Another race-tinted showdown in Hawaii

by Aaron Blake April 23, 2013, Washington Post (excerpts)

...The Hawaii Democratic Party has a long history of primaries split along racial lines, with contests often coming down to an Asian-American, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander candidate and a white one, referred to as ”haole” in Hawaiian. And if it wasn’t Hanabusa challenging Schatz, it was likely to be another Asian-American Democrat, because Asian candidates often win in a state that is just 26 percent white.

Over the last 20 years, there have been 10 major Democratic races that pitted a white candidate against an Asian-American one, including four out of six Honolulu mayor’s races and three out of six governor’s races.

At the Senate level, it hasn’t happened as often since the state had two longtime Democratic senators who were ensconced in their seats. But even Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) faced a tough primary in 2006 with Rep. Ed Case, who is white, and Akaka’s 2012 retirement paved the way for a matchup between Case and now-Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii).

The issue also cropped up in the 2010 special election for an open House seat. In that race, Case and Hanabusa split the Democratic vote enough to allow a Republican, Charles Djou, win the seat in a three-way race.

“Very good,” said one national Democrat, granted anonymity to discuss the race candidly.

Of the 10 races mentioned above, Asian-American candidates have won seven of them. Two haole men have been elected mayor of Honolulu, while Gov. Neil Abercrombie is the first white Democrat to hold that job since the 1970s. The state has elected several white members of Congress — including Abercrombie and Case — but its senators and governors have been almost exclusively Asian-American....

“In contested Democratic primaries, Caucasian candidates can win as long as their ideology lines up with the growing progressive base of the Democratic Party who vote in primaries,” said a senior adviser to Schatz’s campaign.

read ... Race Tinted