Republican Honolulu councilman Charles Djou has a big money advantage over his two Democratic opponents in the HI-01 special election, former Rep. Ed Case and state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa — with more cash on hand than the two Dems combined.
Djou has $363,000, and no debt. Hanabusa is second in cash, with $187,000 on hand and $19,000 in debt. In third place is Case — the unofficially backed candidate of the national Dems — with $154,000 on hand and $45,000 in debt.
The GOP is heavily favored to pick this seat up, and the national Democratic Party has already pulled out of the race due to the split Democratic vote — effectively ceding a district that President Obama carried with 70% of the vote, at least until the Dems can have another chance at it in the normal general election this November.
Hawaii special elections for the House do not work like they usually do in other states, where candidates either compete in separate party primaries, or the parties select their candidates through an internal party committee process, or having any kind of runoff process. Instead, a single-round election is held in which all the candidates appear together on one ballot, and the plurality-winner takes the whole thing. The election is being conducted entirely by mail, and will end on May 22.
The TPM Poll Average gives Djou 33.7%, with Case at 30.7% and Hanabusa with 22.5% — with most recent movement being heavily in Djou’s favor.
