One of the most competitive and contentious political races this year is for the open U.S. Senate seat left vacant by the retirement of U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka.
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Congresswoman Mazie Hirono and former Congressman Ed Case, both Democrats, are in a hotly contested Primary this August 11.
The winner will take on former Gov. Linda Lingle.
Today, Hirono’s campaign disclosed it raised $941,000 in the past quarter ending June 30, and a total of $3.2 million to date, with $2 million in the bank.
The campaign points out Hirono’s campaign “gained support from more than 5,000 new donors—a 50% increase—bringing total donors to 15,400.”
Hirono campaign manager Betsy Lin said: “It’s clear Mazie’s message of creating jobs and building a sustainable future for Hawaii is striking a cord. While we can expect to be outraised by Linda Lingle and her GOP allies in their attempt to win Hawaii’s U.S. Senate race and bring Republicans one seat closer to control of the U.S. Senate, the increased support we are seeing from the grassroots community is a reminder that we will not be out worked.”
Lingle also announced her fundraising totals today, saying it hit the “campaign’s expectations and goals.” She out raised Hirono, bringing in $1,134,588 between April 1 and June 30. To date, Lingle has raised $4,252,839.37. She said when she launched her campaign she expected she’d have to raise double that figure by the end of the campaign to win.
“I am very grateful for the strong financial and grassroots support the people of Hawaii and across the country continue to show for my campaign. Over the past nine months, I have visited with families and small businesses statewide who are eager for leadership that will encourage private sector growth in our local and national economy. My experience as a proven leader tested by challenging times, and my commitment to always putting Hawaii’s people first, is resonating with supporters,” Lingle said.
Case’s latest filing was not posted to the FEC website as of 11:29 p.m. Hawaii time on Thursday. In the last report, he had $604,609 in donations and $211,588 cash on hand.
Poll Wars
Many times, Hawaii candidates pay a heft price for political polls, and in the end, the results were wrong. Nevertheless, candidates can’t help themselves, and if the poll results are favorable, they release the results to the media in hopes it will boost their popularity and fundraising numbers.
This week, both Congresswoman Mazie Hirono, D-HI, and former Gov. Linda Lingle, both candidates for U.S. Senate, released their internal polls.
Hirono’s poll, conducted by Benenson Strategy Group in Washington DC, said “Congresswoman Mazie Hirono holds a double-ˇdigit lead over former Governor Linda Lingle and is well positioned to win in November.”
The poll company reports: “Hirono holds an 11% lead over Lingle in the race for U.S. Senate. She receives a majority of the vote (51%), while Lingle receives 40%, 2% volunteer another candidate, and 7% are undecided. When we push undecideds, 19% advantage over Lingle. Among men, Hirono leads by 3%.”
Hirono’s poll includes 800 interviews with likely 2012 general election voters in Hawaii conducted June 19-ˇ21, 2012, with live callers claims to have a margin of error of ±3.46%.
Meanwhile, Lingle also claims to be ahead of Hirono, citing her own internal poll conducted by Voter/Consumer Research polling firm, which shows her with a 5 percentage point lead. The poll, conducted July 8 – 10, 2012, included calls to 600 likely voters statewide.
Lingle said: “I am very pleased to see that my message of bipartisanship and common-sense solutions to our state and nation’s problems is resonating with the voters of Hawaii. The momentum and confidence that is building for our campaign are reflected in the polling numbers we received this morning. Even with the negative attacks made by my opponents and their surrogates, it’s clear the people of Hawaii know me and know my proven record of working on their behalf for over 25 years.”
Lenny Klompus, spokesperson for Lingle, said: “Her (Hirono’s) poll is very old. Clearly they had to create a memo today for survey results taken nearly four weeks ago.”
He said: “If Mazie is winning by such a large margin, why is she advertising and debating all of a sudden? Our poll from this week clearly shows her support is slipping. And if anyone has any doubt, her sudden reversal on a televised debate in two weeks makes it clear our poll is 100% accurate and she is very worried.”
