The Case Against Ed
Summary: Ed Case actually represents the military industrial complex instead of the people of Hawaii Congressional District 1 because they fund his re-election campaign.
I debated how much of Ed's transgressions to speak of due to the local culture against negativity. However, given that his anti-people voting record is what spurred me to increase voter turnout in the primaries and run against him, I feel like I had to fully lay out the Case Against Ed. Furthermore, there is a difference between negative vibes, complaining, belittling, etc. and fair, truthful criticism. Sometimes in order to get better we have to address the bad head-on; and that is a big part of what this campaign is about.
Exhibit A: Ed's voting record. Although Ed's SAVE Act vote was what spurred me into action, after researching his overall record in Congress I was even more appalled to find that his anti-people voting record extends all the way back to his first term in Congress. To top it all off, Ed has recently joined forces with the Republican Party once again (April 30) in voting for a bill that extends authorization of mass surveillance in violation of the 4th Amendment. Most of the times he voted with the Republican Party it has been on an issue that involved defense/imperialism, civil rights, and the environment. It is clear from his actions that he is anti-peace, anti-rights, and anti-environment. I may have just moved here in 2019, but I know that those three issues are very important to everyone that calls Hawai’i home. If you thought Ed represented your interests, his votes in Congress say otherwise. Ed loves to claim that he is an "independent thinker", and that much is true: he thinks independently of what locals want.
Sources: (https://www.commondreams.org/news/fisa-section-702-reauthorization), (https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1318/text; "Section 107"), (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Case)
Exhibit B: Ed's misleading claims of being on the appropriations committee in Congress. Ed loves to tout his membership on the House appropriations committee, which is responsible for the national budget. However, what Ed always leaves out is that within the appropriations committee he is on the Department of Homeland Security subcommittee and Defense subcommittee. Ask yourself why he would leave out those subcommittees that he is on and you will probably come to the conclusion that Ed knows that if voters knew that he is responsible for increasing the DHS budget, which includes ICE, and increasing weapons spending that we would rightfully feel betrayed because ICE and warmaking are two things that are complete opposites of local values. So not only is Ed's membership in the appropriations committee only beneficial to DHS and military interests; he preys on our economic anxieties by leaving out that fact and making people believe that he has the power to help us financially when he really doesn't.
Source: (https://clerk.house.gov/members/C001055)
Exhibit C: $573,677 given to Ed's re-election campaign in the 2024 election cycle and ongoing $812,246 in 2025-2026 as of March 31, 2026. Out of that $812k raised only $238k has been recorded as spent. At least 22.5% of that $573k number was from the "defense" industry (that defense number is definitely higher due to military adjacency from industries in other categories, e.g. "Computer Software"). These warmongers fuel Ed's re-election campaigns and it is them and other big donors that Ed truly considers when making voting decisions because for traditional politicians like him, fundraising is the real name of the game. Money talks after people vote. Once Ed has your vote he will be working for his biggest donors for the next two years, not you. Just take a look at the other duty of a federal representative: constituent services, which is helping local citizens access federal resources. Not only has Ed been helpless to stop Trump's funding cuts to many of our important services, he has not been agile enough to adjust to the hostile actions of this administration by providing updated guidance and assistance to locals to replace or at least supplement the resources pilfered by the executive branch. Resources that we already paid taxes for.
Conclusion: Ed Case is a representative of the military industrial complex, not Hawaii Congressional District 1. He will pander to voters during re-election season only to sacrifice our rights while in Congress in order to further enrich his greedy, bloodthirsty sugar donors. Do not be fooled by his empty words and gestures during re-election season. Do not take for granted that Ed holds democratic ideals just because he's in the Democratic Party. Look at his actions and his votes in Congress; don't just take his words at face value.