Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI), a candidate for Governor of Hawaii in 2010, is resigning from Congress.
Abercrombie said he is resigning in order to “allow someone to be elected who will carry on the work of this office.” An effective date for his resignation has not yet been announced.
Democrats should probably hold on to this district pretty easily, in heavily Democratic Hawaii. The district voted 55%-39% for Al Gore in 2000, 52%-47% for John Kerry in 2004 — and then for Barack Obama by a whopping 70%-28% in 2008.
Two Democrats and one Republican were already running for the open seat, and could potentially be running in the special election: Former Rep. Ed Case and state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa on the Democratic side, and Republican Honolulu city councilman Charles Djou.
Late Update: Those three candidates are officially in. Also, we got this comment from Stephanie Lundberg, press secretary for House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), on the timing of Abercrombie’s resignation: “It is our understanding that Rep. Abercrombie will be present to take the vote on final health reform legislation.”
