Former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann may soon have a new political party.

The Hawaii Independent Party filed enough signatures of registered voters with the state Office of Elections by Thursday’s deadline to satisfy the requirement for a new party.

Hannemann has said that he would seriously consider running for governor as an independent if the new party is certified.

"I think there’s a lot of people who no longer vote for a party. They really vote on an issue or a candidate," said Michelle Del Rosario, a Maui Realtor who helped organize the Hawaii Independent Party.

Del Rosario said the new party would be an option for independent candidates "to run together, to pool their resources, to have a platform to get their messaging out if they didn’t align with one of the two primary parties."

But she said the new party is not just "something for Mufi Hannemann. This is something for all of Hawaii, for the people of Hawaii who want to take back our government."

Hannemann lost to Gov. Neil Abercrombie in the Democratic primary in 2010. Abercrombie, whose job approval rating is 43 percent, is being challenged by state Sen. David Ige in the primary this year. Former Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona, who also lost to Abercrombie in 2010, is the likely Republican contender.

"I guess he’s not coming to the Democratic Party convention," Dante Carpenter, chairman of Democratic Party of Hawaii, joked of Hannemann.

Carpenter said the Democratic Party has "always stood for equality, the welfare of the middle class, and better opportunities for future generations. And, as such, our values reflect those of Hawaii’s people. And that’s why we’re confident that voters will continue to support us through the general election no matter what parties have been added to the ballot."

David Chang, chairman of the Hawaii Republican Party, fears Hannemann would split the moderate-to-conservative vote with Aiona and hand re-election to the liberal Abercrombie by a plurality.

Chang said Hannemann explored a potential Republican run for governor but did not want to face Aiona in a GOP primary.

"Does he really believe he can win? Is he doing this for himself or for the people of Hawaii?" Chang asked. "That’s, ultimately, what I’m questioning at this point."

A new Hawaii Poll this week by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and Hawaii News Now showed that 39 percent would consider voting for Hannemann as an independent.

The poll also showed Abercrombie with a single-digit lead over Ige in the Democratic primary and trailing Aiona in a hypothetical general election matchup.

Citing the surprising poll results, Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball, from the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, on Thursday moved the Hawaii’s governor’s race rating to "leans Democratic" from "likely Democratic."