Hanabusa raises over $700,000 for campaign

U.S. Rep. Colleen Hana­busa has attracted more than $700,000 in campaign donations so far in her bid to become Hawaii’s next governor.

Hanabusa’s campaign pulled in $731,945 in contributions for the reporting period covering July 1 to Dec. 31, according to filings with the state Campaign Spending Commission.

Donations began flowing into Hanabusa’s war chest in September when she announced she was considering running against Gov. David Ige in the Democratic primary. Hanabusa, who has said she will not step down from her congressional seat to campaign, formally launched her campaign for governor this month.

Donors contributing the maximum $6,000 allowed for the election cycle include retired banker Walter Dods; Arthur Ushijima, president and CEO of The Queen’s Health System; NextEra Energy President Eric Gleason and NextEra CEO James Robo; and developers Jeffrey Stone, Christine Camp, Everett Dowling and Bert Kobayashi Sr.

The campaign, which reported having no cash on hand at the start of the reporting period, logged roughly $81,000 in expenses.

Hanabusa’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ige, as of late Monday, had not filed a report, which is due Wednesday. Ige said in August he would raise $1 million by the end of 2017 and planned to raise $2.5 million to $3 million total to secure another four-year term.

Republican candidates in the race, state Rep. Andria Tupola and retired attorney John Carroll, also have not yet filed campaign finance reports.