More than a half-million dollars have been raised by candidates running for three seats on the Honolulu City Council, financial reports show.

Council candidates have raised $575,430 in the entire election cycle, with $376,746 collected in the first half of 2010.

Six out of 21 city council candidates have raised the majority of the money in the race, according to the most recent financial reports released by the Campaign Spending Commission.

Ernie Martin, Ben Shafer, Stanley Chang, Rich Turbin, Frank Lavoie and Tulsi Tamayo are the clear front-runners.

It’s essentially a two-horse race for District 2, which covers roughly Wahiawa to the North Shore. Ernie Martin and John D. White have raised the most money. Martin, who has been endorsed by the International Longshore & Warehouse Union, Local 142, raised $39,373 between Jan 1. and June 30. White, who has worked several years as a legislative aide, raised slightly more, $47,523, during the same time period. White’s advantage is his savings account: He has over $100,000 on hand compared with Martin’s $20,721.

District 4, covering Kaimuki to Hawaii Kai, offers a similar head-to-head contest between money leaders Stanley Chang and Rich Turbin. Since they began campaigning, Chang and Turbin have raised $114,140 and $192,284, respectively — large sums for a city council race.

Among all the candidates, Turbin has raised the most money even if you exclude the $20,000 loan he made to his campaign in June. He also has the most cash on hand with $125,927, which will likely come in handy as the election draws closer. Chang has $39,588 on hand.

The last race in contention for the Honolulu City Council is District 6, covering Kalihi to downtown Honolulu and Makiki. The financial front-runners are small-business owner Frank Lavoie and former state Rep. Tulsi Tamayo. Lavoie has raised a total of $15,908, slightly below Tamayo’s $17,471. Christopher Wong is nipping at their heels, raising almost $14,000 in his campaign.

Breene Harimoto is running uncontested for District 8, representing Fort Shafter to Waipio Gentry.

Below is a table showing city council candidates in their respective districts. The table depicts how much money the candidates raised for their campaigns between Jan. 1 through June 30, the total amount of money the candidates have raised so far and their cash on hand: