Hawaii decides House election in Obama's hometown

Republicans believe they are on the cusp of taking control of a congressional seat in President Barack Obama's hometown in a special election Saturday that represents the latest battleground in the fight for control of Congress in the November midterm races.

Democrats believe any success in Hawaii would be short-lived. The winner will only serve through the remainder of 2010, and another election will be held in November for the next term. Democrats are confident they can win in November because the vote won't be split among several candidates as it is in Saturday's election.

Republican Charles Djou is favored to win the seat, and a victory would be an embarrassment to Democrats given that Obama was born in the district and spent most of his childhood here. It also is in a state that gave Obama 72 percent of the vote two years ago and where he remains quite popular.

The Republican party sees the election as a chance to add even more momentum to their bid to reclaim control of Congress following the stunning Massachusetts Senate victory by Republican Scott Brown this year in another symbolic Democratic stronghold.

Fourteen candidates in all are vying for the seat vacated by Democratic Rep. Neil Abercrombie when he resigned after 10 terms to run for governor. The election is being conducted entirely by mail, and the state Office of Elections is expected to release the first tally from the three weeks of voting just after 6 p.m. local time (midnight EDT (0400 GMT)).

An intraparty fight over the Democratic candidates prevented Obama and national Democratic groups from endorsing one contender. Instead, they aired television ads and made automated telephone calls that asked voters to chose "a Democrat."

Democrats Ed Case and Colleen Hanabusa have struggled to gain any footing amid the intense party infighting.

In contrast, Djou enjoyed solid support from local and national Republican, who funneled money to his campaign but took a much lower profile than their Demcratic counterparts.

All three candidates have said they intend to run in September primaries for the next full congressional term, setting up potential rematch in November.