Seems that all the big mainstream media outlets have already called the Hawaii U.S. Senate race for Democrat Mazie Hirono, but given the fact that the State of Office of Elections still haven’t released even the first printout of results, we can marvel at their psychic powers.
Then again, polling in the race has been clear since March: Hirono’s lead over Republican Linda Lingle never fell below five points. Last week, it stood at 15 points.
At about 8pm over at Lingle’s Maui Headquarters in Wailuku, a few dozen somber supporters were on hand, eating sushi and watching the local news (a given, since the national news is still filled with stories about President Barack Obama’s reelection). There was hope in not yet knowing the outcome, but an unspoken consensus that the night wouldn’t be pleasant.
There were less people at the Maui County Democratic Party HQ down the street, but the mood was anything but somber. The TV was turned to reaction to Republican Mitt Romney’s earlier concession speech, and campaign volunteers were already congratulating themselves.
“We knocked on 2,000 doors today,” said Dylan Beesley, the Maui Democrat’s regional coordinator. “And we made 5,000 calls. Over the last two months we made over 20,000 contacts. It’s been inspirational. People knew the clear choice they were facing. We reminded them of that again and again. Some people got six calls!”
As of 8:50pm, still no results from the Hawaii Office of Elections…
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