HARRIS DROPS OUT
DEAN SENSUI / DSENSUI@STARBULLETIN.COM
Surrounded by supporters, Republican front-runner Linda Lingle took an oath before signing papers as an official gubernatorial candidate earlier this week. Lingle said yesterday that Harris' announcement would not affect her campaign plans.
Democrats scramble With Mayor Jeremy Harris out of the governor's race, Democrats are left with no apparent front-runner in the face of a formidable foe, likely GOP nominee Linda Lingle.
for status in new line
All 3 Democrats in the governor's
race say they stand to benefit
from Harris' departureBy Crystal Kua
ckua@starbulletin.com"The Democrats we have right now are very good people. They are all people of character. They are people of demonstrated leadership abilities," said Democratic Gov. Ben Cayetano, who beat Lingle in 1998. "I think that they will carry the message of the Democratic values to the voters very well. I'm very, very confident that we will pull together and win."
The Democratic candidates so far include businessman and former Hawaii Republican Party Chairman D.G. "Andy" Anderson and state Rep. Ed Case.
And Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono announced yesterday that she is back in the governor's race. Hirono originally began campaigning for the governor's seat but then backed out and jumped into the Honolulu mayor's race in November, anticipating Harris' departure to run for governor.
Lingle, meanwhile, said she was not surprised by Harris' decision.
"The difficulty for his campaign has been progressive over the last couple of months, and also Jeremy has seemed to be disengaged, from the campaign and from public life generally," Lingle said.
But she said that the announcement should not change her campaign plans.
"It doesn't have any impact on my strategy or campaign efforts. I am not structuring my campaign for a particular opponent. We are continuing to talk about fixing the schools, reforming government and helping the economy," Lingle said.
While Harris said yesterday he does not believe he could beat Lingle, at least one political observer said that Lingle is not "unbeatable."
DEAN SENSUI / DSENSUI@STARBULLETIN.COM
Mayor Harris and his wife, Ramona, left his office yesterday on their way to his press conference at Honolulu Hale where he announced he is dropping out of the governor's race.
"I think if the Democrats get solidly behind one candidate, she can be beat," said Rick Castberg, political science professor at the University of Hawaii-Hilo.
He pointed out that Lingle had a strong campaign in 1998, but her momentum petered out in the final weeks of the election season.
Cayetano also pointed out that in previous campaigns the polls had him far behind his opponents, including Lingle in 1998, but he still prevailed.
"In my case, I was always behind, so I was pretty consistent. I started way back and then we cut the lead and then, you know, people got complacent, and the ones who got complacent are not sitting in this chair," Cayetano said.
Castberg said Democrats also have to get back to what has traditionally worked for them. "Traditional grass-roots, get out the voters," Castberg said. "You just have to mobilize the people who have not been voting."
All the Democratic candidates say that they have the best chances of beating Lingle in the general election.
Anderson said he will continue to work with the public employee unions, hoping for their endorsement. Anderson also said he will get much of Harris' City Hall supporters because he worked with many of those people when he was managing director.
"Many of his troops were my troops from the old days, and many of the unions that supported him are now available," Anderson said. "He has a lot of talented workers who are available for me."
Case said that Harris' departure from the race is a boost to his campaign.
"We believe we can prevail in the general election, absolutely," Case said.
Case said that he is not worried that he is not raising as much money as Harris or Lingle, and that he will stay focused on his message.
"Money alone is not going to solve the problem of a flawed message," Case said.
Case said that his message and strategy will not change, and he hopes that supporters of Harris will see fit to join him.
"We have made sure our tent is open and our doors are open. We welcome his supporters into our camp."
Hirono said she is committed to serving the people of the state. "I don't think anyone should question the sincerity of my desire to serve. I've been doing that for 22 years," Hirono said. "Clearly, things have changed, everything has changed, but my commitment to serve remains strong. And I have made my decision to run for governor, and I obviously have a lot of work to do in this race."
Castberg said that Hirono's jumping in and out of the race and Anderson's party switching could be seen as indecisiveness, and that could hurt them.
Lingle, meanwhile, must get past her primary opponent John Carroll, who said he expected some of Harris' supporters to join his campaign.
Star-Bulletin reporters Richard Borreca and Rod Antone contributed to this report.
