U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono raised significantly more money than former Gov. Linda Lingle since late July in their U.S. Senate campaign, the first time the Hawaii Democrat has surpassed the Republican in a fundraising period.
Hirono raised more than $1.2 million, her best fundraising performance, and pushed her total to $4.7 million. Lingle raised more than $822,700, her worst mark over a comparable period, bringing her total to $5.2 million.
The campaign finance figures, which were released Saturday by the Hirono and Lingle campaigns and cover the period from late July through September, are the first since the August primary.
Hirono’s fundraising burst comes as national political analysts have taken the Hawaii Senate race off the list of competitive campaigns that could determine the balance of political power in the Senate.
Hirono has led Lingle by double digits in public opinion polls.
"If you take the polls, such as they are, plus the big difference in money and the fact that it’s late in the campaign, I think it suggests that momentum is in Hirono’s court," said Neal Milner, a retired University of Hawaii at Manoa political science professor.
Lingle broke fundraising records as governor and had initially estimated she would raise $8 million to $10 million for her Senate run. She had consistently outperformed Hirono in fundraising before the primary.
An aide to the former governor said Lingle has not made any fundraising trips to the mainland since the primary. Her campaign had more than $1.1 million in cash at the end of September, enough to aggressively compete in television advertising before the November election.
Hirono, who has made fundraising trips to the mainland since the primary, peaked at the critical time when she and Lingle were finally in a head-to-head contest. Hirono had about $688,800 in cash on hand at the end of September.
"With close to 24,000 donors over the last three months and our strongest fundraising quarter ever, people clearly know that Mazie is the one who will protect Social Security and Medicare, create educational opportunities for our keiki and work with President Obama to get our economy back on track," Betsy Lin, Hirono’s campaign manager, said in an email.
Lingle said she was grateful for donors who have provided financial and grass-roots support for her campaign.
"I have visited with individuals, families and small businesses statewide who are eager for energetic and effective leadership in the U.S. Senate," she said in a statement. "My experience as a proven leader tested by challenging times, and my commitment to always putting Hawaii’s people first, continues to resonate with supporters."
National interest groups have not spent as heavily in Hawaii as expected, an indicator that other Senate campaigns are considered more competitive. The Campaign Finance Institute, a nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C., tracked party and nonparty independent spending in the past week alone that topped the $1 million threshold in 10 states with competitive Senate campaigns, including $4.3 million in Virginia, $3.6 million in Wisconsin, $3.3 million in Ohio and $1.9 million in Montana.
In Hawaii, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has spent $311,000 on behalf of Lingle since the primary and more than $1 million overall, the most of any single interest group.
District Council 50, which represents union painters and other local trades, has spent about $140,000 on behalf of Hirono.
Emily’s List, which supports Democratic women who favor abortion rights, has spent about $75,000 to help Hirono.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees has spent about $71,200 to help Hirono.
Working Families for Hawaii, an AFSCME-financed labor group, has spent more than $135,000 to help Hirono.
Pacific Resource Partnership, the union carpenters and contractors interest group, has spent more than $14,750 for Hirono.
