Nishihara, a first-time candidate, faces a likely uphill battle. Campaign finance reports as of June 30 show his campaign account of $8,663 dramatically lagged behind Kawamoto's $262,976.

Although Kawamoto was unopposed in 2002, more than a third of the votes cast for his seat by his constituents were blank.

The senator has also run into some controversy with the state Campaign Spending Commission, which recently fined him $21,000 for not reporting dozens of contributions and for using campaign money for personal expenses. Commission executive director Bob Watada has said he does not believe the violations were intentional, and Kawamoto acknowledged he and his campaign "made a mistake" and learned from the situation.

The district is such a Democratic stronghold that no Republican has run for the seat in at least a decade. So the winner of the Democratic primary will win the seat outright.

Traffic and drugs appear to be among the top concerns for district residents.

Kawamoto said traffic can be addressed by building the University of Hawai'i West O'ahu campus in Kapolei, as well as revisiting the idea of a fixed-rail transit system. And he said that while drug treatment is important, law enforcement needs more tools, such as easier wiretapping requirements and a constitutional amendment aimed at restoring "walk and talk" and "knock and talk" drug investigations.

Nishihara also said he would like to take a serious look at a fixed-rail system to help solve traffic issues. To help tackle drugs, he said he would like to see more drug treatment programs, as long as the treatment providers have a good success rate. He said he would also want law enforcement officials, service providers and others in the community to work together to develop a long-term solution.

Kawamoto said his top priority is to allocate $85 million in government bonds to begin building the UH West O'ahu campus. He also wants to complete a second access road from Leeward Community College to Farrington Highway. In addition to reducing town-bound traffic, Kawamoto said the West O'ahu campus would increase education opportunities in the area.

Kawamoto said he also wants to continue his push for public safety legislation, particularly on the roads. That includes establishing tougher penalties for drivers who speed, requiring children age 4 to 7 to sit in car child safety seats, installing photo enforcement cameras to catch drivers who run red lights, and a highway patrol.

Nishihara said his first priority is campaign finance reform and that he would like to limit the amount of money that both incumbents and challengers can spend. That, he said, would cap the cost of campaigns and prevent large money interests from "buying elections."

Nishihara also said he would push for more accountability in the public school system. He said greater accountability could include removing school principals from the union and that he'd like to at least discuss the issue.

"I think when you have to show that your job is dependent on how well you do, and not how well your protections are to retain that job, I think that we move to a different level," he said.

Nishihara also said the state should have an independent review of additional funding and changes to the school system to analyze their impact.