Poll finds fewer
isle undecideds
"Neutral" opinions of both
mayoral candidates
are on the decline
Voters have apparently started to form opinions on the candidates for Honolulu mayor as the race heads into the final days, according to the latest Honolulu Star-Bulletin/KITV4 News poll.
Compared to a poll taken last summer, the poll conducted last week by SMS Research showed a move from "neutral" opinions of the two mayoral candidates, and it shows a lower percentage of those who didn't have an opinion or refused to give one.
Among the poll's findings:
» Among likely voters, 51 percent had a favorable opinion of Bainum, up from 43 percent.
» Those who had a neutral opinion of Bainum went down to 24 percent from 31 percent in the summer.
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Bainum said the public has seen the work he's done as a physician, businessman and elected official. "That's what I believe voters see and I think that's reflected in the numbers."
Mufi Hannemann's favorable rating went up a notch to 39 percent. But his unfavorable ratings also went up, climbing nine percentage points to 27 percent.
The percentage of those polled who had a neutral opinion of Hannemann went down 8 percentage points to 26 percent.
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"I think you're looking at what happens when you compare two organizations where the other side has a lot of financial resources, a lot of ability to be on television and on radio and out there," Hannemann campaign spokeswoman Elisa Yadao said. "Obviously that has some effect."
Hannemann has criticized Bainum for using his family wealth to subsidize his campaign with millions of dollars.
Meanwhile, Hawaii's two Democratic congressional incumbents fared better in their approval ratings compared to their Republican opponents.
Favorable ratings for U.S. Reps. Ed Case and Neil Abercrombie came in at 52 percent and 50 percent, respectively.
Case's opponent, Councilman Mike Gabbard, had a favorable rating of 24 percent while Abercrombie challenger Dalton Tanonaka's favorable numbers came in at 23 percent.
www.hawaii.gov/elections
