Ed Case Wins!

After the frustratingly close loss at the primaries, Ed Case managed to win the special election for Congress. I think it's a good sign he'll win the January election too, since he won this one by a large margin.

Interestingly, I didn't vote for him this time. I think that's a good thing, because I'm convinced I have the Pen of Defeat when it comes to voting. Every single person I voted for, with the exception of Patsy Mink, lost in the general election (okay, maybe I voted for a BOE winner or two, I can't remember).

And is it just me, or does anyone else find it strange that the January election is also a free-for-all? Personally, I feel that the race should be limited to Democrats, simply because we the voters chose Patsy Mink over the alternatives. If we wanted a Republican or Libertarian or the guy from the Natural Law party, we would have elected them in November.

I have nightmares that a larger turnout in January, combined with the sheer number of Democrats running, will somehow throw the race in an unexpected direction.

One question- did anyone see the guy with the van off Pali Highway last week displaying all those political signs? I couldn't figure out what point he was trying to make.. any thoughts?

Comments

Lisa, I too am glad Case won the otherwise pointless special election (which, I've read, cost more than $32 per vote to arrange - what with a 13 percent turnout). He was my favorite on the Democratic ticket in the Primary, and in a way I'd like to think sending him to Washington would prove that his unfortunate defeat in the gubernatorial race was simply because he had a higher calling.

Mr. Mink was the sentimental favorite, but Case won by a very wide margin. I can only predict the same for him in January, since I can see an otherwise spread-out vote tally for the other 'well-known' candidates. I'm not even sure Matsunaga is a sure-thing second anymore.

And I hadn't thought about it 'til you mentioned it, but yeah, it is a bit odd that the January race is also wide open. Hawaii's laws must really be national aberrations. Mink's passing didn't create the only unexpected special election this year, but in all other cases I think the replacement was limited to the original party (especially if the incumbent won posthumously). Or was that not actually the case, say, in Minnesota?

Maybe the single-party limitation only applies to interim folks? Except that Gov. Ventura appointed an independent to replace a deceased Democrat, and this past weekend's election was a free-for-all.

I'm confused. But horray for Ed Case. We need someone like him in D.C. - it sure can't just be Neil Abercrombie.

Ventura wasn't even supposed to appoint an Independent- he'd promised to appoint a Democrat, but then someone said something he didn't like at Wellstone's memorial service. He used that as an excuse to go back on his word.

Usually, though, when appointments are made (for Senators) you get someone of the same party as the governor.

I really don't know how special elections are held elsewhere, though. Would be interesting to find out.

I remember. I'm probably in the minority on Ventura, insofar as I have rather mixed feelings about him (versus loving him or hating him). Going back on his word on Wellstone's same-party replacement was controversial (I didn't know he'd promised, but I knew it was expected), but I also agree that Wellstone's memorial was shamelessly appropriated and turned into a political rally - I would've walked out too.

If appointing a successor is truly a governor's prerogative, then he could've named his mother to the spot.

In the end, Wellstone's interim replacement - Dean Barkley - ended up in much the same position Ed Case did: not enough time, nor any major legislation, to make much of the term. Unlike Barkley, though, Case has a good chance of holding onto the seat come January.

Um, Ryan, not to argue, but Barkley threw his lot in with the Republicans on the Homeland Security bill. Case won't have anything close to that to deal with until the next session, if he gets that far.

True, and point taken, but the passage of that bill wasn't exactly close to the point where a single vote would have made a difference. On another issue where legislators would vote strictly along party lines, certainly, courting his vote (like with Jim Jeffords) would be strategically neccessary.

I was standing in line at my credit union when I saw the news. The credit union has this close-circuit television thing that's not much different from the slide show advertisements you see at movie theaters, but this system also includes UPI news stories, one of which was Ed Case's victory.

The first thing I thought of was "I bet I'm going to see this on Hawaii Stories when I get back home".

I just realized I won't be able to vote in the January election- it's being held the 4th, and I won't be back until the 7th. I wish there was an absentee system for special elections.

There may well be. Seems to me there was a walk-in provision at satellite city halls for advance voting for this one.

Lisa (and others):

There's a very good reason for not making January's election a Democrat-only affair. Yes, it's fair to assume that a LOT of people who wanted a Republican or a Libertarian already voted for one, and were outvoted.

On the other hand, a vote for Patsy Mink wasn't a vote for Patsy Mink. In this strangest of elections, a vote for Patsy Mink could have been many OTHER things--among them a tribute, a statement, and a vote for a fair special election in which the Democrats could be represented by someone capable of serving.

I did not vote in this election (I'm a townie), but if I had voted, I can honestly see myself possibly voting for Mink, although I voted Libertarian pretty much across the board in other races. I don't like the elections process much the way it is, but I believe that at the very least, it should remain true to what it sets out to be, so I'd vote for Mink just to say, "Okay, let's do this again, with fair representation on all sides by all qualified parties."

This, however, does not mean I want a Democrat in office. I most certainly do not. I merely want whoever gets elected to be elected in the fairest way possible.

Lisa, you can vote at Pearlridge...

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