In the Old Dog vs. Blue Dog Senate primary, the Honolulu Advertiser has conducted a very weak poll. Sample size is small.
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/...
Akaka 51%
Case 40%
Undecided 9%
sample 342, MOE 5.3%.
At least they called some outer island folks in the survey unlike the local call only polls done before the 2004 Pres. election that got people all stirred up.
The article has some interestingish interviews. People they talked to are deciding based on horserace issues rather than liberal vs. centrist.
Akaka and Case have tried to show their differences on public policy, particularly on Iraq, the USA Patriot Act, drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and President Bush's tax cuts. But many of the people who responded to the poll said it was the questions of experience and transition that have motivated them so far.
There also was still some curiosity -- five months after Case first announced his campaign -- about why Case would challenge Akaka in the primary when Hawai'i incumbents in Congress have been virtually unbeatable since statehood.
we've still almost 3 months to the primary so this poll while interesting fodder for the political junkies, isn't really telling me much about how this race will settle out.
Broken down demographically, the poll found that Akaka and Case are running closer on O'ahu than on the Neighbor Islands, where the support for Akaka was wider. The liberal Akaka also had more support among low-income people, Hawaiians and Japanese-Americans, while the moderate Case did better among Filipino-Americans and Caucasians.
Case, who may have political appeal among independents and Republicans, said he believes a larger percentage of voters will participate in the Democratic primary than was reflected by the poll. He said he would continue to tell voters who want change that their choice is in the primary, not the general election.
This is the killer. Case looks to be signaling to Republicans to vote in the Dem primary. We have wide open primaries. You only get to vote in one party's primary, but you get to pick that party while in the booth (ballot has all parties on it).
So why doesn't Ed just switch parties? What a weasel....