Aiona: We Have Three Candidates Running for Governor
UPDATED at 6:00 p.m. 10/8/10
At a press conference Tuesday at his Nimitz Highway campaign headquarters, Republican Lt. Gov. Duke Aiona said, “We have two parties — in fact we have three candidates, if I am not mistaken, running for governor.”
He said he had heard someone say on television that “there is a perception out there that this is not a competitive gubernatorial race.” Aiona blamed the media, in part, for what he sees as a lack of enthusiasm for the general election.
In fact, Hawaii has running for governor, three of them representing political parties.
Most everyone knows about two of the candidates and their respective parties — Republican Aiona and Democrat Neil Abercrombie.
Less well known — unless you happen to have seen the mysterious and unforgettable sight of him at a candidate forum with his arms and hands in bandages — is Daniel H. Cunningham, who is representing the Free Energy Party. He received 129 votes in the primary.
Like Aiona and Abercrombie, Cunningham also has a running mate — Deborah “Jo B” Spence. She got 107 votes in the primary.
The fourth candidate is Tom Pollard, a nonpartisan candidate running with Leonard Kama.
Pollard defeated Paul Manner and Tony Clapes in the nonpartisan primary, where 58 percent of the vote went to blank votes. Kama was unopposed but still finished second to blank votes by a 2-to-1 margin.
UPDATE
Thanks for everyone’s feedback. This is part of the process and helps us sharpen our thinking. It’s true that are three candidates running, but the full picture is that there is a fourth candidate. It underscores we often overlook candidates who aren’t part of major parties. So in this case, we’re changing the grade. It’s mostly true.
-Sara Lin
Assistant Editor
