Democrats in the Honolulu congressional district voted on Saturday in a primary that decides the seat, the district being safe enough that November is a formality. Ed Case, 73, has held it since 2019 and served an earlier stretch from 2002 to 2007, and sits senior on the House spending committee. Jarrett Keohokalole, 43, is a state senator, and is running at him from the left.
Israel is the clearest line between them. Case voted last month against a proposed ban on 3 billion dollars in aid to Israel. Keohokalole says he would have voted for it and wants military aid ended. Case is not defending the Israeli government while he does it: he told Hawaii News Now that he is a straight up opponent of its current leadership, and has criticised the severity of the military response. The distinction he is drawing is between opposing a government and cutting off a state, and that is the distinction the primary is testing.
The rest of the challenge is the familiar package. Keohokalole argues Case is too close to corporate interests and wants government healthcare widened. Age is doing quiet work in the background, as it has in several races this cycle.
This is the fourth such test in weeks. Candidates running on the same position have won in Michigan, New York and Colorado. One result is a district. Four is a direction, and for an Israeli government that has counted on both American parties, the interesting number is how many more of these are scheduled before November.