44 candidates file Question: What has 16 Republicans, 12 Democrats, 13 independents, two Greens and one Libertarian?
to succeed Mink
Yesterday was the deadline
List of candidates
to register as a candidate in
the Jan. 4 special electionBy Crystal Kua
ckua@starbulletin.com
Answer: Hawaii's race for Congress.
A total of 44 candidates have signed up to run in the winner-take-all Jan. 4 special election for the 2nd Congressional District seat that had been held by U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink, who died Sept. 28. Yesterday was the deadline for candidates to file nomination papers to run.
"This winner-take-all thing just throws a wild card in all of this," said Neal Milner, a University of Hawaii political science professor.
Former state Sen. Matt Matsunaga, who ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor, made it official yesterday and filed to run, as did Republican state Rep. Chris Halford of Maui and about eight others who jumped into the race on the last day.
Those who decided against running were former Gov. John Waihee, former City Councilman Mufi Hannemann and failed Democratic gubernatorial candidate Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono.
Whoever wins will fill the seat's two-year term that begins in January.
An earlier special election will be held Nov. 30 to fill the remaining weeks of Mink's current term. A total of 38 candidates are in that race, and the two front-runners appear to be former state Rep. Ed Case and John Mink, the congresswoman's husband.
Case, who lost in the Democratic primary for governor, is also a candidate in the Jan. 4 election.
Milner said that even the number of candidates in the race is the main unknown factor, but there are factors that could give some candidates an edge.
"There are two ways to get an edge in this. One is name recognition, and the other is if you represent a particular but loyal and active constituency," Milner said.
He noted that the several high-profile candidates include Democrats Case, Matsunaga and state Sen. Colleen Hanabusa and Republicans state Rep. Barbara Marumoto, former state Reps. Bob McDermott and Jim Rath, and ex-Honolulu Mayor Frank Fasi.
Having run a statewide race previously is also a plus, he said.
"(Case) has one edge for sure ... his name has been in front of the electorate fairly recently, and he did pretty well," Milner said. "He certainly has more statewide exposure to running for office than Hanabusa."
Many of the candidates are boasting about the number of votes they received as a basis for their optimism in their campaigns.
McDermott garnered 70,000 votes against a deceased Mink, who won the Nov. 5 general election race posthumously. Matsunaga had the most votes of any statewide candidate in winning the Democratic lieutenant governor nomination in the primary election, with more than 99,000 votes, and Case came within 2,600 of beating Hirono for the Democratic gubernatorial bid.
"It's really a little hard to determine how many votes it will take to win, but probably not many," said Marumoto, who is in Washington to talk to national Republican Party officials about her candidacy.
Marumoto chaired President Bush's campaign in Hawaii.
Voter turnout will be key.
"I think there's going to be a lot more attention in this race, and my sense is that people actually are interested in this race," Case said.
Milner said he still believes that the seat will go Democrat because Hawaii is a still a Democratic state despite electing a Republican governor earlier this month.
"But there are so many candidates that if a Republican candidate gets lucky or skillful and gets the Republicans to vote for him while everyone else is splitting their votes, that's the dream," Milner said.
The list includes many candidates who lost in the primary and general election.
"They need a job," joked Milner.
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List of candidates for the Jan. 4 special election for the 2nd Congressional District In the running
Kabba Anand (N)
Whitney T. Anderson (R)
Paul Britos (D)
John "Mahina" Carroll (R)
Ed Case (D)
Brian G. Cole (D)
Charles "Lucky" Collins (D)
Doug Fairhurst (R)
Frank F. Fasi (R)
Mike Gagne (D)
Alan R. Gano (N)
Carolyn Martinez Golojuch (R)
G. "limz" Goodwin (G)
Richard H. Haake (R)
Chris Halford (R)
Colleen Hanabusa (D)
S.J. Harlan (N)
Herbert L. Jensen (D)
Kekoa D. Kaapu (D)
Kimo Kaloi (R)
Moana Keaulana-Dyball (N)
Jeff Mallan (L)
Barbara C. Marumoto (R)
Sophie Mataafa (N)
Matt Matsunaga (D)
Bob McDermott (R)
Mark McNett (N)
Nick Nikhilananda (G)
Richard "Rich" Payne (R)
John "Jack" Randall (N)
Jim Rath (R)
Mike Rethman (R)
Art P. Reyes (D)
Pat Rocco (D)
Bartle Lee Rowland (N)
Bill Russell (N)
John L. Sabey (R)
Nelson J. Secretario (R)
Steve Sparks (N)
Steve Tataii (D)
Marshall "Koo Koo" Turner (N)
Dan Vierra (N)
Clarence H. Weatherwax (R)
Solomon "Kolomona" Wong (N)
