A political action committee controlled by the state’s largest construction union is spending another $300,000 to try to sway the Democratic primary election for governor against the incumbent. About half of that money is earmarked for ads opposing the re-election of Gov. David Ige, according to new filings with the Hawaii Campaign Spending commission.

That means Be Change Now, a super PAC financed by the Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters, has so far committed more than $300,000 to support U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa in her bid to oust Ige, and another $300,000 to oppose Ige’s re-election.

That is far more than any other political action committee in Hawaii has spent, and a spokesman for Be Change Now said the organization has not yet determined how much it will spend this year.

The super PAC has also spent more than $461,000 on commercials promoting state Sen. Josh Green’s campaign for lieutenant governor, and a recent poll shows Green is leading in that race.

Ige said in a written statement Thursday, “I view this as an act of desperation on behalf of a special interest group. We cannot allow powerful unions to buy an election and it must be called out. Hawaii voters are smart and they will reject the inundation of negative campaigning and realize it is an abuse of power and money. Criticism is not leadership.”

He added, “The real threat is that special interest groups with a huge war chest and too much influence and control over certain leaders in our state. I am not one of the people they control. They may have the big money, but I have an army of people including teachers, those who care about our aina and those who work hard for Hawaii every day on my side.”

Be Change Now said in a statement Thursday that its advertising campaign “has been entirely funded by the thousands of working middle-class families of Hawaii who every day are building housing that local residents can afford, paving our roads, modernizing our airports and improving our infrastructure.”

“Be Change Now is fighting for the hard-working people of Hawaii and won’t apologize for putting them ahead of politicians and their special interests.” The carpenters union represents about 7,000 members.

The union is also a major sponsor of the Pacific Resource Partnership, which funded a political action committee that fielded a controversial negative advertising campaign in the 2012 Honolulu mayoral election. PRP spent more than $3.6 million to prevent former Gov. Ben Cayetano, who was against the rail project, from being elected mayor. Cayetano sued for defamation, and PRP agreed to apologize and donate $125,000 in Cayetano’s name to charity.