Keohokalole falls short in bid to unseat 73-year-old incumbent
Rep. Ed Case, who has represented Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District since 2019, defeated state Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole in Saturday’s Democratic primary, according to results reported by the Associated Press. With 91% of precincts reporting, Case had 60% of the vote to Keohokalole’s 36.1%.
The race unfolded against a backdrop of primary challenges to incumbents in Democratic races across the country. Challengers have won high-profile contests in recent months, including Abdul El-Sayed’s victory in a Michigan primary this week. Attention is now turning to Wisconsin, where Francesca Hong is leading the party’s gubernatorial primary.
Keohokalole, 43, had argued during the campaign that Hawaii needed new political leadership. “The voters decided, and we respect the results,” Keohokalole told KHON2. “The seats don’t belong to any individual. You have to earn them, and so the voters spoke.”
Case, 73, said he was grateful for the outcome. “I feel very grateful that the voters want me to continue in office,” he told Hawaii Public Radio on Saturday.
Case had drawn criticism from Keohokalole and other Democrats after voting last year for the SAVE Act, a bill backed by former President Donald Trump that would require voters to prove their citizenship when registering for federal elections. Case said he no longer supported the legislation after an option for voters to attest in writing that they are a citizen was removed. He described the vote as an example of his willingness to break with his party.
“I’m not 100% voter with my party,” Case told HawaiiNewsNow. “Never have been, never will be.”
Case holds a senior position on a key spending committee and had argued that Hawaii would attract fewer federal dollars if he were not re-elected. Keohokalole highlighted Case’s campaign donations from businesses to argue that the incumbent had lost touch with voters.
Hawaii is divided into two congressional districts. The 1st District, represented by Case, covers the urban center of Honolulu. The 2nd District, represented by Jill Tokuda, covers the rest of the state. Tokuda also won the Democratic primary, earning 91.6% of the vote with 90% of ballots counted, according to the AP.
Gov. Josh Green, who has led the state since 2022, defeated several challengers for the Democratic nomination.
Case will face Republican Adriel Lam, who ran unopposed in his party’s primary, in the general election. The 1st District is a Democratic stronghold; Case has held the seat since 2019 and previously served in the House from 2002 to 2007.