Good news has been hard to come by lately, but we get a little from here in Hawaii today.
Ed Case will withdraw his primary bid in the 1st Congressional district in Hawaii!
The special election held last week to select a replacement for the seat vacated by Niel Abercrombie, divided democrats and allowed republican Charles Djou to narrowly win the race. Washington democrats pushed Hanabusa to withdraw from the special election claiming Case led in all polls and Washington insiders felt he was more likely to win. In a surprise on election night, Hanabusa ended up ahead of Case by more than 3 percentage points.
Case made the announcement today at the state Democratic convention at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki. Case told attendees:
I thought it was the right thing to do, at the right time, for the right reasons. That's really what it came down to.
Case ran as a moderate democrat but many of his policies put him more on the side of republicans. He was the representative of the 2nd congressional district since 2002 when he won a special election to replace Patsy Mink who died of pneumonia while holding the seat. In 2006, Case chose not to run for reelection in the 2nd Congressional district and focused his attention on a primary bid to replace Daniel Akaka as senator. Akaka easily defeated Case in the election. Mazie Hirono, a progressive democrat, won the seat vacated by Case.
This is a victory for Hawaii democrats who will not have to worry about a divisive primary battle and can now focus all there attention on defeating Charles Djou in November.
I've never been an Ed Case fan. In fact, with his voting record in Congress that supported everything from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to the Patriot Act, I pretty much despised him. But with his announcement today, I've gained a little respect for him. Thanks Mr. Case for doing the right thing!
I'll leave this with a little message for Charles Djou... Don't bother measuring for new drapes, you won't be there long enough. Coleen Hanabusa, another progressive democrat, will be replacing you in November. Try not to break anything in the next few months. Okay?