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GOP consultant Karl Rove got directly involved Friday in Hawaii's hotly contested Congressional race between Republican incumbent Rep. Charles Djou and Democrat Colleen Hanabusa. Rove's group American Crossroads started running an ad on Hawaii television stations Friday critical of Hanabusa. The TV commercial says, "There are problems in paradise, and Colleen Hanabusa would make things worse. Hanabusa supports Nancy Pelosi's tsunami of spending. She defends the trillion dollar health care takeover that raises our costs and cuts Medicare by over $500 billion. She has said she will support the cap and trade energy tax that will raise the cost of...

Less than a month has passed since former Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou (R-HI) won the special election for the 1st Congressional District seat vacated by Neil Abercrombie. But in that brief window, Djou has already boldly injected himself into the debate over the repeal of the military's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy.

HONOLULU — U.S. Rep. Charles Djou is calling on President Barack Obama to waive a 90-year-old law so foreign ships can help respond to the huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The statute, known as the Jones Act, requires vessels transporting goods between states to have been built in the United States, be crewed and owned by U.S. citizens, and fly the U.S. flag. Djou says it has blocked vessels from Mexico, Canada and Belgium from assisting in the cleanup. A Republican, Djou opposes the statute because he contends it results in higher prices for Hawaii consumers. Most...

Case Drops Hawaii Bid May 30, 2010 7:22 PM By Reid Wilson Ex-Rep. Ed Case (D-HI) will abandon his bid for Congress a week after finishing third in a special election that divided Dems and helped the GOP pick up their first special election win in 2 years. Case made his announcement in an email to supporters today, saying the race has become the "wrong fight" for him. His decision leaves state Senate Pres. Colleen Hanabusa (D) as the only major Dem in the race. "This past week since Election Day has been a roller coaster. We've taken apart the...

Djou for Hawaii May 28, 2010 Aloha (xxx), It's been less than a week since I began working for the people of Hawaii in Congress, and unfortunately the National Democrats have already begun their negative attacks. In a recent item published in the Congressional newspaper, The Hill, it was reported that Rep. Barney Frank told reporters that they should “do their jobs” and demanded that I show my birth certificate just after my swearing-in. To clear up any confusion on Congressman Frank’s part, I will state that I was born in the United States in Los Angeles, California, and my...

Tongue firmly in cheek, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) on Tuesday afternoon called on reporters to demand to see the birth certificate of new Rep. Charles Djou (R-Hawaii). As Djou (pictured here) was being sworn into office, Frank walked the hallway of the Speaker's Lobby off the House floor calling on the media to "do your job" and review Djou's papers. It was a small bit of payback for the enormous amount of attention some conservatives (and the media) paid to the is-the-president-really-from-America controversy.

Introduced by Pelosi, Djou gets a standing ovation and gives his first speech since winning in the Hawaii special election Saturday night (Video)

Chris Bowers, the OpenLeft blogger who's one of the most battle-hardened and influential members of the lefty Net roots, rakes me over the coals for my post on conservatives organizing for Hawaii GOP congressional candidate Charles Djou. Read it all, but here's the key bit. Crediting the online organizing Weigel lists for Republican success in Hawaii is like crediting a particularly nice font on yard signs, combined with a well-run press conference, for a campaign victory. Democrats are losing this campaign because there are two Dems splitting the vote. That's it. Even if Djou has improved his position over the...

Now I expect most Democrats and Liberals to blame Charles Djou's "victory" on the Democratic split, and on Hawaii's unique special election format. However, that would be a distraction from the real picture: Charles Djou increased Republican votes by more than 75% during a special election. Don't believe me? Wrap your mind around these statistics: 2008 congressional election (D) Abercrombie - 154,208 - 70.6% (R) Steve Tataii - 38,115 - 17.4% Other/Blank vote - 25,963 - 11.9%

Republican Charles Djou won the special election in Hawaii's First Congressional District – the Honolulu district where President Obama grew up. Djou is only the third Republican Hawaii has elected to Congress since statehood. In 2008, Mr. Obama took the district with 70 percent of the vote, and no Hawaiian congressional district had returned a Republican for 20 years. Taking his cues from another Republican who won in firmly Democratic territory – Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts – Djou saw the election as a repudiation of one-party rule. "The congressional seat is not owned by one political party. This congressional...

GOP Wins Special Election in Obama’s Hawaii Posted By Publius On May 22, 2010 @ 9:38 pm In Congress, News, Obama, Politics, State Politics | 22 Comments From the Honolulu Advertiser [1]: Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou has won the special election in urban Honolulu’s 1st Congressional District, the first Republican sent to Washington, D.C., to represent the Islands in two decades. According to the state Office of Elections, Djou leads with 39.5 percent of the vote, followed by 30.8 percent for state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa and 27.6 percent for former congressman Ed Case. The remaining 11 other candidates...

