Newswatch

Aiona, Schatz, Hanabusa file to run

Three Hawaii politicians formally became candidates yesterday, filing documents to run in primary elections in September.

Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona, who is seeking the Republican nomination for governor, started off the parade at the state Office of Elections in Pearl City.

Aiona and the two major Democratic gubernatorial candidates — Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann and former U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie — have been campaigning for months. Primary elections take place Sept. 18.

Abercrombie filed his candidacy papers in March and Hannemann is expected to do so Tuesday.

Not long after Aiona filed, former state Democratic Party Chairman Brian Schatz filed documents for his party’s nod for lieutenant governor. Schatz faces five major rivals: state Sens. Robert Bunda, Gary Hooser and Norman Sakamoto, and Reps. Lyla Berg and Jon Riki Karamatsu.

Rep. Lynn Finnegan and Honolulu lawyer Adrienne King are vying for the GOP nod.

Later, state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa arrived to file papers to run for the Democratic nomination for Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District seat.

Hanabusa is likely to face the GOP incumbent, U.S. Rep. Charles Djou, in November.