With the August primary on the horizon, U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz has a 2-to-1 fundraising advantage over U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa.
Schatz brought in about $704,600 over the past three months and has raised $3.4 million overall, according to a draft of his latest federal campaign-finance report. Hanabusa raised about $454,700 during the past quarter, according to her campaign, and has brought in $1.6 million overall.
Money has been an early metric to measure the strength of the two Democrats, but it will soon take on more than just symbolic importance as the candidates roll out their campaigns over the next several months.
Schatz, who has had lower name recognition than Hanabusa, is expected to use his financial superiority on advertising that could better define him with voters. The appointed senator has outmatched Hanabusa in fundraising and endorsements but must counter her claim that she is the more experienced choice.
Hanabusa has challenged Schatz to a dozen debates — a tactic usually reserved for underdogs — and her campaign advisers have belittled Schatz’s national fundraising success.
John Hart, a Hawaii Pacific University communication professor, said Schatz, while appointed, has the normal fundraising advantage of an incumbent.
"His people can run a good campaign. They no doubt will spend this money wisely. It will make it tougher for Hanabusa," Hart said. "At the same time, she’s a good campaigner door to door. She will be very effective on the stump. She will do well in debates — I think Schatz will at least have to do one — and I still think this will be a competitive race."
Schatz was appointed over Hanabusa by Gov. Neil Abercrombie in 2012 to replace the late U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye. The election is to fill out the remainder of Inouye’s six-year term, which runs through 2016. Cam Cavasso, a former state lawmaker, is the only Republican to declare.
"We are very humbled by the support we received last quarter and would like to say thank you to everyone who stepped up to support our vision for the future of Hawaii," Hanabusa said in a statement about her quarterly fund- raising.
Clay Schroers, Schatz’s campaign manager, said the senator has proved he can deliver for Hawaii. "He’s fighting to grow our clean energy economy, expand Social Security benefits, and stand up for Hawaii’s hard-working families," he said in an email. "We appreciate the strong support that people across Hawaii have shown for the work he has done."
