Now that their nominations are official, U.S. Rep. Charles Djou and state Sen. Colleen Hanabusa are off and running in their race for the 1st Congressional District.

Expect a lot of interest in this race from Washington, D.C., types looking at the balance of power in the U.S. House of Representatives. Djou became Hawaii’s first GOP representative in 20 years when he won the seat in a special election last May to replace Neil Abercrombie, who is running for governor. Now national Democrats are eying the seat as one to flip back to blue.

Both are already on air with TV ads. (With many more likely on the way: As of Aug. 29, Djou had $428,000 in campaign cash on hand, Hanabusa had $410,000.)

Djou’s latest began airing today:

Said Djou in a statement:

“With our decisive victory in the Primary Election over the weekend, our campaign is beginning the next phase with confidence, energy and excitement. This ad highlights a few of the initiatives I have pursued in the short time I have had the honor of serving as the Representative for Hawaii’s First Congressional District.”

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee wasn’t far behind. From DCCC western regional spokesman Andy Stone:

“It should come as no surprise that the one thing Charles Djou won’t do in his TV ads is talk about his voting record since it represents an economic agenda out of step with the needs and interests of the people of Hawaii.  Whether it’s Djou’s opposition to reining in Wall Street excesses, emergency unemployment benefits for people struggling to find a job and preventing future taxpayer-funded bailouts or his support for privatizing Social Security and protecting tax breaks for job outsourcers, it’s clear that Charles Djou is out of touch with the economic concerns families in Hawaii are facing.”

Hanabusa has been on the air with a couple of new ads. This one began airing Sept. 9:

Said Hanabusa in a statement:

But our work has only begun.  We have six short weeks until the General Election, and our opponent and his right wing allies are ready to attack our message and our values.

The National Republican Congressional Committee wasn’t far behind. From NRCC spokeswoman Joanna Burgos:

“All voters see when it comes to Colleen Hanabusa are the higher taxes and the job-killing policies that she’s been pushing as a career politician. If Hawaii families get what they see from Hanabusa, they’ll see more of their hard-earned money leaving their own pocket to be spent recklessly by the federal government. Charles Djou is the only candidate in this race who will fight to keep taxes low, put an end to wasteful spending and create jobs for Hawaii.”