WASHINGTON - Former Gov. Linda Lingle announced Wednesday that she raised nearly $1.8 million in her first months as a U.S. Senate candidate, about three times the amount a top Democratic rival, Rep. Mazie Hirono, raised from October through December.
Lingle is a Republican running in a Democratic stronghold. However, Republicans are sensing a rare opportunity in Hawaii and held fundraisers on her behalf in Washington and New York that helped jump-start her fundraising efforts. Her fundraising haul signals that Lingle will have the resources needed to reach out to independent voters and give Democrats a strong challenge in November's general election.
Meanwhile, Hirono also has to worry about a primary challenge from former Rep. Ed Case that could further Lingle's financial advantage over the coming months. Her campaign had previously announced that she raised $624,363 in the last three months of 2011.
The responses to the fundraising numbers hint to key issues at play in the coming election. Lingle's campaign manager, Bob Lee, said Lingle's independence and history of working with diverse groups was resonating well with people in Hawaii.
Meanwhile, Hirono's campaign is trying to take advantage of the strong backing that President Barack Obama has in his home state. Campaign officials said it's not surprising that Republicans would donate to Lingle in an effort to weaken Obama.
"Unlike Lingle, Mazie Hirono will go to the Senate to work on the side of the people of Hawaii, and not to block the president's agenda," said Jadine Nielsen, who serves as the finance chairwoman for Hirono's campaign.
In a statement released Wednesday afternoon, the Case campaign said his spending report was in the works and would be ready by the Jan. 31 deadline.
"We can say that we raised substantially less than Mazie and Linda in the last quarter, but are on the schedule we set at the beginning of our campaign to raise what we need," the campaign said.
Case questioned Lingle and Hirono's campaign releases with only fundraising totals and not their money's origin.
"That's the whole problem with D.C. today," the Case campaign said. "All they care about is who can rake in the most money, who they can control and not who can get the job done. If it's just about another senator bought and paid for before she's sworn in, we'll never fix our problems."
