2nd Congressional District candidates raise $1.6M
Republican and Democratic candidates are on their way to setting a record for money raised in a Hawaii 2nd Congressional District race.
Already, nine candidates reported Saturday to the Federal Election Commission a total of nearly $1.6 million for the race, which will not be held until Sept. 23 and then decided on Nov. 7. In comparison, in all of the 2003-2004 campaign period, candidates raised a record $1.63 million for the district.
CAMPAIGN SPENDING
Here are the amounts raised by candidates for the 2nd Congressional District race:
» Nestor Garcia, D: $44,400
» Colleen Hanabusa, D: $248,603
» Clayton Hee, D: $66,680
» Mazie Hirono, D: $438,713
» Bob Hogue, R: $30,956
» Gary Hooser, D: $167,043
» Quentin Kawananakoa, R: $377,770
» Brian Schatz, D: $221,794
» Joe Zuiker, D: $3,830
» Total: $1,599,789
Reports for candidates Matt Matsunaga* and Ron Menor were not listed by the Federal Election Commission.
Source: Federal Election Commission
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They are running for the seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Ed Case, who is running against U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka. Akaka has a $650,000 fundraising lead over Case.
The extra money is already showing up in increased spending. Chris Leonard, general manager of New West Broadcasting, owner of four Big Island radio stations in Hilo and Kona, reported a big increase in radio ad sales.
"We have certainly seen an increase in the 2nd Congressional spending. Most of the ad buys are broad-based for all four of our stations," Leonard said.
With a big field of 10 candidates who either are or were in elected office, Leonard noted that they are all experienced fundraisers.
So far, however, about one-third of the campaign money has come to the candidates from their own bank accounts.
About $575,000 of the money reported represents loans from the candidates, according to the Federal Election Commission.
The largest loan is $250,000 drawn by Republican Quentin Kawananakoa, a former state House member and a Campbell Estate heir.
Kawananakoa reported also raising $127,770 from others.
The large loans are needed, Kawananakoa said, because "it is so important to get a Republican in Congress."
"It also shows my commitment to the campaign. I guess you could say it is at risk; if you lose the race, it is pretty much out the window," Kawananakoa said.
To win, he said, a candidate has to get his or her message out in the widespread 2nd Congressional District, which covers the neighbor islands and rural Oahu. He said he plans a $1 million campaign.
"I understand that if you don't have the resources to get your message out, you can't run and win in a race that is statewide," he said. "That is why I am committed to putting up some of my own money."
Other candidates have also taken out big loans. State Sen. Gary Hooser (D, Kauai) is loaning his campaign $108,000. Two more candidates, former Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono and state Sen. Colleen Hanabusa (D, Nanakuli-Makua) have each loaned their campaigns $100,000. In the 2002 special election for the 2nd District, Hanabusa also loaned her campaign $100,000, and said she repaid that loan.
State Rep. Brian Schatz said he loaned his campaign $17,000 and donated $10,000 of his own funds to the campaign.
City Councilman Nestor Garcia said he loaned his campaign $40,000. "I felt I had to put up my own money to get the campaign started and to show everyone this is a serious campaign," Garcia said.
In other campaign reports, Akaka's fundraising is overshadowing that of his Democratic primary challenger, Case.
Akaka, according to the FEC, has raised $1 million. Of that, more than half, $525,000, came from special-interest political action committees or the committees run by fellow senators, including Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.; Ted Kennedy, D-Mass.; and Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.
Case reports collecting $346,000, with $185,000 transferred from his existing congressional campaign, and an additional $153,000 from individuals. Case raised $7,500 from PACs.
CLARIFICATION
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
» Matt Matsunaga, a Democratic candidate for the 2nd Congressional District, filed a spending report with the Federal Elections Commission, although it was not available on the federal Web site. A Page A1 article yesterday noted that Matsunaga's report was not available. Matsunaga said that the FEC told him a coding error on the part of the FEC caused his information not to be posted in a timely manner. Matsunaga's report says he has raised $47,567 and taken out a personal loan of $31,700, while he has spent $35,268.
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