Here is state Sen. David Ige’s plan to become governor: He wants to have a chat with you.

There are no plans to raise $2 million, nothing about getting the fastest-talking, most-savvy mainland political whiz, and nothing in the daily planner about winning each news cycle.

Of course, if you had just trashed an incumbent governor packing a $5 million campaign bristling with seasoned campaign experts, you had to win with a different plan.

If there is anything audacious about Ige’s "keep it low-profile" campaign, it is the assumption that if the simple strategy worked against Democratic Gov. Neil Abercrombie in the primary, it should also work against both former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann and former GOP Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona in the general.

Ige’s campaign officials, who spoke on background, see the general election as a refinement of the unassuming "coffee-hour strategy" that worked so well against Abercrombie.

Of course, Abercrombie’s bombastic style and divisive four years as governor made the veteran politician ready for an upset.

Ige’s calming style of quietly objecting to Abercrombie’s record and matching it against his own nearly three decades of legislative experience, gave voters the choice they wanted.

Now that the primary decision is past, the Ige campaign has to make sure its candidate is more than someone who can bump off an unpopular governor.

"Our focus is going to be on grassroots, to continue to be what brought us to this point," said one Ige campaign official. "We can’t forget what our strengths are."

Already, some of Hawaii’s fractured Democratic tribes are consolidating behind Ige’s campaign.

"David’s campaign is gaining supporters daily. The two most politically powerful labor unions — HGEA and ILWU — have endorsed David," said former Gov. Ben Cayetano, who made an early and critically important endorsement of Ige.

Equally important was the sense of Democratic continuity that former Gov. George Ariyoshi gave by also joining the Ige campaign.

Ariyoshi, who at 88 is happy to spend time doting on grandchildren, has become something of an Ige evangelist, traveling around the state to give impassioned speeches for the 57-year-old electrical engineer.

In fact when Ige and Lt. Gov. Shan Tsutsui opened their combined campaign headquarters in Hilo, Ariyoshi flew into town to represent Ige, who had a previous commitment.

As far as campaign strategy goes, Ariyoshi’s early advice to Ige to start holding coffee hours across the state appears to be the successful tactic that works best for Ige.

In his 1997 book, "With Obligation to All," Ariyoshi stressed the importance of holding political coffee hours.

"Sometime I would spend just as much time at a coffee hour as I had when I was a legislator," Ariyoshi recalled about his own campaign.

"The conversation would start, and the concerns would begin to flow, and the bonds of friendship would be formed," Ariyoshi wrote.

"People left saying not only would they vote, but they would go out and work and they did."

That subtle difference in campaigning — listening, not talking — is what Ige and supporters think will separate them from the other candidates and then provide the margin of victory.

Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at rborreca@staradvertiser.com.