Democratic Rep. Neil Abercrombie made it pretty clear last December that he no longer had any ambitions in Washington, but he'll soon be making it official. From the Politico:
Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) will be stepping down from Congress at the end of his term to run for governor, according to a source close to the congressman.
Abercrombie will be making his announcement official this weekend with a video to supporters announcing his gubernatorial intentions.
Republicans have a hyped recruit for this race in Honolulu City Councilor Charles Djou, and are quick to point to Bush's strong 47% showing in this district in 2004 as evidence that an open seat battle could get hot. But Djou will face long odds in a district that delivered 70% of its vote to Obama last November (according to SSP's Prez-by-CD project) and where Republicans are dwindling in number further down the ballot.
So who will run on the Democratic side? The Politico has a few ideas:
On the Democratic side, former state House Majority Leader Kirk Caldwell, Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hanneman, state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa and former state Rep. Brian Schatz have all been mentioned as candidates.
Roll Call also mentions former Rep. Ed Case as a possible candidate. Barf.
http://www.swingstateproject.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=4539