Rep. Ed Case wins Dem primary, setting up for 6th full term in deep blue Hawaii
Moderate Democratic Rep. Ed Case, D-Hawaii, fended off a primary challenger in the state’s elections Saturday, setting himself up for a likely sixth full term in the House of Representatives.
Case is running for the seat in Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District, which he’s held since winning in the 2018 midterm elections.
He first came to Congress as a representative for the island’s 2nd Congressional District, winning a special election to fill the seat of Rep. Patsy Mink, who died of pneumonia in 2002.
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Case left the House of Representatives in January 2007 and returned in January 2019, representing his current district.
He made headlines just last month as one of dozens of House Democrats who called on President Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race, which Biden did later that month.
In a July 11 statement, Case maintained that his decision only came from concerns about the 81-year-old leader’s ability to carry out another four-year term.
"This has nothing to do with his character and record," Case said at the time. "If it did, there would be no decision to make."
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Case is no stranger to crowded primary elections, besting a field of 44 candidates to replace Mink for her final two months in office in 2002. He also won a seven-way primary for his current seat in 2018.
This time, however, he faced just one primary challenger, Cecil Hale, who does not appear to have disclosed campaign finance data to the Federal Election Commission.
Case, by contrast, raised nearly $120,000 in individual contributions and ended the primary cycle with almost $260,000 cash on hand.
Hawaii only has two congressional districts, both represented by Democrats, and both of its senators are also Democrats.
It’s a safe blue stronghold for the left despite pervasive issues like the high cost of living, which has traditionally been a potent political weapon for Republicans in other parts of the country.
Republican Patrick Largey is running unopposed for the Republican nomination to challenge Case in November.