First-time candidates face long odds for U.S. House
Hawaii voters have never since statehood elected a representative to Congress on a first try for office, preferring to see seasoning before handing out some of our most important jobs.
Nevertheless, a couple of undaunted first-timers on this year’s ballot stand out in their game efforts to take on established candidates against long odds.
In the 1st Congressional District, Shirlene Ostrov, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel with 23 years of active service, is the only Republican running against a Democratic field led by Colleen Hanabusa for the seat being vacated for health reasons by U.S. Rep. Mark Takai.
Hanabusa is the heavy favorite, having represented the district for two terms before stepping down in 2014 to run unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate; before that, she was the first female president of the state Senate.
But Ostrov, a former Air Force legislative liaison to Congress, has a dream that her firsthand expertise can help guide the U.S. military and economic pivot to Asia and the battle to control federal spending.
“I witnessed wasteful spending on a grand scale and hoped that one day I could be in a position to make a difference,” she said.
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Former U.S. Rep. Pat Saiki, the only Republican since statehood to win a Hawaii U.S. House seat on more than an interim basis, sees her as the future of the struggling local GOP.
Saiki believes Ostrov has the qualities to overcome the stigma of running here as a Republican — articulate, locally born and raised in a Filipino Catholic family, a former squadron commander, two master’s degrees, a successful business and a history of mentoring women.
“She’s dynamic, refreshingly new to our tired political scene,” Saiki said.
In the 2nd Congressional District, Maui writer and activist Shay Chan Hodges is taking on popular U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard in the Democratic primary by attacking her from the left.
Hodges questions whether Gabbard deserves the progressive accolades she gained as the only Hawaii congressional delegate to endorse Bernie Sanders for president.
She cites Gabbard’s ties to conservative casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson, her relatively weak progressive voting record compared to Sanders and Hawaii U.S. Sens. Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono, her support of anti-immigrant and anti-refugee legislation, and her bashing of President Barack Obama with GOP talking points about tougher rhetoric on radical Islam.
Hodges hopes her primary challenge will force Gabbard to debate her and answer the question, “What does Tulsi Gabbard really stand for?”
This remains to be seen; the greatest challenge facing lightly funded underdog campaigns is gaining enough visibility and traction to get the front-runners to come out and engage, instead of campaigning safely behind controlled events and slick advertisements.
That and the historic reluctance of Hawaii voters to put first-time candidates in Congress.
Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com or blog.volcanicash.net.
14 responses to “First-time candidates face long odds for U.S. House”
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We should respect those who chose to run for public office no matter what the odds. Mahalo for being a candidate.
Well said. Many of us are quick to lambast politicians for a myriad of reasons but cower in the anonymity of the internet. It requires a huge amount of courage to run for political office where your entire personal life is questioned in the social media.
Ditto.
Great comment. THanks.
And for State House go to WEB site electkathrynhenski.com !!
Based on the headline, I thought we would see more candidates at least listed. In the U.S. Senate race, there are 12 candidates. U.S. Rep. District 1 includes 10, and District 2 includes 5.
People often complain they don’t have a choice, but if the choices aren’t mentioned early on, then most people aren’t even aware they exist.
Here’s the entire list for this election cycle: http://files.hawaii.gov/elections/files/candidates/reports/candidate_report.pdf.
Thanks for the link/list.
Good to read about these 2 newcomers. They are both very qualified and seem ready to step in and do well for Hawaii.
Ostrov will get my vote and I’m not even a republican.
Setting aside partisan affiliations, this race is between Hanabusa and Ostrov. One has built an extremely impressive career serving at the highest levels of government in a career based on serving our nation, our people, our safety and our security. The other has built an extremely impressive career serving at the highest levels of government in a career based on serving herself, her mob-connected cronies, the unions that bankroll her and her kneecap-cracking husband.
I think I know who I’ll vote for.
Sound like a delirious Repub.
Ostrov has an impressive credentials and education but does she has the abilities to pass through the obstacle courses of a typical politician? ie: Kiss okoles, maneuvers through the ills and pilau deals and still come through without tainting her baptismal political robe to serve the taxpayers? Then, definitely this candidate has my vote!!
Shay Chan cites “Gabbard’s ties to conservative casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson” – Actually Gabbard has introduced a bill to stop online gambling, which Adelson also supports. It’s also supported by Hawaii’s Attorney General.
I guess Shay Chan is a supporter of these conservative organizations who oppose Gabbard’s online gambling ban bill – “Competitive Enterprise Institute, Americans For Tax Reform, the American Conservative Union” https://cei.org/sites/default/files/Coalition%20Letter%20-%20RAWA%20Opposition%20-%20Nov%2020.pdf
Also Gabbard hasn’t received any contributions from Adelson. See Opensecrets.org