DC Dems Pull Out of Hawaii

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee won't be spending any more money in the May 22 Hawaii special election, Hotline OnCall's Reid Wilson reports.

The race for the state's First Congressional District, where President Obama was born and raised, features two Democrats--former Rep. Ed Case and state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa--and it appears the two will split the Democratic vote, paving the way for Republican Charles Djou to hold the seat until he gets challenged by one or the other of those two Dems in November. The DCCC had been airing ads attacking Djou, while not endorsing either of the Dems (though it was reported that the DCCC was quietly helping Case).

Apparently it's no longer worth it, to avoid a few months of Republican control over one House seat, when the party doesn't have a single candidate to support. It's hard, after all, to limit the GOP vote to under 32 percent or so, even in a heavily Democratic district, which is probably what the DC-based Democratic establishment would have to do to beat Djou with a split Democratic vote.