: 1:05 pm HST August 17, 2011
UPDATED: 6:45 pm HST August 17, 2011

HONOLULU -- Former Honolulu City Councilman and U.S. Rep. Charles Djou announced his candidacy for the U.S. House seat he lost to U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa last year.

The republican Djou was surrounded by his family and supporters when he made the announcement Wednesday morning at the Stone Factory Warehouse on Puuhale Road in Kalihi.

Djou previously held the 1st Congressional District seat after beating democrats Hanabusa and Ed Case in a special election for the seat vacated by now Gov. Neil Abercrombie. But Hanabusa returned to handily defeat Djou last November.

Djou said he will not be around for the first six months of his campaign.

"I will be serving our nation in Afghanistan," Djou said.

Djou will deploy with the Army Reserve's 10th Mountain Division in early September and return in late March, he said.

He will serve as a rule of law military advisor, offering legal advice to Afghan police and judiciary.

"I know that the time of my deployment is not ideal. And I realize that this is enormously disruptive to myself, to my family and of course to this campaign. But I also realize that it is no more disruptive than what 100,000 families are currently going through with a loved one in harms way," Djou said.

"The burden of defending our country does not fall evenly upon all families in America. I am proud that I can do my small part," Djou said.

Djou's campaign team will run fundraising and campaign events in his absence.

Djou said he decided to run for the 1st Congressional District seat instead of the 2nd Congressional District and Senate seats because he understands what the job requires.

"I understand this job, I know what it takes and I understand what the people of Hawaii are going through right now. That there is a lack of jobs and that we need more jobs here in this community. What we need more of is small business, what we need more of is entrepreneurs, what we need less of is spending money recklessly," Djou said.

"We should all support giving voters a choice," Hanabusa said in a written statement.

http://www.kitv.com/politics/28897819/detail.html