U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz raised $911,000 in the past quarter for his Democratic primary for Senate against U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, his campaign said Tuesday, bringing his total to more than $2 million.
It was the second strong quarter for Schatz, who opened with $1.1 million in fundraising in the three months after he was appointed in December to replace the late U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye.
Fundraising and endorsements are magnified during the early stages of political campaigns as candidates attempt to demonstrate viability and strength.
Hanabusa has not released her quarterly fundraising figure, the first since formally announcing in May that she would challenge Schatz. The federal campaign-finance reports are not due until Monday.
The Hanabusa campaign has privately tempered expectations, noting that Hanabusa did not ramp up fundraising until May.
But Hanabusa’s allies understand the importance of the congresswoman’s first report in political circles. In late June, EMILY’s List, the national women’s and abortion rights advocacy group, sent out a fundraising appeal for Hanabusa that featured Irene Hirano Inouye, the late senator’s widow.
Inouye had urged Gov. Neil Abercrombie to appoint Hanabusa to replace him, but the governor instead chose Schatz, his lieutenant governor.
Cognizant that Schatz was leading in both fundraising and endorsements, the Hanabusa campaign held an event last week at Bishop Museum where several political and business heavyweights praised her as a proven leader.
"The common-sense answer is she needs a strong quarter, or she’s going to have to have some kind of convincing explanation why she doesn’t," said Neal Milner, a University of Hawaii at Manoa professor emeritus of political science.
Milner said that at this stage of the primary, the campaigns are trying to persuade influential party leaders, donors and activists "to move on one side of the fence or the other."
The election next year is for the remainder of Inouye’s six-year term, which runs through 2016.
Schatz, 40, who expected that his viability would be questioned by critics, has taken fundraising seriously. He has also taken advantage of his incumbent status, building relationships with fellow senators who help one another through political action committees.
During the first quarter of the year, Schatz received donations from PACs controlled by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.; U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., the assistant majority leader; and U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. In the past quarter, according to his campaign, Schatz received contributions from PACs tied to U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.; U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.; U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.; and several other senators.
"I’m humbled by the strong support that our campaign has received in the last six months," Schatz said in a statement. "Together we can create new jobs, grow our clean energy economy and build a brighter future for the families of Hawaii. I will keep working every day in the Senate to accomplish these goals and represent our Hawaii values."
