Posted on 08/10/2014 11:10:14 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
It’s only a matter of time before the political press picks up on this episode as part of a narrative about the larger Democratic Civil War… right?
On Saturday night, The Aloha State’s Democratic Gov. Neil Abercrombie lost the battle for his party’s gubernatorial nomination to state Sen. David Ige. Badly. With 99 percent of precincts reporting as of this writing, Igy won 67.4 percent of Democratic primary vote compared to just 31.5 percent for Abercrombie.
The governor’s loss was not unexpected as public opinion surveys in even this difficult to poll state had unmistakably shown for several weeks that Abercrombie was likely to lose this race, but this is still the first time in the state’s history that a sitting governor has been ousted in a primary after serving just one term. Local factors rather than national politics or even the Abercrombie brand were more to blame for this Democratic revolt.
Indicative of the uniqueness of the gubernatorial primary, Sen. Brian Schatz Abercrombie’s appointed replacement for the late Sen. Daniel Inouye (against the late senator’s wishes), may have narrowly survived a primary challenge from Rep. Colleen Hanabusa. “With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Schatz had 49.4 percent of the vote, while Hanabusa had tallied 48.6 percent of the vote,” Fox News reported. “The two were separated by fewer than 2,000 votes out of more than 210,000 ballots cast.”
(Excerpt) Read more at hotair.com ...
Maybe Bennett in Utah but his was under a different system I think. He got pushed to third or fourth. Mike Lee and the other guy then ran.
Ok, thanks for your reply, I’ll google that!
I asked the same question, both of us forgot the obvious one.
Frank Murkwowsi in Alaska in 2006 came in THIRD with just 19% to 50.6% for Palin and 30% for another guy.
Anyway, the 2 outstanding precincts in the state are supposed to vote on Friday but rat Senate challenger Colleen Hanabusa is suing to prevent that, says too many people are still without power and water and won’t be able to make it to the polls. According to what I’ve read, the area favors her opponent, the appointed White incumbent Schatz, and will only increase his lead, so I don’t know what she’s doing.
The rat Senate drama would be delcious, if we had a strong GOP candidate, which we don’t.
The Governorship is another story, Duke Aiona (R) leads in the polls over Ige.
“Duke Aiona (R) leads in the polls over Ige.”
Well that’s interesting, and I’d *thought* I’d heard something like that a while ago, but not a peep from the pundits in all the recent discussion of this primary.
I think that woman is being silly, if the area really favors her opponent, she should want the vote to be now - if she thinks things are really still disrupted.
But, she’s probably just another lying liar and what she’s hoping is time will pass and folks will forget about voting.
Good call on Murkowski, yet the daughter is still in office, eh?
Hippies suck
Even if the two precincts that haven’t voted favor Shatz, Hanabusa is wise to try to ensure a higher turnout: she’s down by 1,600 votes, and unless she has reason to believe that there was a problem with the count in the rest if the state that, if corrected, will make up the deficit, she somehow needs to net 1,600 votes in those two precincts, which is easier done with a turnout of 20,000 (where she would need 54% of the vote) than with a turnout of 10,000 (where she would need 58%).
Yes, after she lost the GOP primary in 2010 enough democrats abandoned their weak nominee and wrote in Lisa Murkowski’s name, combined with her RINO base that was enough for her to win the 3-way election. A pity Alaska doesn’t have a sore loser law that would have prevented her from running after losing the primary.
Yes, you’re right.
According to this article there are only 6,800 registered voters in these 2 precincts. If turnout is too light she’d screwed even if it was her territory.
The court rejects Hanabusa, looks like the vote will go on.
I personally find it shocking and amazing that Schatz, who was supposedly almost as unpopular as Abercrombie, will apparently retain and win the nomination over Inouye’s heir apparent Hanabusa. If he wins in November (and outrageously, the HI GOP gave this one a pass with a desultory opponent), he’ll be the first White Senator elected since Oren Long drew the short term in the 1959 statehood special. Frankly, the state GOP should ask Cavasso to step down and put up a credible (and preferably Asian or Native Hawaiian) candidate.
That seems sensible to me, I don’t know what things are like there, obviously, but we voted just about 10 days after Hurricane Sandy, we still didn’t have electric in our house, but we were able to vote with no problem.
Of the 6800 voters in the 2 precincts that failed to mail in ballot (about 1400 did) only 1500 votes were cast and Schatz increased his lead slightly to 1,769 votes. Another electoral victory for Hawaiian Jews (Lingle is Jewish).
The Hawaii GOP’s failure to get a decent Senate candidate is criminal, pull a Walsh Cam Cavasso, pull a Walsh. Actually I think it’s called pulling a Torricelli.
Who is the R candidate for Gov?
Former LT Governor and 2010 nominee James “Duke” Aiona.
“Another electoral victory for Hawaiian Jews”
_______________
The correct term is “Hebrewaiians.”
