Poll shows Ige, Abercrombie tied

Discontent with the Abercrombie administration could be State Senator David Ige’s chance to catch up with Abercrombie’s campaign machine, Civil Beat analysis concludes. The results of the poll show “likely” democratic voters as evenly split and still largely “unsure” as to who they’ll vote for in the primary on August 9. However, in this article written by Chad Blair, it is pointed out that Ige has thus-far raised far less money than Abercrombie, who also beats Ige substantially in name recognition.

Expect to see the Ige campaign try to capitalize on this recent poll with renewed fundraising pushes to try and close the money gap.

Also of importance is a secondary set of numbers showing that Ige’s support comes largely from a lack of support for Abercrombie. In other words, it’s not so much that people support David Ige as a candidate as it is that people simply are disappointed in the governor. David Ige is still a fairly unknown name among the state’s voters, so it will be his task to weave a powerful enough biography and platform to turn lack of support for Abercrombie into real support for himself. Unfortunately for Ige, as chair of the Ways and Means committee, he’ll likely be very busy through the current legislative session.

However, Sen. Ige has secured powerful endorsements from ex-governors Ben Cayetano and George Ariyoshi, both considered former allies of Abercrombie, as well as from the Hawaii State Teachers Association (HSTA).