Record turnout predicted in Hawaii

By Bryan Bender, Globe Staff

HONOLULU -- Turnout for the Hawaii Democratic caucuses appeared headed to record levels tonight as voters began gathering at schools around Honolulu to choose between Hillary Clinton and native son Barack Obama, who was expected to win by a large margin.

Hundreds of voters were lining up before the caucuses, set to kick off around midnight on the East Coast.

"There has not been this kind of interest and excitement in my political lifetime," said US Representative Neil Abercrombie, a veteran lawmaker from the Aloha State who is a superdelegate supporting Obama. "It makes my heart beat fast."

Jane Bond, a Democratic party official who started "Kauai for Obama" on the northernmost island in the Hawaiin chain, said she cannot recall any other political contest here that has energized Hawaiians like the 2008 presidential nominating process.

"It has been massive," Bond said in an interview on the eve of the caucuses. "I have 20-year-olds calling up saying we haven't voted before. People are involved who were totally disinterested before."

Obama was expected to win in the state where he spent 14 of his first 18 years, running his winning streak to 10 contests and claiming most of the 20 delegates at stake.

But the Clinton campaign invested heavy resources here -- including dispatching Chelsea Clinton over the weekend and enlisting the support of key party officials including Senator Daniel Inouye.