U.S. Rep. Ed Case won the Democratic Party’s primary election Saturday to represent urban Honolulu in the U.S. Congress.
The Associated Press called the race shortly after the release of the first printout.
He beat state Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole, who campaigned saying Hawaiʻi needs a leader with the energy to take on inflation, threats to democracy and oppose the Iran War.
"I feel very grateful that the voters want me to continue in office," Case said in an interview with HPR o Saturday night.
Case, 73, touted his seniority and experience, saying he used his position on the appropriations committee to help obtain billions of dollars for Hawaiʻi to address the Maui wildfires, Red Hill fuel spill and coronavirus pandemic.
Keohokalole represents the Windward Oʻahu communities of Kāneʻohe and Kailua in the state Senate. The 43-year-old has been a legislator for a dozen years.
A Case victory bucks a trend of candidates riding waves of voter discontent to defeat incumbents in Democratic primaries. Earlier this year, candidates identifying as democratic socialists and progressives beat sitting congressional officeholders in New York and Colorado.
Keohokalole said he entered the race to give voters a choice.
" We, we ran because we had policy differences. We ran because we thought that, that the moment called for more," Keohokalole said in a concession speech.
The winner of the Democratic primary is heavily favored to win the general election given the party’s dominance in Hawaiʻi.
The New York Times characterized Keohokalole as mounting a “progressive challenge” to Case.
Keohokalole said, “I’m a Democrat” when asked where he fell on the political spectrum.
He told HPR he was trying to follow the legacy of Democratic leaders from Hawaiʻi like the late Chief Justice William S. Richardson, who he described as fighting “for equality and for the rights of working people and their families to be able to thrive in Hawaiʻi.”
