Hirono Has $1 Million On Hand For Likely Senate Re-election Bid
Sen. Brian Schatz, whose term is not up until 2022, has $2.2 million in campaign cash, according to Federal Election Commission records.
U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono听raised nearly $300,000 in the first three months of the year, bringing her cash-on-hand total to more than听$1 million.
The Democrat, who is expected to seek re-election next year, so far faces no announced primary or general election challenger.
Hirono’s donors include a mix of people from Hawaii and the mainland.
And almost 60 percent of her contributions come from political action committees, which is not unusual given the desire of PACs to sway national legislation.
Local contributors during the first quarter of 2017, according to with the , included Alexander & Baldwin CEO Chris Benjamin and $1,000 from political consultant Jennifer Sabas.
The PAC money comes from the likes of听EMILY鈥橲 List ($5,000), the听General Dynamics Corporation PAC ($4,000) and the听Asian American Hotel Owners Association听PAC ($5,500).
The senator’s expenses include almost $30,000 to听Benchmark Strategies, a fundraising听consultant in Washington, D.C.
She also racked up airline miles and charged for听ground transportation that ranged听from Uber to a limousine and town car rental. Hirono also repaid herself $10,000 on a $100,000 loan.
Hirono’s million bucks is a respectable if modest amount. When she first ran for her seat in 2012 and spent $5.6 million.
In that election, Hirono faced a well-known听primary opponent in Ed Case, a former congressman, and a well-known and well-funded general election candidate, former Republican Gov. Linda Lingle.
Hirono crushed both opponents.
The senator’s Democratic colleague, Brian Schatz, in the first quarter of 2017. But then, he would not up for re-election for another five years.
Schatz now has听$2.2 million in his war chest,听much of it money left over from his 2016 re-election campaign, when .
His Republican opponent, John Carroll, raised a mere $54,000 and was defeated by Schatz in a landslide.