A Republican candidate has prevailed over a crowded special election to represent President Obama’s Hawaiian birthplace in the House of Representatives. The victory of Charles Djou, a Honolulu city councilman, was not a surprise, but it served to bolster his party as it seeks to chip away at the Democratic majority. The special election was called after Representative Neil Abercrombie, a Democrat, announced last year that he would resign before completing his 10th term in order to focus on his candidacy for governor. Mr. Djou beat out 13 other candidates with 39.5 percent of the vote in Hawaii’s First Congressional...

Republican Charles Djou has won a Democratic-held House seat in Hawaii in the district where President Obama grew up. The special election is the latest battleground in the fight for control of Congress in the midterm races.

May 22, 2010 Republicans Capture House Seat in Obama's Hometown Honolulu -- Republicans scored a midterm election victory Saturday when Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou won a Democratic-held House seat in Hawaii in the district where President Obama grew up -- the latest triumph for the GOP as it looks to take back control of Congress. Djou's victory was a blow to Obama and other Democrats who could not rally around a candidate and find away to win a congressional race that should have been a cakewalk. The seat had been held by a Democrat for nearly 20 years and...

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Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou has won the special election in urban Honolulu's 1st Congressional District, the first Republican sent to Washington, D.C., to represent the Islands in two decades. According to the state Office of Elections, Djou leads with 39.5 percent of the vote, followed by 30.8 percent for state Senate (Links to Honolulu news)

HONOLULU (AP) -- Republican Charles Djou (duh-JOO') has won a Democratic-held House seat in Hawaii in the district where President Barack Obama grew up. The special election is the latest triumph for the GOP as it looks to take back control of Congress.

Democrats are bracing for the loss of a House seat Saturday in President Obama's birthplace of Hawaii, where a special election in a heavily Democratic district has inflamed tensions within the party

Dem family feud could cost party Hawaii seatUpdated: May 21, 2010 12:35 AM EDT By HERBERT A. SAMPLE Associated Press Writer HONOLULU (AP) - Democrats won't budge in their family feud in this usually Democratic state, and that could result in Hawaii electing its first Republican congressman in decades. The GOP is hoping to celebrate a victory by Charles Djou on Saturday in a special election against two Democrats - one a former congressman himself - who seem to be splitting their party's vote. Not only would that mean the loss of a Democratic seat in Congress, it would be...

Saturday's special election for Hawaii's 1st Congressional District has garnered a huge amount of attention. The stakes are high: for the candidates, their political parties, Hawaii residents and even the Obama administration, given the national attention this race has drawn.

Link only - Djou calls Hawaii special election race 'pretty much over'

Hawaii’s special congressional election is producing a large voter turnout, which may be a good sign for Republican candidate Charles Djou. *snip* Special elections generally don’t draw a high turnout, but this race for the seat vacated by Democrat Neil Abercrombie’s resignation (to run for governor) has heated up. *snip* That’s not good news for Democrats in a district they historically have dominated. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has essentially given up on the race, announcing Monday it would no longer spend money trying to win there.

Did you wonder why, as Mary Katherine Ham reported earlier today, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has pulled out of the May 22 special election in Hawaii 1? That’s the congressional district in which Barack Obama was allegedly born and which he carried 70%-28% in November 2008. It seems that Hawaii allows postal and absentee voting, and according to a poll by a local firm, relayed by Jim Geraghty of National Review, some 53% of respondents report that they have voted and 45% of them say they have voted for Djou, with the other vote split between Democratic state Senator...

The DCCC is pulling out of the race to replace ex-Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI), effectively ceding the heavily Dem seat to the GOP as intra-party feuding splits the vote. "The DCCC will not be investing additional resources in the HI-01 (Abercrombie-open) special election. Local Democrats were unable to work out their differences," DCCC communications director Jennifer Crider said in an emailed statement. "The DCCC will save the resources we would have invested in the Hawaii special election this month for the general election in November." The move comes as polls show Honolulu City Councillor Charles Djou (R) leading 2 other...

WASHINGTON – Despite spending more than $300,000, frustrated House Democrats may abandon efforts to win a special election in Hawaii after quiet diplomacy failed to end a high-level party feud that threatens their prospects. "It's an extremely difficult race, since two Democratic candidates are splitting the vote," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "The local Democrats haven't been able to come together and resolve that, so we'll have to re-evaluate our participation." Recent public and private polls show Republican Charles Djou ahead in a race to fill out the remaining few months...

