Former Gov. Linda Lingle said Wednesday that she does not agree with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s characterization of people on government assistance as dependent and entitled, describing many as "driven, hard-working individuals who are actively working to better the situation of their ohana."

Lingle became the fourth Republican in a competitive U.S. Senate race to speak out against Romney’s comments at a private fundraiser earlier this year that 47 percent will vote for President Barack Obama no matter what because of their dependence on government.

Earlier Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono, Lingle’s Democratic opponent, had condemned Romney’s comments as "deeply offensive" and chided Lingle for her silence.

"I am not a rubber stamp for the national party and I am not responsible for the statements of Mitt Romney," Lingle said in an email. "With that said, I do not agree with his characterization of all individuals who are receiving government assistance, as I know many of them are driven, hard-working individuals who are actively working to better the situation of their ohana. It is not fair to place these individuals into any one category. The people of Hawaii know I don’t believe in labels and I know they don’t either."

U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass.; U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev.; and Linda McMahon, a former professional wrestling executive running for Senate in Connecticut, have also distanced themselves from Romney’s remarks over the past few days.

Lingle, who needs to attract independents and moderate Democrats to compete in November, has tried to avoid being drawn into comparisons with national Republicans. She has endorsed Romney, however, and is one of five co-chairpersons of the Jewish Americans for Romney Coalition.

Lingle said Hirono’s "repeated attempts to nationalize this election are proof that she does not have a record of accomplishment for the people of Hawaii and she must campaign on fear tactics and national party talking points, rather than her own plans for our future."

Hirono said Romney’s remarks are another reason to re-elect the Hawaii-born Obama and to reject Lingle.

"Let me translate Mitt Romney for you. Romney is saying, ‘If you support President Obama, you’re lazy. You have no self-respect. You don’t pay taxes. And I won’t be your president,’" the congresswoman said in a statement prepared for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union’s state convention. "Here in Hawaii, where President Obama was raised — where President Obama received over 71 percent of the vote in 2008 — Mitt Romney is writing off a whole lot of people."

Interest groups, which had been quiet in Hawaii since the August primary, have started to direct money to the islands, a sign that the campaign is on the national radar.

Working Families for Hawaii, a labor group financed by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, has spent more than $63,900 on television advertisements targeting Lingle. Women Vote!, the independent expenditure arm of EMILY’s List — which helps elect Democratic women who favor abortion rights — has spent more than $75,000 on ads against Lingle.

The ads focus on teacher furloughs that were used to help balance the state budget during Lingle’s second term as governor. The ads are airing on the third anniversary of the 2009 agreement between Lingle, the teachers union, the state school board and the state Department of Education that led to furloughs on classroom instruction days.

Teacher furloughs were an alternative to straight pay cuts, layoffs or deeper reductions to education. Lingle signed off on the agreement, but said afterward that she had been assured furloughs would not be taken on instruction days. Nonetheless, teacher furloughs — and the collapse of the Hawaii Superferry project — have become the most negative public perceptions of Lingle’s time as governor.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which spent about $750,000 on behalf of Lingle during the primary, is also preparing to debut a new round of ads, sources said.