Campaign finance reports obtained by Civil Beat this week showed Congresswoman Mazie Hirono eclipsed former Congressman Ed Case in fundraising last quarter (read the full story). The Democrats are battling for their party’s nomination in the race for U.S. Senate. 

Case’s numbers came as a surprise because they were much lower than the estimate he provided to reporters last week. Another revelation was that Hirono got a major boost from special-interest groups (read the full story) in her fundraising last quarter. Political action committees are often generous with members of Congress, and they doled out $99,000 to Hirono’s campaign from April through June.

Case says Hirono’s support from PACs demonstrates how he and Hirono are different.

“My support both financially, and from an election perspective, has never come from special-interest PAC money and support, and hers has,” Case told Civil Beat in a phone interview Wednesday night. “That’s a basic distinction between us, always has been, and will be. PACs contribute to sitting members of congress. We haven’t gone out to solicit the Washington-inside PAC money. We focus on the fundraising at home and from the folks who’ve supported us in the past.”

We’ll check in with Hirono for her response today. We’ll also fully vet Case’s claim about who has contributed to his campaigns. Stay tuned.