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The Republican nominee for governor of Hawaii stepped to the podium at a fundraiser for the state GOP, greeted by cheers and a standing ovation. Duke Aiona is the man who "will win, can win," a state senator insisted as he introduced the nominee. And the 200 donors and supporters in the audience apparently agreed. "I feel so confident right now," Aiona said in a pavilion lit by tiki torches, nestled in a valley on Oahu's North Shore. "This is a statement in and of itself, to have so many people here supporting the Republican Party." It's an odd sentiment...

A 40-year political career came to a close after Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie lost his bid for a second term in a stunning primary-election defeat by a fellow Democrat and state senator who defied party leadership to challenge the incumbent. A second intraparty fight for U.S. Senate was too close to call. State Sen. David Ige, once seen as an underdog, cruised to a decisive 35 percentage point win in Saturday's primary after being dramatically outspent by Abercrombie, who also had high-profile endorsements including President Barack Obama. Ige said his win "proves that people power can be money power, especially...

HONOLULU (AP) -- In a stunning defeat for an incumbent, Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie was unseated by a fellow Democrat in Saturday's primary election, as voters chose state Sen. David Ige as their nominee in one of two marquee races that have divided the party. Abercrombie had tried to hold onto his seat while disgruntled voters turned their allegiance to Ige, who promised to bring a less confrontational political style. Voters rewarded Ige with a decisive victory....

I don’t know who is going to win Saturday’s special Democratic Senate primary between Sen. Brian Schatz and Rep. Colleen Hanabusa — and it’s not just because there’s a lot going on in Hawaii right now (an earthquake rattled Hawaii on Thursday, and two tropical storms are on course to hit or come near Hawaii in the next five days). Instead, the polling picture in the Aloha State is a mess. One poll has Hanabusa up by 8 percentage points, and another puts Schatz up 8 points. Why the discrepancy? Hawaii’s diversity has troubled pollsters in the past and looks...

Getting the president’s backing isn’t what it used to be—he looks set to go 0-2 on Saturday, with the two candidates he endorsed in his home state apparently headed for defeat.When Barack Obama vaulted onto the national stage a decade ago, part of his appeal was that he seemed to be from so many places at once. All corners of the country could lay claim to him: He was Hawaiian by birth, Illinoisan by choice, and Kansan by heritage, and he spent his formative years in New York City. He marched through the 2008 primaries by winning in both the...

Hawaii’s Gov. Neil Abercrombie was defeated and U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz was fighting to avoid a similar ousting Saturday after a Democratic primary vote that occurred as the state cleaned up from Tropical Storm Iselle and awaited an incoming hurricane. State Sen. David Ige took a broad lead over Abercrombie from the earliest returns Saturday night, and the incumbent conceded publicly little more than three hours after the polls closed. The Senate contest was a dead heat late into the night; at one point Rep. Colleen Hanabusa and Schatz were separated by a mere 11 votes.

Rep. Colleen Hanabusa (D-HI) says her constituents are "frustrated and embarrassed" by Hawaii's failed Obamacare exchange, which cost taxpayers $204 million and signed up only 8,000 people. On Wednesday, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) announced it will launch an investigation into Hawaii's busted Obamacare program. "This is not a partisan issue, this is an economic issue," said state Sen. Sam Slom. Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie previously predicted "hundreds of thousand of people" would sign up for Obamacare in the President's home state. On Thursday, President Barack Obama tried to rally Democrats to support his unpopular Obamacare program. "I think Democrats...

Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie announced tonight Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz will replace the late Sen. Daniel Inouye as the U.S. senator from Hawaii -- not Sen. Inouye's first choice. On the day he died, the late senator wrote a letter to Abercrombie asking that he pick Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, D-Hawaii, to replace him. Hanabusa made it to the final round of consideration, but she did not win the nomination. "The charge of the central committee was to take all points of view into account, from Sen. Inouye and from the rank and file -- the Democratic grass roots," Abercrombie said...

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...