Rep. Mike Rogers, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee’s incumbent-retention program, has pinpointed the nine most vulnerable GOP House members up for re-election and wants supporters to focus only on them. All represent districts that carried President Obama in 2008. Here’s a look at the endangered nine.

Democratic moderate Congressional candidate Ed Case showed he couldn’t act against the interests of Hawaii Democrats. His positions against working families in Hawaii made him unelectable to his base, and Sen. Daniel Inouye made sure Case wouldn’t get away with it by withholding his support. The DCCC’s surrender of this special election turned out to be the best option for all involved.

Republican candidate Charles Djou won the HI-01 special election with 39.5% of the vote because two Democrats, Colleen Hanabusa with 30.8% and Ed Case with 27.6%, split the Democratic vote almost down the middle. This is a great example of how the design of our election laws can greatly affect our government; a poorly-designed electoral system like Hawaii’s can result in winners that don’t best represent the will of the electorate.

Last night’s loss to Republican Charles Djou breaks a long string of Democratic wins in special elections, and does flip a seat to the Republicans, at least temporarily. But Rep. Djou would basically have to switch parties in order to win in November.

After the DCCC pulled out of the special election in HI-01, most political observers turned their attentions elsewhere. The race, which features two major Democrats and one major Republican in a winner-take-all election, was essentially conceded to Charles Djou, the Republican. It is thought that Ed Case and Colleen Hanabusa will split the vote, and Djou will win easily. Facts on the ground may puncture this conventional wisdom, though.

The biggest day on the primary calendar all year takes place tomorrow, with elections in four states and some of the most interesting storylines of the 2010 campaign. Activists on the left and right have battles against the establishment which will be decided tomorrow, and Democrats and Republicans have the opportunity to declare victories which they will spin into a narrative about November.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has officially ended its intervention in the Hawaii Congressional special election to replace Neil Abercrombie, judging that the unique all-candidate, first-past-the-post format makes it likely for a Republican, Charles Djou, to score a temporary victory.

In the United Kingdom general election May 6, “tactical voting” has become a serious issue as prominent members of the Labour Party push for it as a way to “keep out the Tories.” It’s an issue in upcoming US elections, as well.

Tactical voting is voting for someone besides the candidate you would most want to see win. Normally it is used to stop the candidate you hate the most from winning, by voting for your second or even third choice.

The U.S. is not an inherently divided country split between two ideologies. Nor do American voters actually want a two-party system; they don’t believe this offers a sufficient set of choices. This dichotomy is a result of our election system’s structure and will not change until are election laws are changed.

Djou, a Honolulu City Councilman and the only major Republican in the race, has a within-the-margin-of-error lead over Democrats Ed Case and Colleen Hanabusa. He only gets 32% of the vote, but because the special election runs under no-primary, first-past-the-post rules, he would be able to win.