HI 2014 Congressional Elections

[Miles]

Article.

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[Miles]

Endorsed.

Lets hope Inouye's wish is finally realized.

[Miles]

Abercrombie has to be feeling relieved now.

Still, the second part of this equation will be finding someone else to primary Abercrombie.

[Miles]

The DSCC is supporting Schatz, as you would expect.

Still, they're not going to get very involved in a state thats safe for them in the general.

[Miles]

EMILY's List is endorsing her, and apparently she's ahead in internals.

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/04/colleen-hanabusa-endorsed-by-womens-group-90496.html?hp=l5

Good. I was worried about her weak fundraising quarter, but now that she's actually in, things should pick up and this will help.

[Miles]

A look at the racial aspects of this primary:

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But...

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[Miles]

Age is a pretty big thing, in this context. Also, Schatz is one of the most left-wing Hawaii politicians and it's always a good thing to move the Senate spectrum to the left. And I think avoiding the drama of an internal strife is more important here than for the Governor's race (since everyone hates Abercrombie anyway, it's not like that would change much in that case).

Though Schatz is perceived to be more left wing, I don't think there's any question that they'd both vote the party line on virtually everything.

[Miles]

Agreed. Romanoff's primary challenge to Bennett in 2010 arguably made the latter a better candidate and helped him to win the general.

I love how Dems are stronger candidates after a tough primary but Republicans are weaker

I don't think Senator Lincoln agrees.

[Miles]

Irene Hirono Inouye, the late Senator's widow, endorsed Hanabusa.

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[Miles]

It was obvious, but Emily's List is officially endorsing Hanabusa:

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[Miles]

No, what I'm saying is that if an incumbent is doing a good job (as Schatz seems to be doing), and there isn't a valid justification to run against him, I don't understand why someone would do that.

Because she thinks she has a better record and would thus make a superior Senator...'

All the competition in one-party states like HI is in the primaries. I think some competition will be good here.

[Miles]

The Hawaii Government Employees Association, the state's largest union, is getting behind Schatz.

[Miles]

The Honolulu Civil Beat is showing the primary race within the margin of error, with Schatz up 36-33.

[Miles]

Hanabusa is pushing back with a poll done for EMILY's List:

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[Miles]

Politico has a piece on this race, but its mostly stuff we already know.

[Miles]

He looks like such a hoagie in this picture.

...he looks like a sandwich?

Color me puzzled too.

Not literally.

I still don't get it...

[Miles]

Hanabusa was on POLITICO'S 50 Politicos to Watch list.


Also, guys, at this point, I think we might as well turn this into the offical Hawaii 2014 Senate race thread!

[Miles]

Peter Boylan, who was deputy chief of staff for Inouye, has joined Hanabusa's campaign.

In the open HI-01, State Senator Will Espero (D) becomes the first candidate to officially launch a bid:

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[Miles]

MoveOn is endorsing Schatz.

[Miles]

Inouye's widow is helping Hanabusa with fundraising.

[Miles]

We must have missed this, as its a few weeks old, but Akaka endorsed Hanabusa.

[Miles]

Hanabusa needs to pick up the fundraising pace:

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[Miles]

He's being reallllllly racist. Egg roll (Hanabusa) is a stereotypical Asian food, and gefilte fish (Schatz) is a stereotypical Jewish food. Classic "constitutional conservative" behavior.

Guys, ignore the incoherent troll.

[Miles]

The Civil Beat still shows a narrow Schatz lead:

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[Miles]

Are you out of your mind? We need her in Washington! Just look at what happened a few months after the late Shelley Berkley lost her seat in Congress.

I support Hanabusa too, but...