Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie has blamed
his primary loss on his decision to call lawmakers to debate a gay
marriage bill.
Hawaii's open primary allows
Republicans to vote for Democrats.
“Republicans crossed over en masse to
vote in the Democratic primary, and then the religious factor came
in,” he is quoted by
the AP as saying. “Doctrinally I was outside the circle and
paid for it.”
Abercrombie said that Republican voters
were urged by religious leaders to vote for his party rival, state
Senator David Ige, who is viewed as a weaker opponent in the general
election.
Abercrombie lost to Ige by a 2-1
margin, marking the first time a Democratic governor last lost his
party's primary.
However, he said he has no regrets.
“There's no way I could live with
myself if I thought I was diminishing another human being's ability
to reach their full capacity,” he said.
Ige will face James “Duke” Aiona, a
strong opponent of marriage equality, in the general election.
Last year, Abercrombie signed Hawaii's
marriage equality law.