Lingle readies
for marathon fund
raising on mainland

Hawaii Republicans hope to
host Bush and Giuliani this fall

---

By Richard Borreca
rborreca@starbulletin.com

Republican candidate for governor Linda Lingle is hoping that both former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and President Bush will be coming to Hawaii this fall to campaign for her.

Lingle and GOP Chairman Micah Kane said they are working on getting both men to Hawaii for fund-raising visits before the fall elections.

The New York Times reported last week that Giuliani expected to be the star political fund-raiser for the GOP this year.

Last week, Giuliani attended a fund-raiser in Washington where he helped the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee raise $7.5 million, according to the Times.

Lingle notes that because she expects to raise about $5 million for her gubernatorial campaign, a significant portion of the money will likely come from outside Hawaii.

"We are working very hard to raise the amount of money needed to win this race, and to raise it in a legal fashion takes a lot of people getting involved," she said.

She estimates that she raised about 10 percent of her funds from the mainland when she ran in 1998, but this year she expect the percentage to climb to 20 percent.

To start collecting that money, Lingle leaves tonight on a 10-day campaign fund-raising swing across the country.

The major event will be as a guest of the Women's Campaign Fund in New York.

The Women's Campaign Fund is a major nonpartisan political organization that supports pro-choice women candidates. Lingle is one of 32 women candidates the fund is supporting this year.

The fund-raiser features stars and celebrities of New York ranging from author David Halberstam to former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker and ABC commentator George Stephanopoulos.

Then Lingle will attend a fund-raiser hosted by Connecticut Gov. John Rowland, president of the Republican Governors Association. And another one to be held in Washington, D.C., by the GOP Governors Association.

Finally, Lingle also plans to attend a fund-raiser hosted by Arizona Gov. Jane Hull before returning to Honolulu.

Then sometime next month, she will return to New York for a fund-raiser hosted by Giuliani, who she said has already promised to contribute to her campaign for governor. Giuliani also helped with her unsuccessful 1998 campaign. Lingle says they were introduced through Hawaii GOP national committeewoman Miriam Hellreich, who had met Giuliani in 1998, when he was pitching New York as the site of the 2000 GOP convention.

The big draw, however, will be Giuliani, named as the Time magazine Person of the Year after his performance after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

GOP Chairman Kane joked: "When should he come out? How about early and often?"

"I think he has a lot of admirers in Hawaii. He was the one who cleaned up the streets of New York. He took on the hard issues and made a change," Kane said.

Lingle agreed, added that a trip by Giuliani and Bush would raise funds and also "give Hawaii a national presence.

"This is a role that Hawaii has to play to raise our level of seriousness, and that means attracting people who are serious and do serious things," Lingle said.