HI-02: Democrat Ed Case Wins Hawaii Election

HONOLULU (AP) -- Democrat Ed Case beat out 43 other candidates to win a wide-open special election in Hawaii's 2nd District and become the final member selected to the 108th Congress, election officials said Saturday.

Case was an incumbent for five weeks after easily winning a special election to finish the remainder of the late U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink's term.

Case won with 33,002 ballots, or 43 percent, in the vote cast Saturday and tabulated Sunday. He will be sworn in Tuesday.

Democrat Matt Matsunaga finished second with 23,050 votes, while state Sen. Colleen Hanabusa, also a Democrat, was third with 6,046 votes.

The special election was needed after Mink was posthumously re-elected to her seat representing rural Oahu and the neighbor islands. She died Sept. 28, a week after easily winning her primary but two days after a deadline to replace her name on the general election ballot.

By virtue of his previous victory, Case, a cousin of AOL-Time Warner Chairman Steve Case, touted the advantage of incumbency in campaign ads.

Though not sworn in, Case was considered a congressman, an advantage that will give him seniority over other freshmen not starting until January and an edge in securing committee assignments.

He began building his profile statewide in November 2001, launching his campaign for governor that ended with a loss by just 2,000 votes in the Sept. 21 Democratic primary.

A native of Hilo on the Big Island, Case served eight years in the state House of Representatives. An attorney, Case also is no stranger to Washington, having served as a legislative assistant to the late Hawaii lawmaker Spark Matsunaga in the 1970s, first in the House and then in the Senate.

Saturday's election was the fourth in 3 1/2 months for voters in the 2nd District to select their congressional representative. Total turnout was 76,328 voters, or 21.9 percent of the 348,342 who registered for the special election.

Republicans had hoped to squeak out a victory in a race where the winner technically could have won with just 3 percent of the vote. Among them, State Rep. Barbara Marumoto finished fourth with 4,497 votes, followed by former state Rep. Bob McDermott, with 4,298 votes.

The Jan. 4 race was open to anyone with no provision for a primary or a runoff in a close race and no restriction on the number of candidates who could file.

It was the nation's last unsettled congressional contest but will not affect Republican control of the House; with the Hawaii race undetermined, the House breakdown is 229 Republicans, 204 Democrats and one independent.

Ed Case won by a fairly comfortable margin.

Turnout was higher than expected -- 21.9%.

Case got 43.2% of the vote. Matt Matsunaga was his closest challenger with 30.2% of votes cast.

All other candidates were in single digits, with Mink protege Colleen Hanabusa getting a mere 7.9% for a distant fourth-place finish.

The fourth place candidate, Barbara Marumoto, was the best place finisher for the GOP. She got a mere 5.9% of the vote.

Democrats combined got over 78% of all votes cast. The GOP has no chance in Hawai'i on the Federal level. In fact, Gov. Linda Lingle would be considered a left-of-center Democrat in many states.

The big surprise (for me) was the extremely poor showing for former Honolulu mayor Frank Fasi. He got a paltry 0.6% of votes cast.

I think the GOP won't run anybody but sacrificial lambs from here on out. I also think Case has this seat for as long as he wants. Matsunaga might be able to pull off an upset primary victory in 2004 if he plays his hand right. Barring that, Case will be a lifer.

Democrats combined got over 78% of all votes cast. The GOP has no chance in Hawai'i on the Federal level. In fact, Gov. Linda Lingle would be considered a left-of-center Democrat in many states. The big surprise (for me) was the extremely poor showing for former Honolulu mayor Frank Fasi. He got a paltry 0.6% of votes cast. I think the GOP won't run anybody but sacrificial lambs from here on out. I also think Case has this seat for as long as he wants. Matsunaga might be able to pull off an upset primary victory in 2004 if he plays his hand right. Barring that, Case will be a lifer.

My buddy finished in seventh place overall and in fourth place for GOP candidates. I told him the race was unwinnable, but did he listen? No. He is native Hawaiian so he thought he had a chance. He should have run in the original GOP primary race against Patsy Mink. He would have done a lot better. Once again the RATS captured 80-85% of the vote.

Final Results for January 4, 2003 Special Election
U.S. House of Representatives -- District 2 of Hawai'i

Turnout: 21.9% of Registered Voters

Ed Case Democrat 33,002 43.2%
Matt Matsunaga Democrat 23,050 30.2%
Colleen Hanabusa Democrat 6,046 7.9%
Barbara Marumoto Republican 4,497 5.9%
Bob McDermott Republican 4,298 5.6%
Chris Halford Republican 728 1.0%
Kimo Kaloi Republican 642 0.8%
John Carroll Republican 521 0.7%
Frank F. Fasi Republican 483 0.6%
Mark McNett Non-Partisan 449 0.6%
Jim Rath Republican 414 0.5%
Richard H. Haake Republican 212 0.3%
Nelson Secretario Republican 208 0.3%
Whitney Anderson Republican 201 0.3%
Moana Keaulana-Dyball Non-Partisan 91 0.1%
Nick Nikhilananda Green 75 0.1%
Brian G. Cole Democrat 69 0.1%
Kekoa Kaapu Democrat 68 0.1%
Jeff Mallan Libertarian 58 0.1%
Sophie Mataafa Non-Partisan 52 0.1%
Doug Fairhurst Republican 38 0.0%
Mike Gagne Democrat 35 0.0%
Carolyn Golojuch Republican 29 0.0%
G. “Iimz” Goodwin Green 27 0.0%
Richard “Rich” Payne Republican 25 0.0%
Clarence Weatherwax Republican 25 0.0%
Kabba Anand Non-Partisan 24 0.0%
Dan Vierra Non-Partisan 22 0.0%
John L. Sabey Republican 20 0.0%
Pat Rocco Democrat 19 0.0%
Bill Russell Non-Partisan 18 0.0%
Steve Sparks Non-Partisan 17 0.0%
Solomon Wong Non-Partisan 16 0.0%
Art P. Reyes Democrat 15 0.0%
Paul Britos Democrat 13 0.0%
S.J. Harlan Non-Partisan 11 0.0%
Charles Collins Democrat 10 0.0%
John “Jack” Randall Non-Partisan 9 0.0%
Steve Tataii Democrat 9 0.0%
Mike Rethman Republican 8 0.0%
Marshall Turner Non-Partisan 8 0.0%
Herbert L. Jensen Democrat 6 0.0%
Alan R. Gano Non-Partisan 3 0.0%
Bartle Lee Rowland Non-Partisan 3 0.0%

BLANK VOTES 647 0.8%
OVER VOTES 107 0.1%

TOTAL VOTES 76,328 100%

Kaloi would have been a good candidate in the regular elections against Mink. The free for all was bad for the GOP.

If Matsunaga doesn't challenge Case in '04, Case will be there as long as he wants. Doesanyone know if Matsunaga will run again? If he does, an unopposed Republican with national support might have a small but decent shot at winning.

I was surprised at the poor showing by Frank Fasi. I thought although he's now merely a gadfly of sorts, that name recognition alone would give him 5% of votes cast...

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.