Congressman Ed Case, who takes on Hirono in the primary election August 11, has also conducted polls which show him essentially tied with Hirono and the only of the two Democratic candidates with the ability to beat Lingle.
Dems Debate, Republicans Left Out in Congressional District Television Match Up
Democrats in the U.S. Congressional District 2 election have done an excellent job of getting attention for their candidacy. While former Mayor Mufi Hannemann is already a recognized politician in Hawaii, other lesser known candidates such as Bob Marx, Esther Kiaana and Council Member Tusli Gabbard are getting their share of attention. On Thursday night, the four met for a television debate on Hawaii News Now.
But the two Republican candidates – Matt DiGeronimo and Kawika Crowley – whose candidacies have been for the most part ignored, were left out of the television debate.
DiGeronimo, a retired naval officer, veteran, and small business consultant, said in a statement after the debate that he “applauds the four candidates on their debate performance, but is left wondering why no real solutions were offered by any candidate” during the debate.
“Our country and our state are facing very serious issues. These issues deserve much more thought than the four candidates proposed tonight,” said DiGeronimo.“I have heard all four Democratic candidates propose spending more money to solve issues. Citizen-leaders like myself know that it takes more than being an insider; it requires the ability to utilize creative thinking skills to fix our nation’s underlying problems. I look forward to sharing my proposed solutions to the issues that face our nation and our state in an open and honest dialog.”
DiGeronimo said he looks forward to debating the winner of the Democratic primary.
Since Mazie Hirono’s last poll there has been “a lot of water under the bridge”. She was negatively in the news for her tight-lipped, stance against debating Ed Case, eliciting a hue and cry in some corners. Then she relented and agreed to one more. But probably the most damaging has been A LOT of news about John White and PRP’s slanderous witch hunt targeting Cayetano, with Watada and other commissioners also getting in the fray. Apparently a few bullets John White fired may have ricocheted and hit his former boss.
As Mazie Hirono’s ex-Chief of Staff, John White may have mortally wounded Mazie Hirono’s bid for the Senate. Hirono has plummeted in the polls after a hefty lead and Linda Lingle is now ahead of her. Hirono need look no further than John White and PRP’s ill-advised witch-hunt which connected Mazie Hirono to the same allegations of wrongdoing, and may have affectively ended her congressional career. John White is a true “Judas”, the ultimate epitome of betrayal.
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jay,
I’m a Cal resident, 15 years now. I’ve kept up with Warrior football, but not with Hawaii politics.
So is Lingle comfortably ahead of Hirono? Think she’ll win the seat?
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Anyway, nobody cares about republicans anymore…
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Come on, don't say that, you'll make them cry, they were already left out
Lingle Tops Hirono in Fundraising
Since Mazie Hirono’s last poll there has been “a lot of water under the bridge”. She was negatively in the news for her tight-lipped, stance against debating Ed Case, eliciting a hue and cry in some corners. Then she relented and agreed to one more. But probably the most damaging has been A LOT of news about John White and PRP’s slanderous witch hunt targeting Cayetano, with Watada and other commissioners also getting in the fray. Apparently a few bullets John White fired may have ricocheted and hit his former boss.
As Mazie Hirono’s ex-Chief of Staff, John White may have mortally wounded Mazie Hirono’s bid for the Senate. Hirono has plummeted in the polls after a hefty lead and Linda Lingle is now ahead of her. Hirono need look no further than John White and PRP’s ill-advised witch-hunt which connected Mazie Hirono to the same allegations of wrongdoing, and may have affectively ended her congressional career. John White is a true “Judas”, the ultimate epitome of betrayal.
jay,
I’m a Cal resident, 15 years now. I’ve kept up with Warrior football, but not with Hawaii politics.
So is Lingle comfortably ahead of Hirono? Think she’ll win the seat?
Anyway, nobody cares about republicans anymore…
Come on, don't say that, you'll make them cry, they were already left out
Comments are closed.