The Sierra Club and other enviros accuse Linda Lingle of being backed by oil-and-gas interests in her U.S. Senate run.

The groups note that Lingle supports drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

But the Lingle campaign points out that Sen. Dan Akaka, the man Lingle and Mazie Hirono wish to succeed, also supports drilling in ANWR, as does Sen. Dan Inouye.

“Linda Lingle continues to be deeply committed to ensuring our country lowers and eventually eliminates its dependence on foreign oil,” Lingle campaign manager Bob Lee said late this week. “Her call for achieving energy security by maintaining all options to acquire fuel from domestic regions that have proven oil reserves, including ANWR, is shared by Senators Inouye and Akaka.”

While most Democrats have long opposed drilling in ANWR, Hawaii’s senators have supported the proposal in part because of close ties to the Alaskan delegation.