Hawaii Senate Race Bucking National Trend on Obamacare?

The general political mindset nationwide is that last week’s U.S. Supreme Court decision to uphold the key pillars of Obamacare would give the GOP a tool to use in electoral fights with Democrats.

After all, the law as a whole is unpopular across the country (even if the key provisions of the law are popular).

Here in Hawaii, Obama’s sustained popularity makes for a different political calculus. So when Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Linda Lingle said she’d vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act if it can’t be fixed, Democrat Mazie Hirono went on the offensive. The exchange looks odd to observers in Washington.

In a post titled “Spotted: A Dem Senate candidate campaigning for Obamacare” published Thursday night, Politico’s Alexander Burns writes:

Hirono — who’s in a competitive primary with former Rep. Ed Case — is sort of the exception that proves the rule in terms of Democrats stumping for the Affordable Care Act. She’s hardly the only Democrat defending the law, but we haven’t seen many statewide candidates put it front and center in their campaigns like this.

The National Journal also highlighted the spat.

— Michael Levine

(Photo by Flickr user Fibonacci Blue)