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A staple of modern journalism is to follow a political candidate as they go from event to event asking for votes, raising money, giving speeches and kissing babies.

Civil Beat spent some time this weekend shadowing James “Duke” Aiona and Neil Abercrombie to see how they interact with the public and operate their campaign.

Later this week, we’ll share what we learned, but for now, here’s a quick look behind the scenes.

The Campaigns

Aiona’s campaign skews young — as in under 40, including Aiona campaign spokesman Travis Taylor — while Abercrombie’s has elements of both young and experienced. The young in Abercrombie’s camp include spokeswoman Laurie Au, field organizer Josh Levinson and social media director L.P. “Neenz” Faleafine working alongside seasoned supporters like Amy Agbayani, Charlie Toguchi and Lloyd Nekoba.

Au came to Abercrombie after working as a journalist, so she knows what it’s like to need something under deadline (and to give them at least something so they’ll stop bugging her). Abercrombie’s communications liaison is Jim McCoy, a former veteran journalist turned PR guy.

Taylor worked for Aiona’s lieutenant governor office, where Aiona’s staff includes aides like former journalist Harold Nedd. Keoki Leong, who worked for the minority party at the Legislature, is political director, and Mark “Dutch” Hanohano, a former U.S. marshall, is the campaign manager.

(By law the campaign and the office operate separately, but sometimes it seems a fine line. For example, on Sunday Abercrombie appeared as a candidate at the popular Hawaii Fishing and Seafood Festival at Pier 38, but Aiona visited the same event in his official capacity as lieutenant governor.)

Several veterans of Linda Lingle‘s campaign also are helping Aiona: Linda Smith, Lingle’s senior policy adviser; Miriam Hellreich, her top fund-raiser; and John Peschong, Lingle’s main campaign strategist in the successful 2002 and 2006 victories.

Both camps know how to get their messages out via all means of modern communication, though reporters get irritated when calls and e-mails are not returned instantly or spokesmen give answers instead of the candidates.

(Both camps are also sometimes overwhelmed by the number of media inquiries from Civil Beat, most of them for those pesky fact checks.)

And both camps pay close attention to what their man is saying to reporters, in part to make sure there is no gaffe — or to quickly tell reporters, “What the candidate meant to say is …”

The Headquarters

Here’s what I experienced during Civil Beat’s visit to Abercrombie’s Ward Warehouse on Thursday and Friday:

• I chatted with a woman on an electric mobility scooter who said the high-pitched noise I was hearing was not her hearing aide. (A lot of retired people volunteer for political campaigns.)

• I joked with Chuck Freedman, who is managing Brian Schatz‘s campaign, that the Abercrombie headquarters seems haunted by the smell of food. (It is the former site of a Stuart Anderson’s steak house.)

• Ben Cayetano walked up and told me he read my stuff everyday on Civil Beat. He told me that I had made a mistake in a book I wrote chronicling Cayetano’s 1994 run for governor. (He said he never lowered the state flag upon the death of labor leader Art Rutledge — he fact checked it, apparently! I told him I’d check it out.)

Here’s what I experienced during Civil Beat’s visit to Aiona’s Nimitz Highway headquarters on Friday:

• A lot of people walked through the doors, all with their own pressing business with the campaign. Nobody appeared to be retired, and there was a sense of momentum, as if voters were coming their way.

• I had a nice chat with Lu Faborito, president of the Hawaii Women’s Rodeo Association. She said she was scheduled to ride a horse in Saturday’s Aloha Week Parade on Molokai, where Aiona and Abercrombie would both be in attendance. (I believed her.)

• I saw volunteers folding Aiona-Finnegan T-shirts and carrying empty water-cooler containers. (Modern campaigns run on T-shirts and water.)

The Trail: Aiona

Freelance photographer Kent Nishimura and I followed the candidate for about an hour at Kapiolani Park.

The occasion was the 2010 Hawaii Hispanic Heritage Festival & Health Fair.

Latinos, I’m told, comprise 10 percent of the state’s population — a sizable voter bloc. The band at the bandstand performed Santana’s “Black Magic Woman.”

Duke Aiona can be wooden when giving speeches. Meet him face-to-face, however, and he’s a different guy — the kind of guy you’d like to have a beer with and talk story. (Important note: Aiona doesn’t drink alcohol.)

Aiona was escorted by Marie Villa of Hawaii Hispanic News. He was followed by the two men who make up his official LG security detail and by two others providing security for the festival.

Aiona wore eyeglasses and a ti leaf lei. He walked calmly, low-key, with his hands in his pockets, seeming not to want to interrupt those he encountered.

“Hey, howzit,” he’d say to a passerby.

“Say hello to the LG,” said Villa. “Don’t be ashamed.”

“I sometimes see you in Kapolei,” said a man wearing a shirt that read 21 Puerto Rico.

“Okay, my brother, stay well,” replied Aiona.

A woman who passed me turned to her four young kids and said, “See the man in the brown pants? That’s Duke Aiona.”

Aiona moved from tent to tent, shaking hands and posing for pictures. He bypassed a tent where a sign read “We are all illegals,” run by the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA, choosing instead to visit with folks at a tent where three flags flew: The U.S. flag, the Marine Corps flag and the U.S. Navy Flag.

By that time Lynne Finnegan and Vivian Aiona joined the casual entourage.

(Abercrombie did not show at the Hispanic festival, by the way. But Brian Schatz made an appearance.)

The Trail: Abercrombie

The morning started late because Abercrombie overslept and had a problem with allergies. “Traffic was bad,” somebody mumbled.

But once Abercrombie arrived he made his way efficiently through the throngs of keiki-clinging ohana.

Fortunately, Abercrombie was easy to spot with his a purple lei and a straw hat that kept the sun from his fair-skinned pate. Schatz and Au were in tow, often picking up the pace to keep up.

“Hi! How ya doing? Neil Abercrombie, running for governor,” he’d say.

“Oh, look, it’s da kine!” one woman said to her husband. “Good luck!”

On moved the Abercrombie entourage, past Brian’s Fishing Supply and the tent for RevoluSun, which was advertising its residential solar photovoltaic and hot water systems.

Abercrombie took a call on his cell phone, prompting him — I’m guessing — to head inside a shop that sold fishing supplies. He then zipped upstairs and we followed, but we lost him after he went behind an office door.

A man appeared and went through the same door that Abercrombie had disappeared behind.

“I think that’s Nico,” said Laurie Au.

“THE Nico?” asked “Neenz” Faleafine, who was wearing a large white T-shirt that read Abercrombie & Schatz, mimicking the design label of Abercrombie & Fitch apparel.

“THE Nico,” replied Au, meaning Nicolas “Nico” Chaize, chef and namesake of Nico’s at Pier 38. (Civil Beat was not able to fact check whether it was indeed THE Nico.)

Abercrombie finally emerged, and the posse followed him back down the stairs and out into the open where the candidate did his candidate thing. (Two festival security personnel were also in tow, but not the beefy AFG Security that showed up to protect Abercrombie primary election night.)

The photographer and I later tagged along with Abercrombie and Schatz to the Hawaii Convention Center, where the candidate presented a check for $1,000 to the Hui Makaala 41st Scholarship Fund Luncheon, Fashion Show & Craft Fair.

(The money goes to college-bound students who have contribute to perpetuating Okinawan culture.)

The candidates then caught a plane to Kauai, where Mayor Bernard Cravalho Jr. endorsed the ticket. (He had thrown his support to Mufi Hannemann in the primary. Whoops.)

And that was it.

As promised, later this week we’ll share our interviews with both candidates.

View a slideshow of the candidates’ weekends.