Hawaii's Governor Loses His Primary Race in Record-Shattering Fashion

Hawaii's Governor Loses His Primary Race in Record-Shattering Fashion

Abercrombie is the first incumbent Hawaiian governor to lose his party's primary, and he did so in a spectacular flame-out, losing 66-31!

The NY Times calls it a "surprising defeat," but that's nonsense and hyperbole. It was a historical defeat, but not a surprising one.

First of all, the liberal Democrats of Hawaii hate the governor, who has essentially been a Republican since his last election by favoring development over environmentalism. How much did they dislike him? He had a 47% disapproval rating in his own party, and 66% among independents. The governor had the endorsement of the entire Democratic establishment (including President Obama), and outspent his opponent 10-1, only to lose 66-31. Imagine how bad the defeat would have been on a level playing field.

Second, how can anyone be surprised when the most recent polls clearly indicated that the governor was going to get his ass kicked royally. The linked poll showed him with 36% of the vote overall, and only 30% on populous Oahu.

I guess there is one surprise involved. This opens up the door for a Republican to win Hawaii's gubernatorial race. Hawaii has had only one Republican governor since 1962, and had none for the forty year period from 1962-2002. Only 23% of Hawaiians self-identify as GOP, compared to 60% who claim to be Democrats. (Recent elections support those numbers. Obama beat McCain 72-27 in Hawaii, and beat Romney 71-28)!