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Mufi Hannemann‘s Kailua-Kona campaign headquarters is located in Kopiko Plaza, just a few blocks from Kamakahonu, the historic compound of King Kamehameha I.

The headquarters is staffed by husband and wife Marian Solomon and Mike Renner, who believe Hannemann possesses the talent to unite the state much as Kamehameha united the Hawaiian islands some 200 years ago.

“Mufi breaks down barriers between Democrats and Republicans,” said Renner, a retired Air Force colonel. “We are real tired of the partisan stuff. We got to know him from the Honolulu TV stations. He was impressive, the type of manager that I would hire. His private-sector training is important. He would work for the people, not himself.”

“He connects very well with local people — Hawaiian people,” says Solomon, a retired business executive. “He looks at you eye to eye.”

Barely a block from Hannemann’s headquarters is Abercrombie’s campaign office at Bougainvillea Plaza. Abercrombie’s supporters are equally confident that their man is the right man to be governor.

“His appeal is that he cares, and his sincerity comes across,” says John Buckstead, Abercrombie’s coordinator for the west side of the Big Island. “He has spent a lot of time here listening to people — maybe a dozen trips on this side, from Kau to North Kohala and Waimea, Hawi, Ocean View, Miloilii. And he listens to these communities — farmers, doctors, business people, teachers, parents.”

Buckstead says the election is about the performance of government.

Barbara Dalton, a retired postmaster volunteering for the Abercrombie campaign, agrees.

“People here expect better performance from government than what they are getting,” she says. “It’s grassroots all the way here.”

Welcome to the race for governor, Big Island-style. At stake is the largest chunk of voters outside Oahu. The candidate who wins Hawaii County may well win the state.

The Big Island, the birthplace of Kamehameha and where he died, is geographically larger than all of the other .

The island’s population of about 175,000 lives in a half dozen or so distinct communities. There is also an east-west divide separated by Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, the latter the tallest mountain in the world if measured from the sea floor to its peak.

The west side is growing, and state and county road and highway projects dot the landscape. Much of the population is comprised of recent transplants, especially from the West Coast, drawn to the county because of cheap land.

An old adage in the local tourism industry is that the Big Island is the first to feel an economic slump and the last to recover, and that is much the case today.

Hawaii Pacific University economist Leroy Laney says recovery , with construction permits and real estate sales finally inching upward.

But the island’s unemployment rate is higher than the state average, above 10 percent, because, says Laney, of the “separation of labor supply on the east side from labor demand on the west side.”

Many hotel and restaurant workers commute to the the ritzy Kohala Coast hotels from far less expensive neighborhoods. A gallon of regular unleaded gasoline listed for $3.93 last week.

Leaning Democrat

While the City and County of Honolulu has 468,000 voters, a candidate can not be elected without the support of the neighbor islands.

There are 101,000 registered voters in Hawaii County, 15,000 more than in Maui County and more than twice the number on Kauai County.

In an interview with the on June 12, Abercrombie said, “I believe the nomination will be won on the neighbor islands.” He has won the support of George Yokoyama, the longtime leader of the Hawaii County Economic Opportunity Council and a top Big Island political operator.

An Aug. 1 in the Hawaii Tribune Herald reported that Hannemann made his sixth appearance on the island at a Hilo rally — “part concert, part political rally and part steak fry dinner fundraiser” — in late July. He has the support of Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi and has begun featuring him in his advertising.

According to a by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Abercrombie has a higher approval rating on Oahu, which holds his former congressional district, while Hannemann, the former Honolulu mayor, scores better on the neighbor islands — including the Big Island, where Hannemann worked for C. Brewer Co. and ran a bake shop in Punaluu.

Politically, the island has produced a number of prominent Democrats, notably Nelson Doi, who served as lieutenant governor in the first administration of George Ariyoshi.

The west side is whiter and more conservative that the east side, but it is represented by Democrats in the Hawaii State Legislature — Josh Green in the Senate and Cindy Evans and Denny Coffman in the House. Green, a former House representative, won the seat vacated by Republican Paul Whalen, notorious for his poor attendance record at the Legislature.

Former Mayor Harry Kim ran as a Republican, though voters soon decided to make county races nonpartisan. The west side’s County Council District 8 is represented by fourth generation Kona farmer Kelly Greenwell, who has made headlines this summer for his run-ins with county police.

The police say Greenwell resisted an order to stop his car, refused to produce documentation, and resisted arrest and a speeding violation. Greenwell has said he is being targeted because he wants to see cannabis decriminalized.

Big Island voters went for Al Gore, John Kerry and Barack Obama by large margins. But gubernatorial contests in recent years have been much closer, and voters have shown they are open to appeals by Republicans.

In 1998, voters here picked Linda Lingle over incumbent Ben Cayetano 52-44 percent. Four years later, Lingle was elected governor, defeating Mazie Hirono 50-46 percent on the Big Island.

Lingle was re-elected in 2006 with landslide numbers here, 56-39 percent, over Democrat Randall Iwase and running mate Malama Solomon, a former Big Island lawmaker.

Absence of Aiona

There are more signs reading “For Sale,” “For Rent” and “For Lease” than signs for political candidates in Kailua-Kona.

Signs for former County Councilman Angel Pilago, who is running against Greenwell and two others this year, far outnumbered signs for Hannemann, Abercrombie and Duke Aiona, though Aiona had the largest signs and ones positioned in high-traffic areas like on Queen Kaahumanu Highway just before the Palani Road intersection into town.

