Posted on: Monday, July 19, 2004
Case tops Gabbard in raising money
By Frank Oliveri
Advertiser Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — A campaign fund-raising scare earlier this year was all the impetus U.S. Rep. Ed Case needed.
The first-term Democrat has raised $387,232 through June 30, compared with Gabbard's $254,475, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.
Case has $219,433 on hand, compared with Gabbard's $203,577. The freshman congressman started the quarter with about $37,000 on hand.
Cash on hand is important because it indicates how much a candidate has available to spend on advertising and other efforts to get out the vote. Hawai'i congressional incumbents have never lost an election.
"I didn't focus on fund-raising in 2003 and the first quarter of 2004," Case said. "I focused on doing my job."
"We did a good job," he said about his second-quarter performance. "We accomplished what we felt we needed to do."
Case hired national Democratic fund-raiser Paul DiNino in April at a cost of about $3,500 a month to help him tap a broader base of contributors. Case said about 25 percent of his overall contributions in the second quarter came from outside Hawai'i.
Visit the Federal Election Commission Web site at www.fec.gov. Click on "Campaign Finance Reports and Data," then "Candidate and PAC/Party Summaries." Type in the candidate's name to see the report for this election cycle. DiNino also organized fund-raising events, Case said.
"That's a valuable function because I don't really know a lot of these national groups," he said.
Gabbard, a conservative and outspoken opponent of same-sex marriage, has relied on grass-roots efforts to raise money. He also has loaned his campaign $20,416 through June 30.
Gabbard has spent his money mostly on advertising, signs, printing fees and T-shirts. Case has spent large amounts on fund-raising events and advertising.
Case has received about $62,135 from several political action and education committees, including those representing trial lawyers, sugar companies, Microsoft and shipbuilders.
But Gabbard has received little PAC or Republican support, taking in only $7,250 from political committees, $5,000 of which came from Leadership PAC 2004. That committee is headed by Rep. Mike Oxley, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. Oxley's PAC routinely helps Republican candidates and lawmakers.
Democrat John Gentile of Hilo filed July 2 to run against Case in the Democratic primary Sept. 18. Republican Inam Ur Rahman of Honolulu filed July 13 to face off with Gabbard.
In other congressional races, U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i, has raised $802,392 through June 30. His District 1 opponent, former lieutenant governor candidate Dalton Tanonaka, has raised $16,815.
Abercrombie, who is seeking his ninth term, has more than $684,923 on hand, compared with $5,858 for Tanonaka.
U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawai'i, who is seeking his eighth term, has raised $2.7 million as of June 30. As of July 15, the state Office of Elections shows that Democrats Brian Evans and Eddie Yoon have filed to run against Inouye, while Richard Payne has filed as a Republican. J. Turner Brown has filed as a nonpartisan candidate.
Case, D-Hawai'i, outperformed his 2nd District Republican opponent, Honolulu Councilman Mike Gabbard, by almost $100,000 in the second quarter.
U.S. Rep. Ed Case
Honolulu Councilman Mike Gabbard
Case said DiNino matched him with donors who had similar political priorities, especially those who wanted fiscal discipline with a more progressive social agenda.
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