As for the Senate race, this is another example of our lack of a bench biting us in the arse. Only three Republicans have the profile to run a competitive gubernatorial or congressional race in HI: Charles Djou, Duke Aiona and Linda Lingle. Instead of running for the Senate (where he’d be a bit of a longshot), Djou is running for Congress in the Honolulu-based HI-01, which gives him a better chance of victory because (i) he served a partial term there in 2010-11, (ii) it is less Democrat that the other CD or the state as a whole, having given Bush 47% in 2004, and (iii) it is an open seat due to Hanabusa’s (unsuccessful) Senate run. Former Lt. Gov. Aiona is running for governor, where he has a real shot of winning in a three-way race. As for Lingle, she got clobbered by Hirono in the 2012 Senate race (Obama was getting over 70% in HI in the same election) and decided not to try again. So I’m not sure who could replace Cavasso on the ballot and beat Shatz (unless Hianabusa launches an independent bid for the Senate and splits the Dem vote).
“unless Hianabusa launches an independent bid for the Senate and splits the Dem vote”
Eh, she couldn’t win the primary even running an “I was robbed” campaign (if she did do that, because I’m just making that up now; but the pundits seems to think she was).’
Unless she thinks she’d have some big cross-over appeal to Rs or Is, she’d basically be risking the rest of her political career with the party.
And I’m assuming she’s maybe too young to burn those bridges.
Bribing Hannemann to switch parties and leave the Governor’s race would have been ideal.
Lingle probably expected to be facing Hanabusa.
I think she made a mistake running in ‘12 and letting that doomed experience discourage her running this time. If only Inouye had retired in 2010, I think would have been elected that year.
I’d have to say Cavasso’s chances are pretty much zero, any number of people could raise the odds to at least 10%. Ideally a Native Hawaiian or Japanese as DJ says.
Pat Saiki is only 84, spring chicken for a Hawaiian Senator. ;p Cynthia Thielen (State Rep., 2006 nominee that did respectably against Akaka) is only 80.
What about Prince What’shisname, the guy who was supposed to run for Congress but didn’t?
How about 1 of the other Republicans in the State House, Former Miss Hawaii Lauren Matsumoto (married name, she’s White) is too young (imagine adding her to a Congressional delegation that already includes Gabbard), but there’s Beth Fukumoto (the only non-White Republican besides Thielen), the freshman Minority “Floor” Leader (the “Minority Leader” and each party has 3 Whips, I don’t get it, all 7 Republicans have a title).
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/members/leadership.aspx?chamber=H
Inouye was going to leave office only one way, and that was feet first. Some of these guys were never going to retire voluntarily, and that included him, Ted Kennedy and Robert Byrd. As I predicted, they all left feet first.
Lingle was going to have a tough time regardless. Had she run in 2010, she probably still would've lost. Although I don't know offhand, her approvals must've been poor when she left the Governorship, as she engendered no good will for the party and Aiona got the worst drubbing for a GOP candidate for Governor in a one-on-one race since statehood, I believe (and as a first tier candidate, even more disastrous... and all that in a good GOP year). Aiona's loss was so bad in 2010, I was wary about him running again, but it looks like 2014 may be the state's apology to him for not having elected him over Abercrombie.
"Pat Saiki is only 84, spring chicken for a Hawaiian Senator."
I believe she is, at present, the state GOP Chair. Speaking of spring chickens, had we known how long Hiram Fong was going to live, he should've been kept in his Senate seat well past his retirement in 1977 (when he was just in his late 60s). He likely could've kept serving until 1995.
"What about Prince What’shisname, the guy who was supposed to run for Congress but didn’t?"
Quentin Kawananakoa. He was the supposed magic candidate for the GOP, but apparently when he left the legislature and tried to make a comeback, couldn't get his old seat (after he failed to get the nomination for Congress in 2006). Despite that, I'd try to get him to run over Cavasso.
I can't speak much to the paltry farm team of legislative Republicans. There's just the 1 State Senator who's been there since 1996, Sam Slom, but he'd probably rather keep his seat (and the de facto leadership title, for whatever it's worth).
Fred Hemmings lost by a slightly larger margin in 1990, than did Aiona in 2010.
“Speaking of spring chickens, had we known how long Hiram Fong was going to live, he should’ve been kept in his Senate seat well past his retirement in 1977 (when he was just in his late 60s). He likely could’ve kept serving until 1995.”
And then the rats would have gained a Senate seat in the 94 election, lol. He could have stayed till he died and then Lingle would have appointed the successor.
I think Beth Fukumoto is the one to watch in the State Leg, but she’s just starting her career, she’s 31, which practically makes her a fetus.
Quentin Kawananakoa, what happened, all I can find is that he dropped out of the 1996 congressional race after being hospitalized with “hypertension” (larger issue perhaps? Depression? Booze?). Too bad, given that Orson Swindle almost beat Ambercrombie that year, I bet Kawananakoa would have.
“...she’s 31, which practically makes her a fetus.”
LOL!
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