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On Politics
Richard Borreca
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Primary's losers might have last laugh, after all
WATCH some of the losers in the Saturday election turn up as winners in the future.
Of course, U.S. Rep. Ed Case was the biggest name to fall in the Democratic primary. The 53-year old congressman had been described by himself and others as the "future of the Hawaii Democratic Party."
Case's defeat by liberal U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka might have delayed Case's own plans for political success, but he is still in position to bounce back and win in the future.
Case was eloquent on election night in his praise for Akaka and appeared ready to concede the race early in the evening. Still, during the campaign Case ran a tough-edged attack on Akaka as being out of step with Hawaii voters, who he said wanted a moderate.
The middle ground is where most politicians would like to be, so Case could find some consensus in trying to nail down a position away from the political extremes. If Case can now keep his statewide campaign organization together, he would be a strong candidate to run for governor in four years, Congress in two years or remain in the wings if there is an opening in the Senate.
Case himself says he is still mulling over all his options.
ANOTHER loser who could be a winner is state Rep. Brian Schatz, who came in sixth out of 10 in the Democratic primary race for the 2nd Congressional District. Schatz's relatively poor showing, only 8,253 votes, does not seem to be a political liability.
Mainstream Democrats gave Schatz high marks for his campaign, and, like Case, as a young Democrat, Schatz has a political future.
Perhaps the loser who fared the best was state Sen. Colleen Hanabusa, who lost the race for Congress by 836 votes to former Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono.
This was Hanabusa's second attempt at winning a race for Congress, but after this race she already is being sized up for higher office.
HANABUSA, a private attorney, was first elected to the state Senate in 1998. She quickly became a major political player among the Senate Democrats and was able to stitch together a coalition that passed major changes to the state's collective bargaining and civil service laws. While the effort won quick public praise, it immediately drew the opposition of the politically powerful public employee unions, and Hanabusa, although being a labor lawyer, was never a favorite daughter of the public unions.
Although she is as politically ambitious as Case, she is seen as a stronger liberal than centralist Case. With both Hanabusa and Case being discussed as possible Democratic candidates for governor in four years, it is possible that the two could clash in the future.
ALSO getting a second look is the losing candidate for governor, William Aila, and even Harry Kim, the Big Island mayor, who toyed with running for governor.
The numbers show that the deep bench belongs to the Democrats, who will be filling it for years to come.
Richard Borreca writes on politics every Sunday in the Star-Bulletin. He can be reached at 525-8630 or by e-mail at
rborreca@starbulletin.com.