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 Voters are to decide a Democratic primary contest between Governor
Neil Abercrombie, who has a thriving economy on his side, and state
Senator David Ige who has surged to a double-digit edge in polls
despite raising less campaign cash.
All but two polling stations on the east coast of the Big Island
hardest hit by Tropical Storm Iselle will be open, election
officials said, and forecasters said Iselle was weakening as it
pushed past the U.S. state.
"I think we've come through in great fashion," Abercrombie told an
evening news conference, a nod to the fact that the storm did much
less damage than had been feared.
As thousands of residents scrambled to clean up fallen trees that
downed power lines, officials warned against complacency given the
extent of the disruption and the uncertainty over the pathway of the
bigger storm hurtling toward them.
Hurricane Julio, which was downgraded to a Category 2 storm on
Friday, was packing maximum winds of 100 mph (155 kph) as it churned
about 590 miles (955 km) off the Big Island city of Hilo and 780
miles (1,255 km) east of the state capital Honolulu, the National
Weather Service said late on Friday night.
Forecasts showed Julio weakening as it nears Hawaii, likely tracking
about 150 miles (240 km) north of the archipelago early on Sunday at
the earliest, meteorologists said.
There were no reports of major injuries from Iselle, a public
relations boon to a state economy that depends heavily on tourism.
Some 95,000 tourists were visiting when Iselle hit.
The American Red Cross said on Friday 900 people remained in
evacuation shelters and a utility said some 15,000 customers on the
Big Island headed into a second night without power.
"The air is thick with wood smoke since the power is still out,"
said Malia Baron, who was visiting the Volcano area of the Big
Island. "It's been quite the adventure, but we're ready to head home
to prep for the next storm."
POLITICAL TEMPEST
The storm was responsible for a rare lull in campaigning.
As the election loomed, the U.S. Coast Guard said it had reopened
all of its ports in the state except one on Molokai, which would be
evaluated early on Saturday, and farmers on the largely rural Big
Island were checking crops and fruit and macadamia nut trees for
damage.
Ka'u Coffee Mill, a grower, said it closed on Friday as farmers
assessed damage to fields from flooding.
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"We took precautions to make sure things didn't blow away and to
minimize damage if we in fact got high winds - but we didn't," said
Bruce Corker, owner of Rancho Aloha coffee farm in Holualoa, in the
Kona region.
Election analysts said it was unusual for an incumbent governor to
struggle given the strength of the economy, with unemployment near a
record low, tourism going well and state coffers sound.
Hawaii has consistently re-elected Democratic governors since
Republican Bill Quinn was ousted in 1962. But a late July poll of
458 likely voters conducted for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser puts
Ige 18 points ahead at 54-36.
Another late July poll of 1,240 registered voters for Civil Beat put
Ige's lead at 10 points, at 51-41.
Abercrombie told supporters in a statement that Hawaii polls
historically have often failed to presage actual results.
Supporters say Abercrombie has achieved much, signing gay marriage
legislation into law, helping to negotiate a North Shore land
conservation deal and championing development in downtown Honolulu.
He also represented Hawaii in the U.S. House of Representatives from
1990 to 2010.
Ige's campaign issued emails urging voters to cast ballots early
because of the storms. The winner will face Independent and
Republican candidates in November's general election.
(Writing by Eric M. Johnson; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
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