Colleen Hanabusa running for Governor - Hawaii's 1st Congressional District

[Jeppe]

With Colleen Hanabusa declaring her intentions to run for Governor, her congressional district previously held by Mark Takai, before Hanabusa won it in a special election, will now be an open race in 2018.

[Co-Chair Bagel23]

Both races are Safe D, and I could care less which dem wins in the gov race and her house seat.

[Jeppe]

Both races are Safe D, and I could care less which dem wins in the gov race and her house seat.

I think the former Republican State House Minority leader, Beth Fukumoto could run. She recently became a Democrat after Trump's election, and her State House district is in Hawaii's 1st.

[Co-Chair Bagel23]

Both races are Safe D, and I could care less which dem wins in the gov race and her house seat.

I think the former Republican State House Minority leader, Beth Fukumoto could run. She recently became a Democrat after Trump's election, and her State House district is in Hawaii's 1st.

Yeah, I like her, I want her to run for the open seat, and now I can support her since she is a democrat.

[Kingpoleon]

I'd like to see Ed Case run.

[Jeppe]

I'd like to see Ed Case run.

He'd have hard time winning. It's an Asian-American seat, it'd be like be one of those majority black seats in the Deep South electing a white Democrat. Possible, but pretty unlikely.

[MAINEiac4434]

This race is practically tailor-made for Beth Fukumoto.

[Holmes]

Why is there such a big push for Fukumoto? Because she's young and called Trump racist? What's even her voting record?

[MarkD]

I'd like to see Ed Case run.

He'd have hard time winning. It's an Asian-American seat, it'd be like be one of those majority black seats in the Deep South electing a white Democrat. Possible, but pretty unlikely.

Considering how many times the district elected Cecil Heftel and Neil Abercrombie, I would not say it is "pretty unlikely."

[MAINEiac4434]

This race is practically tailor-made for Beth Fukumoto.

Could she actually win? I can't imagine that the state party apparatus (or the grassroots, for that matter) would be particularly keen on supporting someone who was a Republican until like five minutes ago.

This is a good point.

Why is there such a big push for Fukumoto? Because she's young and called Trump racist? What's even her voting record?

I've heard her described as further to the left than Tulsi, not that that's saying much.

Nearest I can tell, she was more liberal than a handful of Democrats in her voting record (such as Tulsi's dad, who was only a Democrat out of convenience). I think she was always more ancestral Republican than a true belieber in the party's ideology, and he district is one of the few in Hawaii where the GOP is favored over the Dems. I think she's no more conservative than, say, Debbie Stabenow.

Of course, there's the chance I'm totally wrong and she wins the election and becomes an entrenched DINO like her colleague in the second district.

[Figueira]

Hopefully we get an actual liberal there--and another minority woman would also be good. Fukumoto would be OK but I suspect she's more conservative than she appears.