U.S. House candidate Mazie Hirono had five times as much cash on hand as her opponent Bob Hogue at the end of the month.

According to quarterly campaign finance reports filed by the two 2nd Congressional District candidates over the weekend, former Lt. Gov. Hirono, the Democratic candidate, had $155,526 in cash on Sept. 30. State Sen. Hogue, a Republican, had $30,567.

Between Sept. 4 and Sept. 30, the period covered in the October quarterly report, Hirono received $229,624, compared to Hogue's $40,822.

The report included only the first week after Hirono and Hogue emerged victorious from their respective primaries on Sept. 23.

While having the money for commercials, mailers, travel and other campaign strategies is generally considered critical to a winning campaign, Hogue was able to pull off a primary victory against a much better financed opponent, millionaire Quentin Kawananakoa.

However, Hogue's campaign has said it realizes the importance of doing better fundraising for the general election, where Hirono, a Democrat in a traditionally Democratic district, is considered the favorite to win.

After seeing the reports, Hirono, who was the top Democratic fundraiser in the primary, issued a press release that said, in part:

"Our fundraising has supported everything from our strong grassroots to our mailings and television ads, and the voters have responded to our message. Having this cash on hand means we can continue building our message right up to Election Day."

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.