National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Communications Director Brian Walsh issued the following statement regarding former U.S. Representative Ed Case’s (D-HI) entrance into the Hawaii U.S. Senate race: 

“Ed Case is simply the first of many candidates in what we expect will be a long, divisive Democrat primary. It speaks volumes of the challenges national Democrats face in 2012 that they are being forced to play defense in President Obama’s home state of Hawaii, while Republicans continue to view this race as a promising pickup opportunity.”