U.S. Rep. Ed Case is facing opposition for his re-election campaign in the Democratic Party primary at a time when some voters have shown they’re in the mood to oust incumbents.
State Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole, a 12-year veteran of the state Legislature, said Hawaiʻi needs a leader with the energy to address issues like inflation, the Iran war and threats to democracy.
“The urgency of the moment requires more than what we're getting,” Keohokalole said in an interview with HPR. “I have a track record in the Hawaiʻi State Legislature of running to big issues and getting things done.”
Case is 73 and has been in Congress for a total of 13 years. Most of that time he represented urban Honolulu, but earlier served rural Oʻahu and the neighbor islands.
Congressional seniority
He understands those who want to get rid of incumbents but said doing so won’t solve Hawaiʻi’s problems.
Case said he has the tools to be effective — like when he used his position on the House appropriations committee to help Hawaiʻi get billions of dollars for the coronavirus pandemic, Red Hill and the Maui wildfires.
“You can argue it all you want, but in Congress seniority matters,” Case said to HPR.
“The more you're here, the more influence you have, the more relationships you have, the more know-how you have, the more experience you have to get things done — as I did in three crises in a row,” Case said. “And what is the next crisis?”
Immigration issues
Keohokalole, 42, currently represents Kāneʻohe and Kailua in the state Senate. He decided to run for Congress after seeing how Case reacted to immigration agents holding teachers at gunpoint on Maui.
“The other three members of the delegation flipped out,” Keohokalole said. “They immediately condemned the raid, and they sent inquiries to the Department of Homeland Security to find out what was going on, to get clarity on the process for taking people into custody in Hawaiʻi.”
Sens. Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz and Rep. Jill Tokuda all sent DHS a letter saying “needlessly aggressive immigration enforcement” had created chaos and confusion. They asked the agency to consider different approaches.
“And Ed refused to participate, and it really upset me,” Keohokalole said.
Case said he has spoken out against Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactics and abuses, and has voted against funding ICE on several occasions.
Voter registration
Another issue has been voter registration.
Last year Case was one of four Democrats who voted with Republicans to pass a version of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE Act.
The measure required people to prove they are U.S. citizens when they register to vote in federal elections. Critics say the requirement to produce a passport or other form of identification would prevent people from exercising their right to vote.
Keohokalole called it “a voter suppression bill that's going to disenfranchise millions of voters across the country.”
The bill failed in the Senate. Lawmakers have been voting on different versions of the measure this year, which have also failed.
Case said the version he voted for made accommodations for people without identification.
“It had a variety of ways that you could demonstrate citizenship, up to and including simply attesting that you were a U.S. citizen,” Case said.
Iran war
On the Iran war, Keohokalole criticized Case for failing to “take definitive steps” to push back against it and stop funding it.
Case countered that he has repeatedly voted against the war. He said he voted against President Donald Trump’s defense budget for a number of reasons, including the Iran War.
“What he fails to realize if he took the time to even review my record one little bit, as opposed to just slap it up on the wall and see what sticks, is that I have voted a number of times already to oppose this war on the basis that it is not authorized by Congress,” Case said.
The primary
Case has faced congressional primary opponents before. But this is his first re-election campaign against someone who has served in office.
Democratic primary voters in New York and Colorado have voted out incumbents this year.
The August 8th primary will tell if Hawaiʻi wants to do the same.
