Djou and Hanabusa have rematch Nov. 2

Republican U.S. Rep. Charles Djou and Democrat Colleen Hanabusa easily won their primary contests last night and will face off Nov. 2 in a rematch of their May special election for Hawaii's 1st Congressional District.

Djou, 40, beat C. Kaui Amsterdam and John Giuffre in the GOP primary. Hanabusa, 59, beat Rafael del Castillo in the Democratic primary.

Djou is Hawaii's first Republican member of Congress in 20 years. The former state representative and Honolulu City Council member from Hawaii Kai won the May 22 special election to replace Neil Abercrombie, who resigned to run for governor.

Djou captured 39 percent of the special election vote, while top Democrats Hanabusa and Ed Case split 58 percent. A week later, Case announced he would not compete in the fall, clearing the way for Hanabusa in the Democratic primary.

Hanabusa is the state senator representing the 21st District (Waianae Coast). She is in the middle of her four-year term and was not required to resign her Senate seat to run for Congress.

U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, 86, will seek his ninth term in the Senate when he faces four challengers in the general election. Inouye yesterday coasted past Andrew Woerner, 39, a dive shop manager in Kona, in the primary.

Facing Inouye will be Republican Cam Cavasso, 59, a financial adviser and former state representative; Green Party member Jim Brewer, 70, a self-described "citizen advocate"; Libertarian Lloyd Mallan, 66, of Kauai; and nonpartisan candidate Jeff Jarrett, 49, a businessman.

In the 2nd Congressional District, Democratic incumbent Rep. Mazie Hirono, 62, was unopposed and will face Libertarian Pat Brock and nonpartisan candidate Andrew Von Sonn in the general. John Willoughby had a 1 percentage point lead over Ramsay Wharton in the Republican primary with nearly all votes counted.

Willoughby, 51, is an airline pilot from Salt Lake. Wharton, 40, is a former TV news reporter from Ewa Beach. Brock, 58, is a pool and spa technician.

Hawaii's fourth member of Congress, Sen. Daniel Akaka, was re-elected in 2006.