Good news for progressives from yesterday's primary in Hawaii:
HONOLULU - Liberal incumbent Sen. Daniel Akaka beat back a challenge from upstart Rep. Ed Case in Hawaii's Democratic primary. Case conceded the race just before midnight Saturday, when returns showed he trailed 55 percent to 45 percent with all but one precinct reporting. He trailed in every county, including those in his own 2nd District.
And with that, the primary season is officially over. (Whose idea was September primaries, anyway? Horrible, horrible idea.) On to November.
Update: for those who don't like to click links, here's the other competitive results:
In the governor's race, former state Sen. Randy Iwase won the Democratic nomination over Hawaiian activist William Aila. Iwase will take on Gov. Linda Lingle, who secured the GOP nomination and is expected to easily win a second term....
Former Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono emerged as the apparent winner in the 2nd Congressional District Democratic primary. With all but one precinct reporting, Hirono received 24,385 votes in the 10-way race, compared to 23,586 for state Sen. Colleen Hanabusa, who was in second place.
Hirono will face either State Sen. Bob Hogue or Rep. Quentin Kawananakoa in November. Hogue was leading Kawananakoa 8,393 to 8,194 in the Republican primary in one of the closest races in the state.