Lt. Gov. Shan Tsutsui, bidding to win election to the job to which he ascended, raised $357,000 over the past six months, according to his campaign finance report.
Tsutsui, the former state senator from Maui, has raised $782,000 during this election cycle and still has $358,000 in cash on hand with no debt.
"We’re just going to keep going and just keep working hard every single day trying to get to every corner of the state and trying to meet people one at a time," Tsutsui said. "That’s the only way I know how to do it.
"We’ll just continue to do that while we try to also get our message out to the different publications."
In December 2012, Tsutsui was serving as Senate president — next in line to the lieutenant governor’s post — when then-Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz was appointed to the U.S. Senate to succeed the late U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye.
In the Democratic primary, Tsutsui faces challenges from state Sen. Clayton Hee and former television reporter Mary Zanakis.
Hee had about $460,650 left over in his Senate account to transfer to the campaign. He raised $122,750 in the first six months of the year and had about $323,150 in cash on hand heading into the final weeks of the campaign.
Hee, who announced his bid for lieutenant governor in May, after the legislative session, has raised about $640,750 during the election cycle.
"I’m very grateful for the support, for the contributors to the campaign, for their belief in me and for their friendship toward our campaign," Hee said.
Zanakis did not file a report. She has said she does not intend to raise campaign funds, saying she was "hoping/praying" that voters would remember her from her time on air.
On the Republican side, Elwin Ahu, a senior pastor at New Hope Metro, raised $70,000 in his campaign against Warner Kimo Sutton, a Honolulu entrepreneur.
Ahu has $25,000 left to spend and carries no debt. Sutton reported $17,000 for the first six months, including $14,000 in loans to himself, and has $750 in cash on hand.
