NRSC: Democrats forced to play defense in Hawaii Senate race

The National Republican Senatorial Committee said Monday it is ready for a spirited contest in Hawaii.

"Ed Case is simply the first of many candidates in what we expect will be a divisive primary," said Brian Walsh, communication director for the NRSC. "It speaks volumes of the challenges national Democrats face in 2012 that they are being forced to play defense in President Obama's home state of Hawaii, while Republicans continue to view this race as a promising pickup opportunity."

SA: Hirono taking careful look at Senate run

Hirono said yesterday that she is considering a campaign.  “Many people have encouraged me to look at the race for U.S. Senate. I'm humbled by this encouragement and I am taking a careful look at it," she said in an email.

Hannemann said he is seriously considering a run.  "I am in interested in the Senate race," he said. "It is very much on my radar screen."

Former Gov. Linda Lingle, a Republican, has said she will decide by this summer whether to run.

Public and private polling has shown that Case could potentially be the strongest Dem­o­crat, but several Dem­o­crats have also polled well against Lingle.

Local Democratic strategists caution, however, that the polls are early and that Lingle would likely be a formidable candidate. Lingle, who raised a rec­ord $6 million for her re-election campaign in 2006, would probably match that in a Senate race. The former governor, unlike any of the potential Dem­o­cratic contenders, has also won two statewide campaigns.

Daily KOS: I had really hoped we were done with this guy

I would have thought this track record would have been enough to put an end to Case's political ambitions, but ambition is what defines Ed Case—ambition, and douchiness. Case is truly a Dem in the DLC mold. Most notoriously, when he was running for Congress in 2002, he said he would have voted for the Iraq war resolution—and as late as 2006, he voted (and spoke) in favor of an open-ended military commitment in that country. He's also been a regular supporter of anti-progressive legislation like the bankruptcy bill and the PATRIOT Act. In short, Hawaii can—and should—do a lot better than Ed Case. Indeed, his recent track record at the polls shows that Hawaiians already know this.

Fortunately, Dems have quite a strong progressive bench in the state, so I'm hopeful someone like 2nd CD Rep. Mazie Hirono will step in and mop the floor with Case—soon.

P.S. Daily Kos's own poll taken just a few weeks ago showed Case performing the best among likely Dem candidates against all possible GOP comers, but his favorability ratings among members of his own party were substantially weaker than those for either Hirono or Hanabusa.

BTW The author of this KOS article is David Nir, Director of the Swing State Project