Former Gov. Linda Lingle raised more than $1.3 million in the past quarter for her Republican campaign for U.S. Senate, outpacing U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono, who brought in more than $1 million for her Democratic campaign.
Lingle’s quarterly figure puts her at $3.1 million overall, while Hirono has collected about $2.5 million. Former U.S. Rep. Ed Case, who is running against Hirono in the Democratic primary to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, has not released his quarterly fundraising number, but has consistently lagged behind.
Public opinion polls have shown Hirono leading Case ahead of the August primary, and both Hirono and Case topping Lingle ahead of the November general election. Quarterly fundraising totals are closely tracked in Hawaii and nationally to help weigh the strength of candidates.
National political analysts have rated Hawaii as a "toss-up" or a "lean Democrat" race despite the state’s history of electing Democrats, primarily because of Lingle’s two terms as governor and her fundraising ability.
Lingle and Hirono have solicited donors nationally in a campaign that could influence which political party controls the Senate next year. The Senate race is expected to be the most expensive political campaign in Hawaii since statehood.
"I have found the people in Hawaii and across America eager to discuss issues important to their families, businesses, and the nation, including the economy and jobs, the debt and deficit, protecting Social Security and Medicare, and national security and veterans affairs," Lingle said in a statement.
Lingle, who set fundraising records as governor, initially put her goal at $8 million to $10 million. She has fallen short of that pace — which would require about $2 million a quarter — while outperforming Hirono and Case.
For Hirono the $1 million she raised from January through March represents her strongest quarter since she announced her campaign last May.
"I am grateful and humbled by the generosity and commitment of the thousands of supporters who have joined this campaign. I have always said that this campaign is of, by, and for the people, and our first quarter fundraising results truly show that," she said in a statement.
Neal Milner, a retired University of Hawaii-Manoa political science professor, said he expects big national money to flow to Lingle and the eventual Democratic nominee, particularly if polling shows a close campaign in the months ahead. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has financed television advertising on Lingle’s behalf, and other interest groups might follow if the race remains on the national radar.
Milner said he is interested to see how Case, who had raised only about $475,000 through the end of the year, fared against Hirono in the past quarter.
Case’s campaign on Thursday sought to keep the pressure on Hirono to agree to several debates before the primary. The former congressman has accepted invitations from the news media and interest groups to debate, according to his campaign, while Hirono has yet to commit to a debate schedule.
"This is a funny kind of Democratic primary because it’s not very highly visible or very passionate yet in a public sort of way, and so you don’t see a lot of ad blitzes, you don’t see a lot of that kind thing going on," Milner said.
