As Hawaii absentee voters begin to cast their ballots, more coverage from the national and international media….

UK Daily Mail From the polls, a surprise in Hawaii:

From Rasmussen: “Former Democratic Congressman Neil Abercrombie and Republican Lieutenant Governor Duke Aiona are now virtually tied in the race to be Hawaii’s next governor.”

Aloha News/MRG has Abercrombie up by only 3.

Nate Silver had given the Republican only a 18% chance in that race.

Coupled with the Republican Congressman Charles Djou’s tenacious effort to hold Abercrombie’s old seat — the Hill showed Djou up by 4 points — and you have Blue Hawaii turning a little redder.

National Journal Dems' Backdoor Strategy:

Democrats also expect to win Hawaii's 1st District, but that race has been complicated by GOP Rep. Charles Djou's resilience against Democratic state Sen. Colleen Hanabusa. Djou won a special election for Rep. Neil Abercrombie's seat when fractious Democrats split their vote between Hanabusa and Ed Case. A unified party, Democrats assumed, would make short work of Djou, but public and private polls show a tight contest, and both candidates have plenty of money and party backing for the homestretch. Plus, Djou has history on his side: Hawaii has never tossed an incumbent from federal office.

Atlanta Journal Constitution The Toss Ups:

Hawaii 1 - Democrats thought this seat would be an easy win in November, but Rep. Charles Djou (R-HI), who won this seat in a special election this summer, isn't going down without a fight.  Djou was ahead in the latest poll of this race.

MSNBC First Read 75 House races to watch:

HI-1: The GOP nominee is first term Rep. Charles Djou, who was elected in a May special election to fill the seat vacated by Neil Abercrombie (D), who's running for governor. The Dem nominee is state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa. In 2008, Obama won 70% of the vote in this district – which represents Honolulu – while Kerry got 53% in 2004. As of Aug. 29, Djou had nearly $430,000 in the bank, versus Hanabusa's $400,000. Cook and Rothenberg rate the race as a Toss Up.

Washington Examiner News for House Dems: ‘Worse, worser, and worst’

Democrats are doing much better in IL-10, Mark Kirk’s district, than anyone seems to think. On the other hand, they look set to lose in HI-1, one of their expected pickups, as Rep. Charles Djou, R, has posted a surprising four-point lead and both candidates have plenty of name recognition…

The Hill: Midterm poll: The results so far

This week, our pollster, Penn Schoen Berland, switched the focus from Democratic freshmen to 10 seats of which nine are open because incumbents are retiring or seeking higher office, and one was filled by a special election just this May. Of the open seats, eight are currently Democratic and one is Republican, but GOP candidates have the lead in eight, and only one looks like it will be won by a Democrat. Notably, that one seat, Ill.-10, is held by a Republican. So if all this week’s results hold true, nine open seats polled will flip, with eight going to the Republican and one to the Democrat.

The 10th Week 2 district, Hawaii-1, shows Rep. Charles Djou (R), who came to Capitol Hill in May, holding a four-point lead in his first general-election campaign.

Daily KOS:  HI-01: Orange to Blue: Colleen Hanabusa

“…the fact that HI-01 is now held by Djou … isn't just perplexing -- it's offensive.”  (Poor babies.  The voters of Honolulu offend them.  Boo hoo.)