Democrats nationally see Hawai'i 'challenge'

By Susan Roth
Advertiser Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — A national Democratic leader acknowledged yesterday that the Hawai'i gubernatorial race will be a challenge for Democrats.

Soon after Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris, a Democrat, pulled out of the race in May, a spokeswoman for the Democratic Governors' Association said the national party had begun to focus on the Hawai'i campaign, although it would not offer money or organizational assistance until after the September primary.

Businessman D.G. "Andy" Anderson, state Rep. Ed Case and Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono are running in the Democratic primary. Hawai'i Republican Party Chairwoman Linda Lingle is leading in the polls against the Democrats and against her challenger in the primary, John Carroll.

Hawai'i has had a Democratic governor since 1962 and Glendening said he believes that the Democrats are suffering from "a great deal of frustration over the economy."

With regard to the recent convictions of Hawai'i Democrats in state and municipal offices on various corruption charges, Glendening said: "Obviously, we're concerned anytime something like that happens anywhere in the party. We're hoping that a new group of leaders can pull things together and offer a new economic plan (to maintain the party's hold)."

Republican Governors' Association Chairman John Rowland could not be reached for comment. But Rowland, the governor of Connecticut, has said he and other high-ranking national GOP leaders considered Lingle one of their best candidates, even before Harris' departure from the race, because she came so close to beating Gov. Ben Cayetano in 1998.

Among the nation's governors, there are 27 Republicans, 21 Democrats and two independents. In the 36 gubernatorial races this year, 23 of the seats up for election are held by Republicans, 11 by Democrats and two by independents.