U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa will emphasize leadership experience, and not the dying wish of the late U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, in her Democratic primary challenge next year against U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz.
Hanabusa, who formally announced her campaign Thursday, said her message to voters will be that she has the ability and experience to better serve Hawaii’s interests in the U.S. Senate.
"We need someone there who can hit the ground running, who understands the issues and understands how critical various types of positions are to Hawaii," the congresswoman said in an interview. "And I believe that when you look at all the necessary skill sets to be effective in Washington, and in a legislative process, that it’s me."
Schatz was appointed by Gov. Neil Abercrombie in December to replace the powerful Inouye, who, on the day he died, urged Abercrombie to choose Hanabusa to replace him. The late senator had also made his preference known to Democrats in the last few years before his death at 88.
Hanabusa, who was endorsed Thursday by Irene Hirano Inouye, Inouye’s widow, and will be supported by many of Inouye’s allies in politics and business, said it would be up to voters to determine how much of a role Inouye’s legacy will have on the campaign.
"I’m not running for this position simply because that was what he wanted," Hanabusa said. "That’s not the reason. I’m running because I believe that this is in the best interest of the state of Hawaii, and I can best serve in this capacity and in this role.
"How each voter perceives it is going to be up to them."
Hanabusa, 61, and Schatz, 40, are from different generations, but the congresswoman said she and the young senator have the same "political age." Hanabusa was elected to the state Senate in 1998, the same year Schatz was elected to the state House.
But Hanabusa said the difference is that she rose to leadership positions in the state Senate, where she was chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, majority leader and the first woman chosen by her colleagues as president.
"Look at our experience, look at what we’re able to do, look at what we’re dealing with, look at what’s necessary to be successful in Washington, D.C.," she said. "I believe that I have shown that capability and I’ve also shown the ability to be recognized as someone who is potentially a spokesperson for Hawaii and understands the major issues that we are faced with."
Schatz, because of his youth, has the potential to build seniority over a generation, like Inouye, who served in the Senate for a half-century before he died as Senate president pro tempore, the chamber’s most senior member. Inouye was the second-longest-serving senator in history, behind the late U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va.
But Hanabusa said Inouye’s value was not only his length of service, but his ability, demonstrated early in his political career, to build relationships in Washington that could help Hawaii. She cited his friendship when he was in the U.S. House with then-U.S. Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson, who would later become vice president and president.
"That had nothing to do with seniority; that had to do with earning respect," she said.
Bill Meheula, a spokesman for the Schatz campaign, said Schatz has already forged meaningful relationships during his four months in the Senate.
"As someone who grew up in Hawaii and today is raising his own family here, Senator Schatz is deeply invested in our state’s future," he said in a statement. "In his first few months in the Senate, he has forged meaningful relationships, leveraged his budding Senate seniority, advanced legislation, and fought for initiatives that will positively impact Hawaii and the people of our state. Throughout the next 16 months, his service as senator and his campaign will be about the kind of future we want for our families, our communities, and the next generation. We look forward to sharing the senator’s work and vision for Hawaii, and we welcome Representative Hanabusa to the race."
Irene Inouye said it was Inouye’s last wish that Hanabusa serve out his term. The election next year is for the remainder of Inouye’s six-year term, which runs through 2016.
"Colleen is an experienced legislator who has the skill set and passion to represent Hawaii and will deliver for people the way Dan did for over 50 years," she said in a statement. "Shortly after she was elected president of the Hawaii State Senate, Dan recognized that Colleen was more than capable of succeeding him and he began to mentor her.
"His last wish was that Colleen serve out his term because he was confident in her ability to step into the Senate and immediately help Hawaii. I am honoring one of his last requests, and look forward to supporting Colleen on the campaign trail."
Schatz’s allies are planning to emphasize seniority as a campaign theme, since it remains the standard for influence in the Senate. The senator is now 86th in seniority among 100 senators and could jump up the list because of retirements and turnover after the 2014 elections. Schatz is also chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources’ subcommittee on water and power, a rare honor for a freshman.
"Seniority is something that I think is important for people in Hawaii," said Lono Lyman, a Schatz campaign volunteer who has been involved in Democratic politics for more than two decades. "It’s important to me. It’s important to the legislative process."
The Schatz campaign is also not going to cede the experience card to Hanabusa. The senator led a nonprofit human services group, was chairman of the Democratic Party of Hawaii, helped launch Hawaii-born President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign in the islands and served as Abercrombie’s lieutenant governor.
No incumbent U.S. senator has ever lost a campaign in Hawaii, a historical advantage that could weigh in Schatz’s favor even though he was appointed, not elected.
"I’m very, very content that the reasons for my selection of Sen. Schatz to fill that slot remain sound," Abercrombie told reporters. "He’s young. He now has had the opportunity to enter the Senate at roughly the same age as Sen. Inouye did when he first entered. It gives us an opportunity to establish seniority in the United States Senate on the basis of the really solid qualifications of Sen. Schatz."
Hanabusa, who had considered a primary campaign against Abercrombie, said she thinks she can best serve Hawaii in the Senate. She said the state has long relied on the federal spending and programs that get decided in Washington.
As for the power of incumbency in Hawaii, Hanabusa said she defeated then-U.S. Rep. Charles Djou, a Republican who served several months in Congress after winning a special election with a plurality over Hanabusa and former U.S. Rep. Ed Case in 2010.
"There’s always the first time," she said. "And I’m more than up to being the first."
Star-Advertiser reporter B.J. Reyes contributed to this report.
