Democratic state Sen. David Ige loaned his campaign $50,000 in the final days leading up to his huge primary win over Gov. Neil Abercrombie on Aug. 9.

Heavily outmatched in fundraising, Ige scraped enough money together to conduct last-minute polling, run a few more ads and visit the neighbor islands in the two weeks before the election.

Ige has drained his campaign account down to $17,799 after factoring in the loans, according to his final primary finance report, which covers July 26 to Aug. 9.

Gov. Neil Abercrombie looks on as a victorious Sen. David Ige speaks at his campaign headquarters after beating Gov. Abercrombie in the state Primary on August 9, 2014.

Gov. Neil Abercrombie looks on as a victorious Sen. David Ige speaks at his campaign headquarters after beating Gov. Abercrombie in the primary.

Cory Lum

The report, filed Friday, also shows he had to pay two fines to the Hawaii Election Campaign Fund — $100 for an excess contribution and $25 for a prohibited expenditure.

Abercrombie’s report wasn’t available on the Campaign Spending Commission’s website early Friday evening. The deadline to file is midnight. 

Abercrombie had more than $350,000 on hand with two weeks until the election after spending more than $1 million from July 1 to July 25.

Ige faces former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann, who’s running as an Independent Party candidate, and former Lt. Gov. Duke Aiona in the Nov. 4 general election. 

Aiona has $198,153 on hand, according to his latest report, after raising $33,141 during the reporting period. Without a serious challenger, he spent just $24,293 in the two weeks leading up to the primary.

Hannemann raised $2,675 during the reporting period and has $174,812 on hand, not counting $82,703 in unpaid expenditures. He spent $9,904 during the period.

Ige demonstrated in the primary that a candidate who’s not well known can defeat an incumbent who has significantly more money. But money is expected to be more of a factor in the general election because many voters were casting ballots against Abercrombie, not necessarily for Ige. 

With just over two months to go, there’s ample time for anything to happen in the gubernatorial battle.

Support Independent, Unbiased News

Civil Beat is a nonprofit, reader-supported newsroom based in ±á²¹·É²¹¾±Ê»¾±. When you give, your donation is combined with gifts from thousands of your fellow readers, and together you help power the strongest team of investigative journalists in the state.

 

About the Author