President Barack Obama won Hawaii’s first congressional district in 2008 with 70% of the vote, but on May 22 the president’s hometown seat is probably going to fall to the GOP in a special election. Maryland Democratic Rep. Chris Van Hollen, who runs the Democrats’ campaign operation, told reporters that they would “have to re-evaluate” their efforts to win. Translation: The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is likely going to pull out of the race altogether. The news is welcome to House Republicans, but this race shouldn’t be viewed as a bellwether because of the quirks in the Hawaii election. For...

President Barack Obama recorded a telephone message for Hawaiians urging them to vote for a Democrat in this month's special election for Congress, but he neglected to say which Democrat. With two Democrats running against one Republican in the mail-in, winner-take-all contest, polls indicate the Democrats are splitting their party faithful and Republican City Councilman Charles Djou is in the lead. The lack of a decisive endorsement by the president may just push Mr. Djou over the finish line.

The open seat vacated by former Congressman Neil Abercrombie, Hawaiian Democrat, who is now running for governor, has caused more headaches for Democrats than the party bargained for. Republican Honolulu Councilman Charles Djou became a thorn in the side of the Democratic Party when two Democrats running against him in the three way special Congressional election, former Congressman Ed Case and state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, run the risk of splitting each other's vote. There is no primary in Hawaii and the race is a winner takes all election, so Democrats are scrambling to make sure Mr. Djou does not...

President Obama recorded a message for Democrats in Hawaii's first congressional district: "I need a Democrat who will support my agenda in Congress. It's crucial that you vote and you vote Democratic." His approval rating in the place where he was born exceeds 70 percent, so it's likely that his call will be heeded. Problem is: Obama's robocall is confusing, rather than clarifying. The White House, the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee believe that former Rep. Ed Case is a better candidate than State Senate President Colleen Hanabusa. The moment the Big Three tipped their hand,...

Take note of the present tense. As Chris Cillizza writes, Republicans are excited, but not overconfident, about their chances of victory in the ongoing vote-by-mail special race for Congress in Hawaii. But let's take a moment to understand why Charles Djou, a talented Honolulu City Council member, is in position to win a three-way race. Beyond the Democratic bumbling that has led to former congressman Ed Case and state Sen. Colleen Hanabusa duking it out, splitting the vote, we've seen another very effective grass-roots conservative campaign, another successful push by right-leaning Web gurus to make this race exciting to the...

Republicans hold an eight-point lead in the Hawaii special election as the mail-in voting begins in the race, according to a new Honolulu Advertiser poll. The poll shows Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou (R) with 36 percent of the vote, former Rep. Ed Case (D-Hawaii) at 28 percent and state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa (D) at 22 percent. Just 13 percent of voters are undecided.

Republican Charles Djou has increased his lead in Hawaii's First Congressional District with less than three weeks before the mail-in, winner-take-all special election. In a new poll, Honolulu City Councilman Djou leads with 36% while former Congressman Ed Case (D) has 28% and state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa (D) trails the pack with 22%. 13% remain undecided.

What would you say if I were to tell you that a Republican was ahead in a special election House race in Hawaii? Yes, you read that correctly. In Hawaii, Republicans are usually as rare as hens teeth. But the dissatisfaction with the Democrats runs so deep, that even in the bluest of blue states, the GOP is very competitive. How competitive? Republican Charles Djou has climbed 15 points in the polls since January and is now ahead in the deep blue state! Charles Djou is currently leading the field in the latest polling. Djou held a "money wave" today...

Djou Money Wave » Win Obama's Home District and Wipe-out Nancy Pelosi!

Another Republican candidate is having a special 24-hour fundraising drive; today is Charles Djou's big "MoneyWave day." He's only a few hours in, and is at $56,686. The candidate whom I've compared to a Care Bear for his sunny demeanor shows he can take a shot or two at his opponents, thoughtfully citing local newspapers as supporting evidence.

Sometimes I'm willing to cut a candidate some slack about living in the district; those lines are sometimes gerrymandered wildly, and so it's not unthinkable for a person to live in one district but work and spend most of his time in another, and prefer to run in the neighboring one. But Hawaii's district lines seem relatively simple; the 1st district is Honolulu and the 2nd district is everyplace else. In the Hawaiian special election, the Democrats have the complication of two major candidates against one Republican in a winner-take-all race, and yet neither one lives in the district. Neither...

Democratic Committee is looking to pay people to walk neighborhoods educating voters about the upcoming special election. Duties will include going door to door in neighborhoods, talking to specific voters, educating them about the procedures for mail-in balloting, and persuading them to vote in the special election. Shifts will be in the afternoon from 3 - 8pm M-F, and all day Saturday and Sunday from 10am - 6pm, running through May 22nd. Reliable transportation is a requirement. Pay is $12/hour. To apply or get more information, email hawaiifield@me.com with a phone number. •Location: Honolulu •Compensation: $12 per hour •This is...

