STORY SUMMARY>>>
Citing the short amount of time left before a likely special election, State Sen. Will Espero announced Friday he has dropped out of the running to fill U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie’s seat in Congress.
“That short window makes it very difficult to fund raise and get everything else in place to run a very credible race,” Espero told Khon2.
Espero’s decision leaves Senate President Colleen Hanabusa and former Congressman Ed Case as the only democrats still in the race. It is unlikely Honolulu Councilman Charles Djou, the sole republican seeking Abercrombie’s seat, will face any challenge from a fellow member of the Grand Old Party.
Abercrombie, who has been on Capitol Hill since 1990, is expected to resign at the end of February to focus on his run for governor.
When asked if anyone in the Democratic Party of Hawaii had urged him to step aside out of fear three democrats would split the vote and hand the victory to Djou in the winner-take-all election, Espero was forthright.
“I wouldn't call it pressure,” he said, “but there were some people who thought that I should just be patient and wait. I had more people encouraging me to run than discouraging me to run.”
Espero is a Filipino-American who represents West Oahu and a portion of Waipahu. He holds a substantial degree of influence with his district’s Filipino population, having won three elections in his political career. However the democrat is not prepared to immediately back either Case or Hanabusa.
“At this time there is no endorsement,” he said.
If an endorsement does come, Espero said the two remaining democrats would have to lay out their positions on the military, which he strongly supports, as well as homeland security and economic development.
“I'd look at the candidates, look at their records, talk to them and see which candidate would be best for my constituents in Ewa Beach, West Oahu and some of the issues that I hold near and dear to me.”
A January poll showed Case as the clear frontrunner in the race, a full 12 points ahead of Hanabusa and 20 points ahead of Djou.
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