Fighting women are in the House

Hawaii’s Tulsi Gabbard and University of Hawaii graduate Tammy Duckworth are the first female combat war veterans to be elected to Congress, and a former fighter aircraft combat pilot has not given up in her candidacy for the Arizona seat once occupied by Gabrielle Giffords.

Gabbard served two tours in Iraq with the medical unit of the 29th Brigade of the Army National Guard, and Duckworth, a Democrat who defeated Republican incumbent Rep. Joe Walsh of Illinois, lost both legs in combat in Iraq in 2004 with the Army National Guard.

Waiting anxiously at the door to the House is Republican Martha McSally, a retired Air Force colonel who served in combat in Afghanistan. She is in a yet-to-be decided race against Rep. Ron Barber, a former Giffords aide. As of Thursday, McSally had a slim lead, with 70,000 ballots left to be counted. Call it a different kind of fight.

Djou has appeal to future voters

It was intriguing to see how closely the Kids Voting Hawaii choices mirrored the state’s real election results.

President Barack Obama over Mitt Romney? Check.

Kirk Caldwell over Ben Cayetano for Honolulu mayor? Check.

Mazie Hirono over Linda Lingle for U.S. Senate? Check.

Tulsi Gabbard over Kawika Crowley for U.S. House, District 2? Check.

But then there was U.S. House, District 1, in which Charles Djou prevailed over Colleen Hanabusa, 62.7 percent to 37.3 percent. Alas for Djou, the real world had him behind the re-elect-ed Hanabusa, 54.6 percent to 45.4 percent.