Republicans scored a midterm election victory by winning a Democratic-held congressional seat in Hawaii in the district where US President Barack Obama grew up — the latest triumph for the Republican Party as it looks to take back control of Congress.
Democrats believe the success in Hawaii will be short-lived.
The Republican winner will only serve through the remainder of this year, with another election due to be held in November.
Democrats are confident they can win the seat back then because the vote won’t be split among several candidates as it was on Saturday.
Still, Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou’s victory was a blow to Obama and other Democrats who could not rally around a single candidate and find away to win a congressional race that should have been easy. The seat had been held by a Democrat for nearly 20 years and is located in the district where Obama was born and spent most of his childhood.
“This is a momentous day. We have sent a message to the United States Congress. We have sent a message to the national Democrats. We have sent a message to the machine ... The congressional seat is not owned by one political party. This congressional seat is owned by the people,” Djou said.
He received 67,610 votes, or 39.4 percent, and was trailed by state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, a Democrat, who received 52,802 votes, or 30.8 percent. The other leading Democrat, former US representative Ed Case, received 47,391 votes, or 27.6 percent.
Republicans are trumpeting the victory as a powerful statement about their momentum heading into November.
“Charles’ victory is evidence his conservative message of lowering the tax burden, job creation and government accountability knows no party lines. It is a message Americans want to hear from candidates across the country,” Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said.
Djou, 39, enjoyed solid support from state and national Republicans and ran a disciplined campaign focused on taxes and government spending at a time when Hawaii’s tourism-driven economy remains troubled, with the state facing a US$1 billion deficit, large cuts to state programs and workers and an unemployment rate that has nearly doubled in the last three years.
In contrast, Democrats bickered over whether Case or Hanabusa was the strongest candidate for their party, and the situation got so bad that Obama and national party leaders weren’t able to endorse one contender. Instead, they aired TV ads and made automated telephone calls that asked voters to chose “a Democrat.”
Djou will replace Democratic Representative Daniel Abercrombie, who resigned after 10 terms to run for governor. Djou will be the first Republican to represent Hawaii in Congress since Pat Saiki left office in 1991.
At one point, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee appeared ready to support Case, until Hawaii’s influential senior senator, Democrat Daniel Inouye, made it clear Hanabusa was his choice. He has opposed Case since the then-congressman ran against Hawaii’s other senator, Democrat Daniel Akaka, in the 2006 primary.
In contrast, Djou enjoyed solid support from local and national Republicans, who funneled money to his campaign but took a much lower profile than their Democratic counterparts.
He burnished his conservative bona fides during the campaign by making appearances at Hawaii’s anti-tax tea party protest and on Fox News Channel for an interview with conservative host Sean Hannity.
His message was clear: Taxes are too high, the federal government has grown too large, and wasteful government spending hinders economic prosperity.
Djou, the son of Asian immigrants, joined the Army Reserve after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and obtained the rank of captain. He has an Ivy League education and a law degree, served in the state legislature and worked as a law school professor.
Democrats have expressed certainty that Djou will not be able to repeat his victory in November when he will face a single Democratic candidate in the left-leaning district, following a party primary in September.
The likely candidates for the party will again be Hanabusa and Case. Hanabusa is a fourth-generation American of Japanese descent whose grandparents worked on a plantation and were interned by the US government during World War II. Case, 57, is the oldest of six children and a cousin of AOL co-founder Steve Case.
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