STAR-BULLETIN / 2006
Oahu voters turn out for balloting in 2006. In this year's election, voters will get the chance to pick the next U.S. president.
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Obama tops Clinton in local cash
Campaign money raised here for the Illinois senator helps to buy commercials
The campaign for president is triggering huge expenditures of money, and even more money must be raised as the campaign stretches on with no clear winner.
The Associated Press reports that in less than a week, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) took in more than $8.4 million from 75,000 new online contributors.
But Clinton has struggled to keep pace with Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), who brought in $32 million in January to Clinton's $13.5 million and has also seen a huge money uptick online this month.
In Hawaii the race is not as close. Figures from the Federal Elections Commission show that Obama is in command of local fundraising.
According to the FEC, Obama picked up $411,253 through the end of the year.
Clinton raised just $59,625.
The local Obama money comes mostly from Oahu and mirrors some of the strong pockets of support for the Illinois junior senator.
For instance, in Manoa, Clinton has had $5,952 in donations. In comparison, Obama has received $58,912 from Manoa residents.
Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, spokeswoman for the local Clinton campaign, said the New York senator has not done anything to ask for donations from Hawaii.
"We haven't thought about a fundraising push because we wanted to assure that whatever we raised would stay here, and that isn't possible," Hanabusa said.
Obama supporters in Hawaii have been able to use money raised here and on the mainland for a series of local commercials praising Obama and urging local Democrats to vote in the Feb. 19 caucus.
The main areas of support for Obama, according to Brian Schatz, an Obama campaign spokesman, are urban Honolulu, Kailua, portions of Pearl City and the North Shore.
"We are also showing some strong support on the neighbor islands," Schatz said.
