Ed Case Prepares To Enter Hawaii Race For Congress
The former congressman pulled papers to run Monday, the day before the filing deadline.
Former Congressman Ed Case is poised to enter the crowded race to represent urban Oahu in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The 65-year-old Democrat pulled nomination papers Monday to run for the 1st Congressional District seat, according to the State Elections Office. He has until the end of business Tuesday to officially file for the Aug. 11 primary ballot.
At least five other Democrats are vying for the party’s nomination, including Lt. Gov. Doug Chin, state Reps. Beth Fukumoto and Kaniela Ing, state Sen. Donna Mercado Kim and Honolulu City Councilman Ernie Martin.
Case, an attorney who currently works for Outrigger Enterprises Group as chief legal officer and senior vice president, served in the state House from 1994 to 2002.
In 2002, he finished a close second in the Democratic primary race for governor against then-Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono. Republican Linda Lingle defeated Hirono in the general election.
Case then ran and won two separate elections to fill the 2nd Congressional District seat that was held by U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink, who died that fall.
In 2006, Case unsuccessfully challenged U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka in the Democratic primary. He also lost a special election in 2010 to replace U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, who resigned that spring to run for Hawaii governor.
In 2012, Case lost to Hirono in the race to replace Akaka, who retired.
In December of that year, following the death of U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, Case was among many Democrats who submitted their name for consideration to replace Inouye.
The Democratic Party of Hawaii instead submitted the names of three other candidates, including that of then-Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz. Abercrombie chose Schatz to be senator.
Politically, Case is described a 鈥淏lue Dog Democrat,鈥 meaning that he is fiscally conservative.
He serves on the state Council on Revenues, which issues quarterly general-fund tax revenue forecasts that the Legislature and governor rely on when crafting the overall state budget.
The 1st Congressional District includes urban Oahu while the 2nd Congressional District covers the rest of the island and the neighbor islands. State law does not prohibit a resident of one district from running for Congress in the other.
Case did not immediately return messages seeking comment early Monday evening.
Thoughts on this or any other story? Write a Letter to the Editor. Send to news@civilbeat.org and put Letter in the subject line. 200 words max. You need to use your name and city and include a contact phone for verification purposes. And you can still comment on stories on.