Republican Charles Djou has climbed 15 points in the polls since January and is now ahead in the deep blue state! This would (will) be another major upset. Wow! The latest poll has popular Republican Charles Djou ahead in the Hawaii special congressional election.

Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) has transferred $100,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, money that will be used to bash the GOP candidate in next month’s House special election in the Aloha State. Inouye’s action complicates the behind-the-scenes struggle between Inouye and House Democratic leaders, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi, over which Democratic candidate will get DCCC support in the May 22 election. Inouye and Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) are backing Hawaii Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, but the DCCC is flirting with throwing its public backing to former Rep. Ed Case, who alienated the Hawaii Democratic establishment by waging an unsuccessful...

HONOLULU -- A recent poll shows Republican Charles Djou is tied with Democrat Ed Case for the lead in Oahu’s special congressional election, according to The Atlantic magazine. The poll, which The Atlantic said was conducted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, puts Democrat Colleen Hanabusa in third place, just a few points behind Djou and Case. In January, when KITV4 and the Honolulu Star-Bulletin conducted the last poll that went public, Case was the clear leader. The former congressman had 37 percent of the vote, followed by Senate President Hanabusa in second place with close to 25 percent. Councilman...

Team Djou - Get involved! Join Team Djou today!

Please take a moment to help FREEP this poll. It is an online poll for the Honolulu Advertiser, and it is for the election to replace the seat vacated by former U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie. Hawaii has a legitimate chance to be Massachusetts The Sequel, with Charles Djou (R), a fiscal, common-sense conservative, challenging the union-backed Colleen Hanabusa (D) and Democrat Ed Case (who paints himself as a "moderate" and "independent" but is really another tax-and-spender). The narrative played out in local media is that Charles is a longshot, but Cook Political Report has revised their assessment twice so far,...

Wow, this is lame. The DCCC is getting involved in Hawaii's special House election, except that the Republican candidate, Charles Djou, is about as menacing as a Care Bear. So their line of attack is . . . for signing a pledge not to raise taxes. Djou signed the Americans for Tax Reform’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge, stating that he opposes any net reduction or elimination of deductions and credits, unless matched dollar-for-dollar by further reducing tax rates. The DCCC contends Djou is "protecting tax breaks for companies that send jobs overseas." And every other company, and every other individual. You...

Asian-American Democrats are criticizing the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for favoring a white former congressman from Hawaii over the Asian-American State Senate President in a hotly contested special election to represent a majority-minority Hawaii district. “The DCCC should focus the party on uniting Democrats and keeping this seat blue rather than dividing us and helping us defeat ourselves. It is unseemly for party officials to step into a special election with more than one Democrat, particularly in a district where 58 percent of the population is Asian Pacific American," says the Asian American Action Fund executive director Gautam Dutta in...

The Hawaiian word kuleana roughly translates to turf, as in, "stay off my turf!" Gangs fight over turf, and so do politicians. It turns out that an internecine Democratic turf battle may just help elect the first Republican to the U.S. Congress from Hawaii in two decades. The last Republican to hold the seat was former school teacher Pat Saiki, who left the House in 1990 and who now chairs the campaign of the Republican who is trying to change that trend, Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou. He may be sitting in a good spot in a year Republicans hope...

HONOLULU -- The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's TV commercial slams Republican candidate Charles Djou, questioning his credibility on the jobs issue. Here is the wording of the commercial: "In the race for congress you have heard a lot about Charles Djou so it is best to check the record. On jobs, Djou signed a pledge that protects tax breaks for companies that send jobs overseas. With more than 43,000 people in Hawaii looking for work, Djou still supports tax breaks for big corporations that would export our future. Take a closer look at Djou's troubling record on jobs at djoufacts.com...

<p>Honolulu, - A television ad produced by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has assailed a no-new-taxes pledge signed by Republican congressional candidate Charles Djou.</p> <p>But the group that sponsors the pledge, Americans for Tax Reform, on Wednesday called the ad "blatantly false" and noted that several Democrats have signed it.</p>

With Scott Brown winning a Senate seat in Massachusetts, the Bay State no longer qualifies as the toughest terrain for Republican candidates. So which deep-blue spot will be the next one to shock the political world? It could be Hawaii’s 1st congressional district, which encompasses Honolulu and is sometimes referred to as “Barack Obama’s home district,” since the president lived in Hawaii’s capital city during his teen years. Obama carried HI-1 by a margin of 70 percent to 28 percent in 2008, and the retiring Democratic congressman who held this seat from 1990 to February 2010, Neil Abercrombie, usually won...