Republican Gov. Linda Lingle is in fine position to glide to an easy re-election this year, and holds an intimidating 46-point lead over her nearest announced rival at the outset of the campaign season, according to the Hawai'i Poll.

The poll shows Lingle, the first Republican elected governor of Hawai'i in more than 40 years, has built and maintained support well beyond her own party.

More than 70 percent of voters who consider themselves independents said they would cast ballots for Lingle if the election were held today, and nearly 48 percent of those who said they usually vote for Democrats also said they would vote for Lingle.

Lingle has overwhelming support within her own party, with more than 90 percent of the people who usually vote for Republicans saying they would vote to re-elect the governor if the election were held today.

The poll numbers came as no surprise to Kapolei resident Stanley Lacaden, a part-Hawaiian warehouse worker. "I don't think anybody can get close to her," said Lacaden, 60.

He said he voted for Lingle in 2002 and plans to support her again.

"She does a terrific job," he said. "Personally, I think anybody who does a good job, let her have it. ... I'm a Democrat, but you gotta go with the people who are doing the job. Right now, to me, party doesn't mean anything."

Lingle said she believes her strong showing among voters outside of the Republican Party may reflect her efforts "to approach all issues with a blind eye toward what one party believes or one political party thought, and just do what's right for the public."

"I'm very encouraged by it," Lingle said of the poll's results. "I think it reflects a lot of hard work by a lot of people in the administration, and it shows the results we've achieved over these past four years are being recognized."

The two Democrats vying for the right to oppose Lingle in the general election both stressed that the poll was taken early in the campaign season.

Former state Sen. Randall Iwase, who is running for governor as a Democrat, said the history of Hawai'i political campaigns shows the numbers may be much different on Election Day. The Hawai'i Poll suggests Lingle commands more than three times the support that Iwase has today, but this is only the beginning of the contest, he said.

"It's not surprising. We started in January, and we have to keep working, and our campaign against the incumbent Republican will just continue," Iwase said. "We're going to go out there and present our case to the people and show that this administration has been nothing more than a public relations machine with no substance, and that will affect the numbers."

William Aila Jr., who visited Kaua'i last week on what he called his first interisland campaign stop, said he wasn't discouraged to be 59 percentage points behind Lingle.

"I think that's pretty good considering I haven't started campaigning yet," he said.

Aila, the Wai'anae harbormaster and an activist on Hawaiian issues including the treatment of ancient Hawaiian remains, announced he was running for governor as a Democrat in late April.

Big Island Mayor Harry Kim has said he is considering entering the race for governor, but was not included in the poll because he has not formally announced his candidacy. Kim said Friday he still has not made a decision on his candidacy, and said the poll results won't change his thinking.

"My decision to run is not going to be based on who's running or what the polls show," he said. "I don't believe in giving a definitive yes or no unless I'm absolutely yes or no, and I really don't know what I'm going to do."

Not only is Lingle considerably more known and popular than her rivals headed into the campaign, she also has millions of dollars available to spend to make her case for re-election to the voters.

The governor reported she had $3.17 million tucked away for the upcoming campaign at the end of last year. Aila and Iwase have not yet filed state reports detailing their campaign finances in the governor's race.

Money may be a critical factor in reaching out to voters such as Kalihi resident Myrna Ordinado, who doesn't care for Lingle but isn't familiar with the other candidates.

Ordinado, 58, believes Lingle is partly to blame for high gas prices, and said the state's gas cap law made things worse.

"Look how much it's gone up," she said. "I don't know much about Iwase, but I don't like what Lingle is doing now."

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com.