Another day, another labor endorsement for U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa’s campaign to unseat Gov. David Ige.

Last week it was the laborers, the painters and the operating engineers, following earlier nods from the electrical workers, SHOPO, the Building and Construction Trades Council, the carpenters and the ILWU.

Then there are the fellow politicians lining up for Hanabusa — former Govs. George Ariyoshi and Ben Cayetano, U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, former Lt. Gov. Shan Tsutsui and the entire top leadership of both houses of the Legislature.

With Ige picking up fewer endorsements, lacking a coherent campaign strategy and facing a Honolulu Star-Advertiser poll showing him 20 points behind Hanabusa, many feel it’s already over three months before the Aug. 11 Democratic primary.

But it would be a mistake in these challenging times to snooze our way to the election without demanding a lot more from candidates about their vision for Hawaii’s future and specific ideas for achieving it.

Hanabusa is arguably the most accomplished legislator of her generation and a proven leader.

But while she ticks off the big issues of the day — homelessness, affordable housing, education, jobs, the cost of living — she’s offered few concrete proposals for moving the needle where she thinks Ige hasn’t.

Voters must insist she do so rather than cruise on boasts of her endorsements, the money she’s raised and her showing in the polls.

Otherwise, it’s a repeat of 2014, when Ige was elected on sketchy plans because Ariyoshi and Cayetano assured voters fed up with Neil Abercrombie that Ige was aces.

Ige has much explaining to do after three years of often aimless governance, punctuated by the absolute failure of leadership in the January nuclear-alert fiasco.

But before yawning and making Hanabusa governor by acclamation, voters should at least give Ige a hearing on the marks he thinks he’s made on public education and Hawaii’s energy future, along with incremental progress on homelessness, land use and financial management.

Also worthy of a fair hearing is the third major Democratic candidate, former state Sen. Clayton Hee.

Hee is an acquired taste with perhaps an overly high sense of self-esteem and too low a boiling point, but he has extensive experience in state government and has been a leader on many issues.

And he’s talking specifics: cutting back Oahu rail to pay for other priorities such as education, elderly care and affordable housing; gaining revenues by legalizing marijuana and joining a multistate lottery instead of raising taxes; imposing strict term limits on the governor and state legislators.

This election will have big consequences for Hawaii’s future, and we would be smart to inform ourselves about what they are instead of letting it become a referendum on who will take better care of the unions and fellow politicians.

Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com.