2014 Hawaii 1st District - Djou vs. Takai

Probably the weirdest result from 2010 didn’t come in the general election, but rather in a May special election in which Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou defeated two prominent Democrats (and a number of minor candidates) in a jungle primary to become the first Republican congressman from Hawaii in over two decades.

Djou lost the Honolulu-based district in the 2010 general election, albeit by a narrow margin, to Colleen Hanabusa. Djou tried again in 2012, but lost with 44 percent of the vote. This cycle, Hanabusa vacated the seat to run for Senate, and Djou announced for the open seat. He faces state Rep. Mark Takai. The seat appears more Democratic than it really is, as its D+18 lean owes much to the state’s outsized support for favorite son Barack Obama. Polling shows a tight race, but Hawaii is difficult to poll; a Djou win shouldn’t be dismissed, but it probably isn’t the most likely scenario.