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Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District election is in stark contrast to the higher-profile 1st Congressional District contest between two heavyweight campaigners, Charles Djou and Colleen Hanabusa.

In the 2nd district, incumbent Mazie Hirono, a former lieutenant governor, will face off against a first-time candidate and surprise winner of the primary, John Willoughby.

Willoughby, the Tea Party favorite in the Republican primary, surprised the more well known and pulled out a 212-vote victory. Independent Andrew von Sonn will also be on the Nov. 2 ballot.

The race pits a candidate with no money against a well-funded incumbent, a novice politician against someone who’s won a number of elections, a Republican against a Democrat in a Democratic district. To top it off, the underdog’s party didn’t seem too thrilled about announcing its candidate’s primary victory.

Polar Opposites

Willoughby, a former Navy officer, believes his strength as a Republican contender is that he presents voters with a polar opposite alternative to Hirono’s Democratic voting record and policies. “When you take Ramsay out of the picture, there is no more stark contrast than the one between Mazie and me,” Willoughby told Civil Beat.

His platform, which he unabashedly markets as both fiscally and socially conservative, includes reducing taxes, balancing the federal budget through reduced spending across the board and supporting anti-abortion legislation. He also advocates for keeping the , which defines marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman.

Hirono, on the other hand, follows the Democratic party line , according to OpenCongress, a nonprofit independent public resource designed to track Congressional voting records.¹

Strategy

Willoughbly has raised $16,700 during this election cycle, compared with Hirono’s $800,000. (Read our campaign fundraising story here.)

During the primary, he used Facebook for most of his campaigning. He is a United Airlines pilot, and he said it offered him the flexibility to get his message out while traveling. Now that he knows he will face Hirono in the general election, he plans to take a leave of absence from work so he can commit himself full time on his campaign.

“I’ve been a one-man show,” he said. “You’re speaking with the entire campaign right here: campaign manager, treasurer, travel secretary and caterer. My headquarters has been my laptop.”

He said he suspects his message appeals to people who want something different in Washington. His strategy involves revealing Hirono’s voting record and its results, along with a promise to donate more than half of his Congressional salary to Shriners Children’s Hospital of Honolulu if elected.

Meanwhile, Hirono plans to continue doing her Congressional work.

“She never takes any votes for granted, and her strategy is to continue to reach out to individuals and groups throughout the 2nd Congressional District,” said campaign spokesman Josh Wisch. “That is what she has been doing and will continue to do.”

Post-Election Confusion

At the GOP unity lunch on Sunday, Willoughby said he wasn’t feeling the love from his party. Gov. Linda Lingle called both Willoughby and Wharton onto the stage and applauded both of their efforts for what she called “a close race.” Neither Lingle nor anybody else publicly acknowledged Willoughby’s victory.

“I was a little disappointed, and I don’t know that the party is going to support me,” the candidate said. “When she called us up there, Gov. Lingle said ‘we still have a close race. But I was thinking, ‘No, we don’t have a close race. We have a close victory, but the race is over.'”

Wharton said nobody knew yet on Sunday morning what the were, because Saturday’s third printout showed a tight contest. The governor probably didn’t want to call the race before it was officially finalized, Wharton said.

But Hawaii GOP chairman Dylan Nonaka confirmed on Monday that Willoughby won the election and has the party’s full support.

“It was pretty much over at 10:30 that morning, but most people weren’t aware of it,” he said. “And we are happy to support whoever won.”

Party leaders were hesitant to declare the race finished because there was confusion over whether Hawaii had an automatic recount law on close races, he said. The final results show Willoughby won by a mere 212 votes.

Wharton said she thought there would have been an automatic recount. She would like the state Legislature to pass a law that would mandate some sort of automatic recount on close races — primarily because voters deserve due diligence, she said.

For this election cycle, though, she said, it’s time to move forward and support Willoughby.

“We have to put the baby to bed at some point,” she said.

Like all Republican candidates, Nonaka said Willoughby will have access to the state party’s resources:

• Phones
• Space
• Expertise and advice on campaign strategy and management

It is generally not the state party’s place to give financial support to candidates in national races, Nonaka said.

“That’s what the RNC (Republican National Committee) is for,” he said, explaining that how much financial support a candidate receives from the party depends on a number of things:

• How much money the campaign has raised.
• How much grassroots work the candidates have done.
• A “winnability factor”

Given the importance of holding onto Djou’s 1st Congressional District seat, it’s unlikely that the party will be spending much, if any, time or money on the 2nd Congressional District race. The district has never elected a Republican.