Democrats are now coalescing behind Hawaii state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, after her surprise second-place showing in the recent HI-01 special election, with former Congressman Neil Abercrombie now officially endorsing her for his old seat.
“I wholeheartedly endorse Colleen in the 1st Congressional District because of her service and leadership in the community,” wrote Abercrombie, in a statement posted on his gubernatorial campaign site.
In the special election two weeks ago, Republican Charles Djou picked up a seat that President Obama carried with 70% of the vote in 2008, thanks to a split in the Democratic base. Djou had 39.5%, Hanabusa 30.8%, and former Rep. Ed Case — who had been the favored candidate of national Democrats –Â came in a very surprising third with 27.6%. Abercrombie had resigned from the seat in order to focus on his campaign for governor.
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 process. Instead, a single-round election is held in which all the candidates appear together on one ballot, and whoever gets a plurality wins the election.
Case announced this past weekend that he will not run again for the seat in the regular election this year.
In his statement, Abercrombie praised Case for pulling out of the race and uniting the party. “Ed’s withdrawing from the race will help assure that we do not cancel out our vote in Congress with the election of someone who will work against the policies of President Obama,” wrote Abercrombie. “We must remember Hawaii is a small state, far from Washington, D.C. with only four votes in Congress. Partnership in the delegation is essential for Hawaii’s progress.”
