Gov. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) is blaming his landslide defeat in the Democratic primary earlier this month on a backlash from religious leaders, who he says urged their followers to vote against him because of his successful work to pass legislation in favor of same-sex marriage in a 2013 special session of the legislature.
"Republicans crossed over en masse to vote in the Democratic primary, and then the religious factor came in," Abercrombie told reporters, according to the Associated Press. "Doctrinally I was outside the circle and paid for it."
But, he added, losing his office was worth the accomplishment: "There's no way I could live with myself if I thought I was diminishing another human being's ability to reach their full capacity."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
However, there are a number of reasons to doubt Abercrombie's argument. The AP's report also notes that voters they previously spoke with outside polling stations during the primary three weeks ago listed other local issues, such as Abercrombie's handling of contract negotiations with the state's teachers — and not gay marriage — as their reasons for voting against him. Moreover, Abercrombie had already become a deeply unpopular governor in polls going all the way back to 2011, the very first year of his term, and he never did recover.
It also might be worth pointing out that the man who defeated Abercrombie in the Democratic primary, state Sen. David Ige, actually voted in favor of the bill to legalize gay marriage. Ige won the primary by a margin of 67 percent to 31 percent.
-
Nepal chooses toddler as its new ‘living goddess’Under the Radar Girls between two and four are typically chosen to live inside the temple as the Kumari – until puberty strikes
-
October 5 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday's political cartoons include half-truth hucksters, Capitol lockdown, and more
-
Jaguar Land Rover’s cyber bailoutTalking Point Should the government do more to protect business from the ‘cyber shockwave’?
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denialSpeed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartelsspeed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feudSpeed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protestersSpeed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoffSpeed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsionSpeed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot
-
Oregon sues to stop Trump military deploymentSpeed Read The president wants to send the National Guard into Portland