Aiona took the unusual step of opening a third campaign headquarters in Waimea on Aug. 20, after opening ones in Hilo and Kona. But thus far, has had a low-key presence here. Employees at the Parker Ranch Store and local Starbucks said they didn’t know where Aiona’s office was — even though it was just across Mamalahoa Highway from them, next to the Waimea Community Association.

Aiona’s Waimea headquarters were locked and empty when a reporter stopped by the afternoon of Aug. 26. The balloons from the opening celebration were still decorating the walls. Inside were desks, chairs, phones, stationery, paper clips and Aiona signs. But no people.

Aiona was here recently, though — according to his Twitter account: “Great turnout at our , August 20, 2010 5:35:56 PM HST via Twitpic.”

But the Republican lieutenant governor passed on a gubernatorial forum Aug. 26 at Kealakehe High School in Kailua-Kona, though Hannemann, Abercrombie and Aiona’s primary opponent John Carroll participated.

Aiona did show up in Kailua-Kona on Saturday.

West Hawaii Today that the candidate questioned the promises of his Democratic counterparts that they would not raise taxes if elected governor.

“It is not possible to have the endorsement of the Hawaii Government Employees Association, Hawaii State Teachers Association and the United Public Workers unions, which have all made it clear that if you want an endorsement you’ll have to raise taxes,” the paper quoted Aiona, who met with about 300 supporters at his campaign headquarters in the Kona International Marketplace.

Med Pot and Christian Radio

Driving from Waimea to Kealakehe High School, a check of the radio dial turned up Alan Jackson singing “It’s 5 O’clock Somewhere” on country radio station KKOA 107.7 FM.

Over on KAHU 91.7 FM, a talk radio program addressed “The strength of the Kingdom,” the weakness of liberals and a fear of Russia. A voice read from Namuh 2:13 in the Hebrew Bible: “Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will burn her chariots in the smoke, and the sword shall devour thy young lions: and I will cut off thy prey from the earth, and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard.”

On the Internet, , the right-wing online “news” service run by Andrew Walden on the Big Island, says former Congresswoman Pat Saiki has not endorsed Republican lieutenant governor candidate Adrienne King, and neither has the and , as Walden claims King has claimed.

The parched South Kohala landscape is looking a lot like Texas.

But there are signs that Hawaii remains bluer than red.

The Big Island Weekly cover story featured former U.S. Army Col. Ann Wright talking about her “kidnapping” by Israeli commandoes from the relief flotilla headed to the Gaza Strip in May.

An advertisement in the weekly, which is owned by Stephens Media, which also owns West Hawaii Today and the Hilo Tribune Herald, promotes a seminar series with the “Guru of Ganja — Let’s Get Growing.” (The Big Island has a sizable population of legal medical-marijuana users, and quite a few illegal growers as well).

Meanwhile, other radio stations were running political ads for Hannemann and Abercrombie.

The Hannemann ad features his wife, Gail Mukaihata Hannemann, saying Mufi’s not perfect but he’s better than Neil.

The Abercrombie ad notes that former governor Jack Burns was not born in Hawaii and that Abercrombie has a 43-page plan for Hawaii but Hannemann only has a single page with 10 talking points.

“Go ahead — compare and decide,” says the voiceover.

No to Negative Campaigning

Back at Hannemann headquarters, there is a copy of Hannemann’s controversial “Compare and Decide” flyer hanging on the wall.

“That’s politics,” says Mike Renner. “You have got to have a sense of humor. Neil used to live in Lahaina. The mailer was made by an overzealous person. Mufi probably didn’t even read it.”

Renner continues: “I’ve met Neil, he’s a nice man. I have no problem with him. (Duke) Aiona and Hannemann seem more immersed in local issues. Neil was in D.C. a long time — it’s a different thing. Hawaii needs a manager. Schwarzenegger is not a manager, and look what shape California is in. Neil is not a manager.”

“We are both are very concerned about the management side of business,” says Marian Solomon, who moved with Renner from California to the Big Island six years ago. “What was very important to me is he was able to talk about the Superferry, that he was not afraid to explain the issues. He walked people through it and said it would make life better.”

At Abercrombie headquarters, the Hannemann mailer is perceived differently.

“Negative campaigning is a big issue,” says John Buckstead, who has a copy of Abercrombie’s 43-page plan on his desk. “The mailer still arriving here, and some people haven’t seen it yet. It turned people off. They don’t appreciate comparing UH and wives. Obviously, Mufi ran it because he thought it would work.”

Buckstead continued: “Neil says negative campaigning drives down voter turnout. Neil has energized voters in Kailua-Kona.”

“We had a member of the Carpenters Union tell us he was outraged at the endorsement for Hannemann,” says Barbara Dalton. “He apologized to us.”

At the Kealakehe High School that night, more that 300 people turned out to compare the candidates and sit patiently through a two-hour forum.

It was a family affair, with lots of people hugging and talking story before the forum. Students helped move tables to set up, a Boy Scout troupe was in attendance, and a bowl of Chili and Rice sold for $5. The water was free from Igloo coolers, not in $2 bottles.

The forum addressed state and county issues, and both Hannemann and Abercrombie made their pitches.

Abercrombie received more applause, while Hannemann elicited a groan from some audience members when he mentioned that the special election to fill Abercrombie’s seat cost the state $600,000. But Hannemann later scored points by telling the audience how “wonderfully attentive” the audience had been compared with other forums.

“The race is very, very close between them,” Angel Pilago told Civil Beat. “It will come down to this level, to meet them and hear them. This is the first time they have been here.”

What about Duke?

“It will be a good race, but I favor Democrats,” said Pilago, a broad smile on his face.