New Hawaii GOP congressman hoping for quick swearing-in after special election victory

New Hawaii congressman hopes for quick swearing-in

HONOLULU — Hawaii’s newest member of Congress hopes to be quickly sworn in this week after his special election victory.

Republican Charles Djou won solidly on Saturday to fill the vacant 1st Congressional District. He said Sunday he may take the oath of office as early as Tuesday.

Djou also says he’d like to snag the Armed Services Committee and Committee on Natural Resources assignments that were held by his predecessor, Democrat Neil Abercrombie, who resigned in February to run for governor.

Democrats predict Djou will lose his seat in November when he’ll face only one Democratic nominee — not the two Democratic candidates he beat on Saturday.

But Djou says he can win again by campaigning hard and stressing a message of fiscal responsibility.