Hawaii voters have never since statehood elected a representative to Congress on a first try for office, preferring to see seasoning before handing out some of our most important jobs.
Nevertheless, a couple of undaunted first-timers on this year’s ballot stand out in their game efforts to take on established candidates against long odds.
In the 1st Congressional District, Shirlene Ostrov, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel with 23 years of active service, is the only Republican running against a Democratic field led by Colleen Hanabusa for the seat being vacated for health reasons by U.S. Rep. Mark Takai.
Hanabusa is the heavy favorite, having represented the district for two terms before stepping down in 2014 to run unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate; before that, she was the first female president of the state Senate.
But Ostrov, a former Air Force legislative liaison to Congress, has a dream that her firsthand expertise can help guide the U.S. military and economic pivot to Asia and the battle to control federal spending.
“I witnessed wasteful spending on a grand scale and hoped that one day I could be in a position to make a difference,” she said.
Former U.S. Rep. Pat Saiki, the only Republican since statehood to win a Hawaii U.S. House seat on more than an interim basis, sees her as the future of the struggling local GOP.
Saiki believes Ostrov has the qualities to overcome the stigma of running here as a Republican — articulate, locally born and raised in a Filipino Catholic family, a former squadron commander, two master’s degrees, a successful business and a history of mentoring women.
“She’s dynamic, refreshingly new to our tired political scene,” Saiki said.
In the 2nd Congressional District, Maui writer and activist Shay Chan Hodges is taking on popular U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard in the Democratic primary by attacking her from the left.
Hodges questions whether Gabbard deserves the progressive accolades she gained as the only Hawaii congressional delegate to endorse Bernie Sanders for president.
She cites Gabbard’s ties to conservative casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson, her relatively weak progressive voting record compared to Sanders and Hawaii U.S. Sens. Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono, her support of anti-immigrant and anti-refugee legislation, and her bashing of President Barack Obama with GOP talking points about tougher rhetoric on radical Islam.
Hodges hopes her primary challenge will force Gabbard to debate her and answer the question, “What does Tulsi Gabbard really stand for?”
This remains to be seen; the greatest challenge facing lightly funded underdog campaigns is gaining enough visibility and traction to get the front-runners to come out and engage, instead of campaigning safely behind controlled events and slick advertisements.
That and the historic reluctance of Hawaii voters to put first-time candidates in Congress.
Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com or blog.volcanicash.net.
