Democrat Colleen Hanabusa affirmed her commitment to move into the 1st Congressional District should she win the campaign against Republican U.S. Rep. Charles Djou.

"I have said since the beginning of this campaign that if the voters honor me by electing me to Congress, I will move into the 1st Congressional District," Hanabusa said yesterday in a statement.

The 1st Congressional District represents urban Honolulu. Hanabusa lives in Ko Olina, on the Waianae Coast.

"I believe I have served my constituents well, but acting in such capacities as chair of the Senate Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee, Senate majority leader and, for the past four years, as Senate president, also calls for an understanding of the larger issues that affect our state as a whole," she added. "I am prepared to bring my knowledge of these issues and how they impact the 1st Congressional District to bear in serving a new, larger constituency. And I am prepared to do so from a residence within the district."

Djou and the state GOP have noted how Hanabusa, because she lives in the rural 2nd District, cannot vote for herself in the general election.

"In both 2002 and 2006, when running for Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District, Colleen Hanabusa made an issue out of district residency," the Hawaii Republican Party said in a news release.

Federal law only requires state residency for U.S. House districts, not residency in the district.