Kirk Caldwell is behind in an early poll of the three mayoral candidates, but he’s confident he’ll make up the ground.

The reason: because he nearly managed to overtake Peter Carlisle in 2010 even though he had little time to run after Mayor Mufi Hannemann resigned.

I explored Caldwell’s claim about what he said was a “45-day sprint” (actually, it was 60 days) and the narrow “half-percent” gap on election day (actually, it was 2.5 points) in my story today.

Most importantly, though, does 2010’s strong second place finish mean Caldwell can catch up in 2012?

Hop over to Civil Beat to read it in full and add your thoughts: Caldwell: With More Time, I’ll Win Mayor’s Race