{{main|Hawaii United States Senate election, 2006}}
In a surprise, liberal Democratic Senator [[Daniel Akaka]] faced a competitive reelection this year. He went up against Congressman [[Ed Case]], a political maverick in Hawaii circles, being an opponent of the state's Democratic machine and compiling a somewhat more moderate voting record than the rest of the state's congressional Democrats. Akaka defeated Case 55% to 45% winning narrowly in Honolulu but comfortably in the rest of the state. His Republican opponent will be state Representative Cynthia Thielen, a moderate and 16 year veteran of the state legislature [http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=2490443].
