U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie's announcement tomorrow that he is running for governor in 2010, giving up a secure seat in Congress for a chance at Washington Place, will put pressure on potential rivals and touch off a chase for his replacement.

Abercrombie, who has served in Congress for two decades and leads the House Armed Services Committee's subcommittee on air and land forces, is expected to make appearances in Honolulu, Maui and Kaua'i tomorrow and the Big Island on Monday.

The congressman would not make a formal announcement yesterday other than to say he would meet this weekend with family and close friends to evaluate his options. "Everything will be clear Sunday morning," he said.

His announcement has been widely expected in local political circles. One leading Democrat, speaking privately because he was not authorized to talk about the campaign, described the congressman as exuberant. "I've never seen him so at peace and excited," he said. "There's no doubt he's running. I think he's going to enjoy himself."

Democrats lost Washington Place to Gov. Linda Lingle in 2002, the first Republican governor in four decades, and failed to field a name-brand candidate to challenge Lingle in 2006. Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona has been actively raising money for his GOP campaign for governor in 2010.

"Our campaign welcomes the challenge," Aiona said in a statement yesterday. "This election will be about Hawai'i's working families and how we will build a safe, productive and sustainable future for our keiki.

"I am proud to run on a proven record of leadership, integrity and commitment, and I look forward to what I hope will be a transparent and spirited debate about the best direction for our state."

Abercrombie's announcement is considered early by Hawai'i standards but gives him time to raise the estimated $3 million to $6 million believed necessary for a competitive campaign.

The congressman and his advisers have cited the state's campaign-finance law, particularly a limit on Mainland contributions, as a concern. Many of the congressman's donors during his 10 terms in Congress have been from the Mainland, and he has $1.2 million in his congressional account that he is unable to transfer to his governor's campaign.

CANDIDATES LINING UP

Abercrombie's move will likely cause several prominent Democrats to think about campaigns for his 1st Congressional District seat in urban Honolulu. City Councilman Charles Djou has already announced he is running for the seat as a Republican.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann has told people privately he may run for governor but said yesterday he is keeping his options open.

"What Neil is going to do I wish him well, but it has no impact on my timetable," Hannemann said. "I feel comfortable where I'm at with my timetable. The response has been overwhelming from people throughout the state about the prospect of me running for Washington Place."

Former congressman Ed Case has said he would run for either governor or Congress in 2010. State Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, D-21st (Nanakuli, Makaha), is also thinking about both possibilities.

Case said yesterday that he would decide in the next few weeks. In an e-mail, he said "Abercrombie's departure from Congress leaves a huge puka in our delegation, both now and looking into the future. I can easily pick up in D.C. where I left off in 2007 with my seniority, experience and relationships, and would look forward to again contributing to national solutions.

"But it's also obvious we face many challenges at home that a governor can best address, and I'd welcome the opportunity to tackle them."

City Councilman Duke Bainum said yesterday that he is interested in a congressional race.

"I am interested and I have had calls already urging me to consider it, and I have talked with some of my supporters," he said. "But there is a lot of time before a decision has to be made."

Democrats frown on heavily contested primaries, which can deplete money and resources and create breaches among the rank-and-file that can be hard to mend.

Abercrombie has been talking to business and labor leaders about his campaign, but it is not clear whether influential Democrats will endorse him early or discourage others from running. U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, the state's senior Democrat, has also not made a public endorsement.

Brian Schatz, chairman of the Democratic Party of Hawai'i, said Abercrombie's announcement "sets off an exciting chain reaction" among Democrats.

"We will be in a good position to hold on to the 1st Congres-sional District because of a deep and strong bench," he said. "Having this much excitement on the Democratic side is going to help us to build enough momentum to beat Duke Aiona and recapture the governorship. Whoever our nominee is, we will be unified."

INFLUENCE ON THE RISE

Willes Lee, the state's GOP chairman, portrayed Abercrombie as a liberal who would likely raise taxes and increase government spending.

"He's been equally busy planning his gubernatorial campaign and voting to run up our national debt with a trillion-dollar spending package and increase our taxes," Lee said in a statement. "His record of over-spending and over-taxing is not what Hawai'i needs in such challenging economic times."

Abercrombie, 70, had considered running for governor in 2006 but opted to stay in Congress. The congressman, who is married to educator Nancie Caraway, would be leaving Washington, D.C., during a time when his political influence is on the rise.

Democrats have a majority in the House and he is near the top in seniority on the Armed Services Committee, putting him in a position to help Hawai'i's military interests. He knew Obama's parents as students at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa and was active in Obama's presidential campaign, giving him an entree with the White House.

But Abercrombie said in November that he did not have ambitions in Washington, either for House leadership or for the U.S. Senate or Obama administration.

Over the past few months, the congressman, who is known for being outspoken, seemed to take a higher, more independent profile. He criticized Lingle, county mayors and state lawmakers for not moving fast enough to take advantage of the federal economic stimulus package.

He also said U.S. military forces should be removed from Iraq sooner than Obama's August 2010 timetable.

LONG, VARIED CAREER

Abercrombie, who was born in Buffalo, N.Y., is a liberal who was active in the anti-Vietnam War movement as a graduate student at UH. He has served in the state House and Senate and on the Honolulu City Council.

He served three months in Congress in 1986 after winning a special election to complete the term of Cec Heftel — who had resigned to run for governor — but lost the primary to succeed Heftel to Hannemann (who lost the general election to Pat Saiki).

Abercrombie was elected to Congress in 1990 and is in his 10th two-year term. He is known as an impressive weightlifter and co-authored the 1996 book "Blood of Patriots," a fictional thriller about a conspiracy behind a terrorist attack on the House.

Neal Milner, a political analyst and ombudsman at UH-Manoa, said he believes Abercrombie wants to come home to complete his political career. "I think it's the kind of life that he would like to finish politics in," Milner said.

Milner said Abercrombie, because of his aggressive personality, was always perceived as more politically radical than he was in practice — for example, Abercrombie has been an advocate for the military in Hawai'i despite his anti-war views.

"He's always been able to operate very well with the average person," Milner said. "And so I've never seen it as big as a transformation as other people have."