Republican Linda Lingle raised more than $1.1 million during the past three months for her campaign for the U.S. Senate and has started to use her substantial bankroll to try to gain an advantage over Democrats.
Lingle’s quarterly figure, which covers fundraising through June, puts the former governor at $4.2 million overall and widens the gap with Democrats.
U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono raised $941,000 in the past quarter for a total of more than $3.4 million for her campaign.
Former U.S. Rep. Ed Case has not released his quarterly figure, but has significantly fallen behind in fundraising.
During the past several weeks, Lingle has used television advertisements, a biographical video and a new digital cable channel to brand her message even though she does not have a competitive primary in August. The Democrats have largely stayed off the airwaves. Lingle’s strategy is to build positive connections with voters before Democrats and allied groups unveil negative ads about her after the primary.
Hirono has described Lingle’s media rollout, which has been accompanied by $500,000 in ads on her behalf this year by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, as an "extreme makeover" to gloss over her low job approval ratings when she left office and her ties to national Republicans.
"The great thing about having been a governor for two terms and a mayor for two terms is that people know me very well and they’ve watched me through the years. They know my record," Lingle said Thursday after being endorsed by the Hawaii Restaurant Association at Morton’s steakhouse at Ala Moana Center.
"So when the other side tries to put up negative ads or put out information that’s not true, it’s very hard for the other side because people already know me. So what I’m trying to do in this campaign is remind people of some of the successes that we had while I was governor but then lay out what my vision is for our future and the specific things that I would like to do if I can get elected to the United States Senate."
Hirono’s campaign advisers, who trust internal poll numbers that show Hirono with a double-digit lead over Case in the primary, have been saving money for a potential November general election campaign against Lingle. The Hirono campaign this week went up with a television ad on Hirono’s immigrant background and her support for food and energy security, the first buy since February and not the kind of ad Hirono would air if she were worried about Case.
Political analysts familiar with Hirono’s strategy have described it as a calculated risk, especially after Case and Lingle released their internal polls that have the primary essentially tied.
Lingle and Hirono had slightly lower quarterly fundraising totals compared with the first three months of the year, an indication of the difficulty in raising money even in elections that have a national profile.
The campaign to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka could be one of several that determine control of the Senate next year.
Lingle said her advertising is partly aimed at voters who may not be aware that the primary has been moved up to August from September. She also said she expects interest groups to advertise in Hawaii closer to the general election, which could compete with the candidates’ own messages.
"I think the candidates’ own message can get lost in all of that," she said. "And because our message is a positive one, we think it’s important to be able to get it out at an appropriate stage so that people have time to really consider it."
