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The held its winter meeting in the nation’s capital late last month, and Hawaii’s chief executive was in attendance.

Along with a briefing at the White House, meetings on Capitol Hill and discussions of policy issues such as higher education and veterans care, , Gov. David Ige also managed to do a little campaign fundraising.

One event was held at ��and the other , both in northwest Washington. The former address appears to be the location of the William T. Golden Center for Science and Engineering, while the latter is on the thoroughfare synonymous with lobbying.

Ige’s campaign declined to tell me who exactly attended the fundraisers, nor exactly where they were held.

I also asked the campaign whether it was inappropriate to use a $20,000 business trip for political purposes.��First Lady Dawn Amano-Ige, Chief of Staff Mike McCartney, Director of Communications Cindy McMillan��and Senior Special Assistant Lisa Hiraoka also traveled with the governor.

Here’s what campaign spokeswoman Glenna Wong said in response:

Keeping It Local, Mostly

Wong is correct that the “vast majority” of Ige’s money comes locally.

And to be fair, other Hawaii governors have raised campaign cash at mainland fundraisers.

Ige’s predecessor, Neil Abercrombie, held one fundraiser in May 2014 in D.C. and three that month in San Francisco. One of those Bay Area fundraisers appears to have been at a $3.9 million property that was����of billionaire Larry Ellison, who is the largest land owner on Lanai.��

For her part, U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa,��Ige’s primary opponent, raised money and has a fundraiser at what looks to be a private home on SE New Jersey Avenue in Washington.

Hanabusa spokesman Keith DeMello declined to answer who attended (or will attend) the fundraisers, or where exactly they are located. He also avoided answering why Hanabusa felt it necessary to raise money for a state race on the mainland.

“Will you be clarifying in your story that Hawaii state law allows for just 30 percent of contributions to come from out of state?” he said via email.��“The Hanabusa for Governor campaign is well within that allowable percentage.”

DeMello is correct, although the�� to contributions from a candidate’s immediate family.

But here’s my question: If Hawaii is such “a special place,” as we often hear from local politicians, one with cherished “values” that set us apart, why do our politicians need to raise money on the mainland?

I know, I know. It’s the same answer that Willie Sutton gave to the question about why he robbed banks — “because that’s where the money is.”

Money From All Over

The latest donations to the gubernatorial candidates won’t be known until the next financial disclosure statements are due this summer. So, we won’t be able to get a sense of who was writing checks and swiping credit cards at those D.C. and San Francisco shindigs until that time.

Hanabusa hasn’t raised much money so far from mainland interests, either. But some of her contributions have raised particular attention.����

Update: For example, she received $24,000 from Florida-based NextEra Energy, the company that tried to buy Hawaiian Electric Industries for $4.3 billion.

Put anther way, the company that failed to buy HEI gave to the candidate challenging the governor who opposed the deal.

Hanabusa also accepted $4,000 from a person in real estate in Baltimore, $3,000 from an attorney in Illinois, $6,000 from a condo developer in Colorado and other mainland donors.

I don’t know why. Maybe they of “leadership, vision and, most of all, action.”

Ige pulled in mainland dough, too, including $2,000 from a chemical business in California, $2,000 from an energy storage outfit in Santa Barbara, $4,000 from a business consultant in St. Louis and other donors.

Who knows why? Perhaps they are pleased that Ige is, as his campaign proclaims, “an innovator, leading the nation and the world with smart ideas and historic firsts that make a difference to us every day.”

Or maybe they are just trying to buy influence with the next governor of the 50th state.

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