Republican congressman from Alaska champions Hirono

U.S. Rep. Don Young, an Alaska Republican, has endorsed U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono for U.S. Senate in the Demo­cratic primary election, praising her ability to work across party lines.

Young appears with Hirono in a new campaign ad entitled "Opposites Attract" in which they discuss their partnership for Hawaii and Alaska and playfully poke fun at their partisan differences.

The endorsement is of considerable strategic advantage to Hirono in her primary against former U.S. Rep. Ed Case and in a potential general election campaign against former Gov. Linda Lingle, the leading Republican candidate.

Hawaii and Alaska lawmakers have had an alliance in Washington, D.C., for decades, initially forged between U.S. Sen. Daniel Ino­uye, D-Hawaii, and the late U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, to maximize the political influence of the two youngest states.

Young, first elected in 1973, has served with Hirono and Case. His decision to back Hirono and describe her as bipartisan undercuts Case’s claim that the liberal Hirono is on the left-wing fringe. It also undermines Lingle’s central campaign theme that she would be the bipartisan leader.

"Here’s what’s important, Hawaii: If you’re looking for a United States senator who doesn’t just talk about ‘bipartisanship,’ but actually knows how to work with both Republicans and Demo­crats to get things done, Mazie Hirono will be that senator," Young says in the ad.

Luke Miller, Young’s spokes­man, said Young and Hirono have developed a close friendship and working relationship. Miller said the endorsement had little to do with party affiliation.

Hirono described Young’s support as a message that bipartisan cooperation is possible. "Though Don Young is certainly a Republican, and I am clearly a Demo­crat, we’ve forged a partnership that enables us to solve problems for the people of both Hawaii and Alaska," she said in a statement.

Case said there is a long tradition of Alaska and Hawaii lawmakers working together on state needs.

"But what is almost totally lacking today is true bipartisanship in confronting and solving our nation’s big-picture challenges, like growing our economy, balancing our budget and preserving Social Security and Medicare," Case said in an email. "That’s what really needs fixing in D.C. today, and Mazie, with her far left 2 percent political beliefs and party-first-and-always approach, is part of the problem, not the solution."