Poll: Hirono in solid shape in Senate primary

Rep. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) is well poised to lock up the Democratic nomination for Hawaii's open Senate seat, according to a poll released Monday by Hirono's campaign.

Hirono takes 54 percent of Democratic primary voters, compared to 36 percent for former Rep. Ed Case (D-Hawaii), Hirono's main competition in the primary.

And while 50 percent approve of the job Hirono is doing on Congress, only 40 percent feel that way about Case's tenure, the survey by Democratic pollster Pete Brodnitz showed. But Case hasn't been in the House for the past four years, so it's not surprising that voters might be more positive about Hirono, who won Case's old seat in 2006.

The poll also showed that primary voters consider Hirono to be more competitive than Case in a general election against former Gov. Linda Lingle (R), the presumed Republican nominee who was recruited by GOP leaders in Washington.

The release of the campaign's internal poll suggested Democrats are eager to demonstrate before the primary that Hirono can be competitive against Lingle, in part because Lingle beat Hirono in the race for governor in 2002, a stinging loss for Democrats in a deep-blue state. Hirono had defeated Case in the primary that year before losing to Lingle in the general.

Hirono, who was born in Japan, is the choice candidate of Democrats in Washington, who are promoting her as part of a prospective class of female Democrats running for the Senate and pointing out that she would be the first female immigrant to serve in the Senate.

Despite the presence of another Democrat and former House member in the primary, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (Wash.) gave her personal endorsement to Hirono last week, telling reporters she expected Hirono to win. Case used the endorsment as an opportunity to paint himself as the outsider and underdog, accusing Hirono in a statement to The Hill of "selling her candidacy to D.C. insiders."

Absent from the poll was any head-to-head matchup between Hirono and Lingle, even though the poll included only Democrats, who would be expected to be supportive of Hirono against a Republican. Democrats have privately expressed concerns that Lingle holds the potential for major crossover support from Democrats due to the pragmatic and non-ideological approach to governing she exhibited as governor.

The poll of 800 Democratic primary voters was conducted Nov. 15-19 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

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