He was an early supporter, then the Obama campaign spokesperson in Hawaii. After that success, he ran for the Democratic Chair which paved statewide recognition.
You have to understand that the only game in town used to be Dan Inouye, who brought back $$$, so much so we were really nervous what would happen if he passed. It was his idea that we needed a Hawaiian Governor that got John Waihee elected several govs ago.
But along came Obama who was born here, but had no real political history here. His win inspired Abercrombie, our longtime Rep and a friend of Obama's parents years back, to run for Governor. At the same time Schatz ran for Lt Gov.
When Inouye passed, he specifically asked that Abercrombie pick Hanabusa to succeed him. Abercrombie instead picked Schatz which was a real shocker at the time.
Now Hanabusa is challenging Schatz for the Senate seat.
Schatz is great on civil liberties and the environment. Hanabusa is a labor union attorney so she generally gets great union support. I thought Hanabusa would be more of a hawk but it appears Schatz's loyalties may come first.
What a dilemma. I was ready to campaign for him too.
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