There has been increasing attention here on the Hawaii Senate race betwen incumbent Sen. Daniel Akaka and his challenger, U.S. Congressman Ed Case.
Today Rasmussen has released the results of a poll showing Case closing the gap and within 2 points of defeating Akaka, 45%-47%.
Several DailyKos blogger, including Kos, have noted the parallels between the the Hawaii fight and the Lamont-Lieberman battle in Connecticut, with the difference that the liberal candidate is the incumbent, while Case, the challenger, is a strong supporter of Joe Lieberman.
Ed Case was one of the few members of congress who endorsed Lieberman in his run for President in 2004, saying:
"Joe Lieberman combines the best overall qualifications and experience of any national leader with the principles, beliefs and style that best represent the mainstream of our country."
-U.S. Rep. Ed Case, endorsing Lieberman for President, 2004
Ed has announced that he will continue to support Lieberman's independent bid, rather than support Ned Lamont, the Democratic candidate. Senator Akaka has announced his support for Lamont.
The Rasmussen results can be found here: Rasmussen Hawaii Senate Race
This news is a shocker to many and, depending on the methodology of the Rasmussen poll, may understate the problem. Not having seen the actual questions, I don't know what assumptions they have made about Republican crossover voting in Hawaii's open primary. An earlier poll, conducted on behalf of the Honolulu Advertiser, failed to included Republicans likely to vote in the Democratic primary. It MAY be that Rasmussen has done a better job of factoring in the crossover vote in this more recent poll and that this accounts for the closer numbers.
These results should alert progressive Democrats in the DK community and across the country to the importance of the Hawaii race. There is a real chance that the victory we celebrated in defeating Joe Lieberman in CT, will be offset by Ed Case defeating Danny Akaka in Hawaii.
For those unfamilar with the politics of the two players, Danny Akaka has a solid liberal voting record. The National Journal ranked him the 23rd most liberal Senator in 2005, ranked him "THE MOST LIBERAL Senator in 2004" and in 2003 gave him a LIFETIME ranking of 19th most liberal Senator then serving. He has been a strong and consistent opponent of the war in Iraq, opposed the war ffrom the beginning and one of 12 Senators who recently voted for the Kerry Resolution to withdrawa troops within a year.
Ed Case, on the other hand, has been ranked by the National Journal as one of the most conservative Democrats in congress, is a member of the "Blue Dog" caucus and a member of the DLC. Ed's politics track closely with those of Joe Lieberman on most issues and has been a strong and consistent supporter of Bush on foreign policy matters: according to the National Journal, only FIVE Democrats in the House have voted more consistently with Bush on foreign policy matters.
Ed represents Hawaii, but votes like a Dixiecrat.