Lingle way ahead in cash
By Kevin Dayton and Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Capitol Bureau
As of primary election day Republican gubernatorial candidate Linda Lingle had raised almost three times as much money as Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono, with about 20 percent of her money for this election coming from out of state.
Hirono, meanwhile, got nearly 8 percent of her money for this election from out-of-state interests, according to a review of reports filed with the state Campaign Spending Commission by yesterday's reporting deadline.
During the past week, Democrats and Republicans have used television advertising to trade barbs over out-of-state contributions, with the Democrats suggesting Lingle will be beholden to outsiders who are helping to finance her campaign. The ad warns that Hawai'i "is not for sale."
The Republicans promptly responded with an advertisement that points out the state Democratic Party received substantial sums of its own money from out of state, and that U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye and U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie each got most of their money from out-of-state donors. The GOP ad concludes that the Democrats will "say anything to win."
A review of campaign spending reports including the post-primary filings yesterday showed Lingle has raised about $755,000 from out-of-state interests since 1998, while Hirono raised about $101,000 out of state during the same period.
Overall, Lingle raised a total of $3.35 million before the Sept. 21 primary, and spent about $3.61 million. She was able to do this and still have some cash left over because she started the campaign with more than $470,000 that was left over from her 1998 campaign.
Hirono raised almost $1.26 million, and spent almost $1.21 million.
When the primary was over, Lingle had about $207,000 on hand, which was considerably more than twice the amount Hirono had. Hirono's latest report indicated she had about $85,000 on hand after the primary.
Ed Case, who lost to Hirono by about 2,600 votes in the Democratic primary, raised $705,840 for his gubernatorial race and spent $687,476. He was left with $21,668 on hand, but a $45,000 loan put him at a deficit of $23,331.
D.G. "Andy" Anderson raised about $828,995 before the primary election and spent $798,032 for his campaign. He was left with about $30,963 on hand but loans and unpaid expenditures put him at a deficit of $438,508.
Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.
