U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie faces Republican underdog Richard "Noah" Hough on Nov. 7, and while Abercrombie is expected to easily win re-election, he said he isn't taking his challenger for granted.

Abercrombie said this campaign he is focusing on his accomplishments over his past eight terms in Congress representing urban Honolulu — the 1st Congressional District — and is urging voters to re-elect him based on his "credibility and experience." He's not going to focus on the differences between him and Hough, he said.

"But I want to avoid the idea that I am trying to dismiss him as a candidate," Abercrombie said. "I was dismissed as a candidate in 1974 and I won. So believe me, I have an indelible lesson in front of me — that I won an election I wasn't supposed to win."

Hough, a California native who worked for 16 years as an engineer with the U.S. Army, admits that his chances are slim. He has spent nearly $14,000 on his campaign, most of which is his own contribution, according to recent reporting to the Federal Election Commission.

"I'm in my first year of a three-year campaign, I like to say," Hough said. "I was running a pretty effective campaign until I ran out of money."

On the top of Abercrombie's list of talking points is the 16 years of seniority he has earned in Congress and how that will benefit Hawai'i.

If re-elected, and if the U.S. House of Representatives switches to Democratic control, Abercrombie's seniority would earn him an influential chairmanship with an armed services subcommittee. He is currently a member of the Armed Services Subcommittee and the ranking Democrat on the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee.

Hough said he opposes "practically everything Mr. Abercrombie says and does." The candidates' most obvious difference is on the issue of rail for Honolulu.

Hough is against rail, saying people will "not give up their cars." Abercrombie supports it, and has helped secure federal dollars to fund it, saying it would improve the quality of life on O'ahu.

But both candidates also agree in some areas. They agree that the war in Iraq is being mishandled, both oppose No Child Left Behind; they even agree that the Republican-controlled Congress has lost fiscal discipline.

"My best approach has been to talk about my accomplishments since I'm not sure if we disagree very much," Abercrombie said.

Abercrombie said he's most proud of helping to solve the military housing crisis in Hawai'i by pushing legislation that allowed the private sector to build, operate and maintain housing for military personnel. He said he hopes to go back to Congress to focus on ending the war in Iraq as quickly as possible and help Hawai'i develop an ethanol industry to make the state more energy independent.

Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.