Barry Cassleman makes an interesting point: One of Lingle’s main campaign arguments this year has been that if there is to be a Republican president, a Republican House of Representatives, and a Republican U.S. Senate, Hawaii will need a Republican voice in Washington, D.C. Currently, Hawaii has a Democratic governor, two Democratic members of Congress, and two Democratic senators…
The rules are that an official declaration of the presidential winner cannot take place until all the polls are closed, but official or not, I suspect the winner will be known in Hawaii by mid-afternoon. Lingle might already have a majority of votes without the presidential winner, but if that winner is Mitt Romney, Hawaiian voters will have a powerful incentive to send a Republican to the U.S. Senate in 2013.
