By Mark Sappenfield, Christian Science Monitor – The victory of Republican Charles Djou in a special election in Hawaii’s First Congressional District – the heavily Democratic district where President Obama grew up – is a welcome political reversal for the GOP.
n 2008, Mr. Obama took the district with 70 percent of the vote, and no Hawaiian congressional district had returned a Republican for 20 years.
Moreover, the victory stopped a surprising winning streak for Democrats, who had won the past seven consecutive special elections for Congress, including three prominent races – two in upstate New York and one in Pennsylvania – in areas that tilt conservative.
Taking his cues from another Republican who won in firmly Democratic territory – Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts – Djou saw the election as a repudiation of one-party rule.
“The congressional seat is not owned by one political party. This congressional seat is owned by the people,” he said.
More at https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2010/0523/Charles-Djou-How-did-a-Republican-win-in-Obama-s-Hawaii-hometown