New Poll: Case, Djou Tied In Special Election
| HONOLULU — A recent poll shows Republican Charles Djou is tied with Democrat Ed Case for the lead in Oahu’s special congressional election, according to The Atlantic magazine.
The poll, which The Atlantic says was conducted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, puts Democrat Colleen Hanabusa in third place, just a few points behind Djou and Case.
In January, when KITV4 and the Honolulu Star-Bulletin conducted the last poll that went public, Case was the clear leader. The former congressman had 37 percent of the vote, followed by Senate President Hanabusa in second place with close to 25 percent. Councilman Djou, a Republican, trailed in third with 17 percent of the vote.
But according to a more recent poll reported by Atlantic magazine, Case and Djou are now tied with 32 percent of the vote, with Hanabusa in third place at 27 percent. About nine percent of the respondents were undecided, Atlantic reported, citing a Democratic source who’d seen results of a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee poll.
Djou is elated with the results, saying, “Momentum has clearly shifted in favor of our campaign and this is certainly something that I’m very excited about.”
“It clearly shows that our message is resonating with the people of Hawaii. That congress is taking our nation in the wrong direction and we need a greater sense of fiscal responsibility,” Djou said.
Hanabusa sent an e-mail to her supporters saying, “These numbers show that this campaign is on the move.”
Even though the numbers show Hanabusa in third place, her campaign manager Eric Hamakawa told KITV4 he’s happy with the poll’s results, because he says they show Hanabusa’s support growing and Case’s campaign shrinking.
“I think we’re going to be peaking at the right time, in about three weeks,” he said, referring to April 30, when mail-in ballots will be sent to urban Honolulu voters.
In an e-mail, Case said the poll was probably conducted about two weeks ago, when his TV ads were not on the air and his opponents’ ads were. And he said the poll was likely taken before Hanabusa pulled her controversial TV spot that her opponents labeled misleading.
“I’d expect if a poll were done today, we’d be in the lead, Charles second and Colleen third,” Case told KITV4.
Atlantic Monthly reported the congressional poll was taken by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Andy Stone, the D.C.C.C.’s western regional press secretary, would not confirm the poll’s results.
Asked if Democrats are worried about the rising support for Republican Djou, Stone said, “Our focus from day one has been on Charles Djou and making sure Hawaii voters know about his record of supporting corporate special interests over the needs of Hawaii families.”
The poll shows more people are making up their minds as the election approaches. In January, KITV4’s poll found 21 percent of likely voters were undecided. The more recent survey found nine percent undecided.
This is a winner-take-all election, meaning there’s no primary. The candidate who gets more votes wins outright, even if he or she wins by just one vote. The results will be announced May 22.
The winner will fill the seat vacated by Neil Abercrombie, who resigned earlier this year to run for governor. Abercrombie’s term expires at the end of the year. Regardless of who wins the special election, all three will could compete for the next full two-year term in the U.S. House, which begins in January of 2011.
The district, which stretches from Hawaii Kai to Mililani, last elected a Republican, Pat Saiki, in 1988. Abercrombie, a Democrat, has held the seat since 1990. |