Ed Case Bio
Edward Espenett Case (born September 27, 1952) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. Representative for Hawaii’s 1st congressional district since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party and a centrist, or Blue Dog, Democrat, he previously represented Hawaii’s 2nd district from 2002 to 2007. An attorney by training, Case worked in private legal practice between his two congressional tenures before returning to public office after winning the 2018 Democratic primary.
Before his time in Washington, Case served four terms in the Hawaii State House of Representatives, where he rose to majority leader. He has run several statewide campaigns, including bids for governor of Hawaii in 2002 and for the U.S. Senate in 2006 and 2012. Known for his fiscally conservative positions and willingness to work across party lines, he has been one of the more centrist voices in the House Democratic caucus.
Early Life and Background
Edward Espenett Case was born in Hilo, in the Hawaii Territory, as the eldest of six children. He grew up on the Big Island and attended Hawaii Preparatory Academy in Kamuela, graduating in 1970. After high school, Case spent a year abroad, working as a jackaroo on a New South Wales sheep station in Australia and traveling in New Zealand.
Case then enrolled at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1975. He returned to the West Coast for law school and graduated from the University of California Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco in 1981 with a Juris Doctor degree. That same year, he began his legal career as a law clerk to Hawaii Supreme Court Chief Justice William S. Richardson, serving until 1982.
Path to U.S. Politics
Case first entered public life in 1975, working as a legislative assistant to Congressman and later Senator Spark Matsunaga, a position he held until 1978. After completing law school and his clerkship, he joined the Honolulu law firm Carlsmith Ball in 1983, where he became a partner in 1989 and served as managing partner from 1992 to 1994.
In 1985, Case won his first election to the Manoa Neighborhood Board of Honolulu, becoming its chairman two years later. His first major political victory came in 1994, when he won the Democratic primary for Hawaii’s 23rd House district with 51 percent of the vote and went on to win the general election. He was reelected three more times and was elected majority leader by his Democratic colleagues in 1999, a role he held until 2001.
Ed Case Career
Early Career (1994–2002)
Case served four two-year terms in the Hawaii House of Representatives from 1994 to 2002, focusing on basic change in Hawaii governance. In 1999, after he led an effort to replace the State House leadership, his Democratic peers elected him majority leader. As a conservative Democrat by Hawaii standards, he sought to change the way state government operated and repeatedly warned that Hawaii was not addressing long-term fiscal challenges.
During his time in the state House, Case cast the lone vote in 1997 against advancing a bill that would have allowed a referendum to constitutionally ban gay marriage, drawing on the protections of minority rights. In 2001, he chose not to continue as majority leader and announced his candidacy for governor of Hawaii. He finished a close second in the Democratic primary, losing to Mazie Hirono by a single percentage point.
U.S. House Breakthrough (2002–2007)
Following the death of Representative Patsy Mink in September 2002, Case won a crowded special election in November to serve the remaining two months of her term. On January 4, 2003, he won a second special election for the full 108th Congress term with 43 percent of the vote. In 2004, he won his first full term with 63 percent of the vote, defeating Republican challenger Mike Gabbard.
During his first tenure in Congress, Case sponsored 36 bills, several of which became law, including legislation recognizing 100 years of Filipino-American immigration and the Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park Addition Act. He also introduced the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Marine Refuge Act, the goals of which were largely achieved in 2006 when President George W. Bush created the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. He supported the Iraq War throughout his tenure and often sided with Republicans on major tax legislation, including votes to reduce the estate tax and lower taxes on investment income.
Senate Bids and Private Practice (2007–2018)
Case left the House in 2007 after an unsuccessful 2006 primary challenge to U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka, in which he lost 55 percent to 45 percent. He returned to private legal practice, joining the Honolulu-based law firm Bays Deaver Lung Rose & Baba. In 2010, he ran in a special election for Hawaii’s 1st congressional district but finished third behind Republican Charles Djou and Democrat Colleen Hanabusa, and later suspended his campaign in the general election for the sake of party unity.
In 2012, Case ran again for the U.S. Senate to replace the retiring Senator Akaka but lost the Democratic primary to Mazie Hirono by 17 points. In July 2013, he announced he was joining Outrigger Enterprises Group, suggesting his political career was likely over. That changed in June 2018, when he announced another run for Hawaii’s 1st congressional district.
Current District Era (2019–Present)
Case won the crowded 2018 Democratic primary with 40 percent of the vote, defeating six challengers, including Lieutenant Governor Doug Chin. In the general election, he carried the district by a 50-point margin with 73 percent of the vote. He took office in January 2019 and was reelected in 2020 with 72 percent of the vote.
On July 25, 2019, Case co-founded the Congressional Pacific Islands Caucus to increase attention to the Indo-Pacific region. He voted to impeach President Donald Trump in December 2019 and rejoined the Blue Dog Coalition later that month. He has continued to take bipartisan or independent positions, including voting in 2025 to censure Democratic congressman Al Green and being one of only four Democrats to vote for the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, also known as the SAVE Act.
Notable Events and Milestones
Case’s career has been marked by several defining moments, including his lone 1997 vote against a bill that would have allowed a constitutional ban on gay marriage and his role in founding the Congressional Pacific Islands Caucus in 2019. In 2006, his goals of protecting the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands were realized when President George W. Bush created Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.
Ed Case Career Wins
Ed Case has compiled a lengthy record of electoral victories across more than two decades in Hawaii politics, including state House, congressional, and gubernatorial races, alongside competitive losses in statewide bids for governor and the U.S. Senate.
U.S. House Highlights
Case won his first U.S. House special election on November 30, 2002, gaining over 50 percent of the vote in a field of more than 40 candidates. He followed that with a second special election win in January 2003 and a full-term victory in 2004 with 63 percent of the vote. After returning to Congress in 2019, he won the 2018 general election with 73 percent of the vote and was reelected in 2020 with 72 percent.
Other Wins and Achievements
Case won four consecutive terms in the Hawaii House of Representatives from 1994 to 2002, including an unopposed reelection in 2000. He also served as majority leader of the Hawaii State House from 1999 to 2001 and has been recognized for his work on federal legislation benefiting Hawaii, including the designation of the Patsy Takemoto Mink Post Office Building and the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge Expansion Act.
Ed Case Family
Family Background and Connections
Edward Espenett Case was born into a family of six children in Hilo, Hawaii, where he was the eldest. His cousin, Steve Case, is the co-founder of America Online and the former chairman of Time Warner. Case is Protestant.
Personal Life
Case was first married from 1988 to 1998 and has two children from that marriage. In 2001, he married Audrey Nakamura, a former classmate from Hawaii Preparatory Academy, after reconnecting at their 30th class reunion. Nakamura, a flight attendant with United Airlines, also has two children from a previous marriage.