Strolling through the halls of the state Capitol past, literally, her first public office, U.S. Rep.-elect Tulsi Gabbard admits that even 10 years ago, as the youngest elected state representative at age 21, she never thought she would be where she is now.
"It never ever crossed my mind, not because it was impossible, but it was just not something that I had ever aspired to," Gabbard, now 31, said in a recent interview. "I knew that I wanted to make a difference. I knew I wanted to help people and wanted to be of service, but I was very, very shy and an introverted kid growing up."
She has grown since then, she says, personally and politically, after a 10-year span in which she joined the Hawaii Army National Guard and volunteered for two tours of duty to the Middle East before working on veterans issues with U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka in Washington and ultimately returning to Hawaii to resume her career in public service.
"Staying focused … on my desire to be of service is what has brought me through this very unlikely path," she says.
Today that path has led back to Washington, where Gabbard is preparing to cap off a remarkable two years that saw her return to elected office on the Honolulu City Council in 2011 and then score a huge primary upset in 2012 en route to becoming Hawaii’s newest member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
"It’s quite impressive," said Neal Milner, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Hawaii. "She did come out of nowhere and she beat a political vet at the beginning everyone thought had a lock on it. There’s no question that she’s demonstrated exceptional political skills."
Gabbard rode a wave of support from veterans’ and women’s groups, among others, to defeat former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann in the August primary. She then cruised to victory over little-known GOP challenger Kawika Crowley in the general election with 80 percent of the vote.
Gabbard will be taking her oath Thursday over the Hindu holy scripture Bhagavad Gita, rather than the Bible.
Gabbard will represent rural Oahu and the neighbor islands of Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District. She will have to learn on the fly as she heads to an atmosphere of bitter partisan battles — most recently over the budget and the so-called "fiscal cliff" — that have divided Congress. Other issues expected to come before the next Congress include a more serious debate on gun control after the school massacre in Newtown, Conn.
Although she did not put forth any specific proposals she would focus on, Gabbard, who campaigned on a promise of cutting through partisan gridlock to achieve results, says she already has reached out to see where she might find consensus with her new colleagues.
Those include fellow freshmen U.S. Reps. Beto O’Rourke, D-Texas, and Susan Brooks, R-Ind., she said.
Gabbard also has reached out to fellow veterans such as U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and GOP Reps. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania and Tom Cotton of Arkansas.
"These are some of these folks who I’ve connected with who are coming in with a clear attitude of ‘How do we get things done?’ And that’s the focus," Gabbard said. "It’s understanding that there will be challenges, but that if we work together based on that shared focus, then I think we will start to try to move things in the right direction."
Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, says Gabbard already is displaying the right approach.
"That’s exactly what she should do," Sabato said by telephone. "Generally, when you’re coming into Congress as a freshman, you want to stick to your committees but you also want to find people in Congress who have had similar experiences and you want to form friendships and alliances that can help you as you progress in the House."
Gabbard has been assigned to the Homeland Security Committee and is awaiting her other assignments.
"The smart thing to do would be to burrow into the House and master a couple of subjects related to her committee assignments," Sabato said, adding that she needs to avoid the trap of becoming a darling of the national media.
"That’s always a danger sign for youthful representatives," he said. "You don’t want to see them too much. You want to know that they’re learning their new jobs.
"I can see how she could be popular with the national media. She’s Hindu. She’s a very attractive young woman. She’s a combat veteran. All these things will make her potentially popular on the national circuit, but it’s in her interests to resist."
Gabbard is not without her critics, including people who note that she has never finished a term to which she was elected. She left her first term in the state House to volunteer for deployment with her National Guard unit to Iraq and she ran for Congress in the middle of her first term on the Council.
Some Democrats say privately that she may have further ruffled feathers by putting her name into consideration for U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye’s seat. She was not among the three finalists recommended to Abercrombie to fill the vacancy.
Gabbard said it was through her two tours of duty that she saw the effects of government decisions on veterans and the lack of representation of vets among national politicians. When the vacancy presented itself to go to Congress, she said she felt compelled to run.
"For me, from a very personal level … that experience (as a veteran) being an asset or a value to the country and to Hawaii is one of the things that motivated me to see that I have something to contribute to serve in Congress," she said.
Her father, state Sen. Mike Gabbard (D, Kapolei-Makakilo) said he noticed the change immediately upon her return from her second tour of duty.
"She was a platoon leader over there, so she had around 40 to 45 soldiers that were under her care, and when she came back there was this transformation," he said. "The leadership skills were amazing. … She just applied that discipline, the determination and those leadership skills that she picked up and it really made quite a difference."
As for future political office, the former "shy and introverted kid" would not speculate on where she might go from here.
"Every day to wake up and do my best to serve Hawaii, in whatever way that takes me — that’s my goal," she said.
