The governor's choice is a rejection of the senator's 'last wish' to have Hanabusa replace him 
 
 By Derrick DePledge 
 
 Cindy Ellen Russell / Star-Advertiser U.S. Senate appointee Brian Schatz and Gov. Neil Abercrombie gather in the governor's office with members of the state Democratic Party central committee. 
 
 
 
 U.S. Sen.-designate Brian Schatz left for Washington aboard Air Force One tonight after he was selected by Gov. Neil Abercrombie to replace the late U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye. 
 
 Schatz, 40, will be sworn in Thursday so he can participate in Senate votes to avert a fiscal cliff of federal tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to take effect in January. 
 
 President Barack Obama cut short his annual Oahu vacation to work on the budget and other issues when Congress returns Thursday. He invited Schatz to join him on the flight, the White House said. 
 
 Schatz said he is "humbled" and "honored" by the appointment. 
 
 He said the first thing he would do is reach out to the rest of the delegation to establish Hawaii's game plan for the coming Congress. 
 
 Schatz said he would also reach out to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and to the White House on the pressing issues now before Congress. 
 
 "I am honored to serve in this capacity. ... If given the opportunity, I'll make Hawaii proud," Schatz said. 
 
 Next in line to be lieutenant governor is Senate President Shan Tsutsui of Maui. Abercrombie said Tsutsui is weighing it and must make a decision "promptly." 
 
 Schatz, a former Makiki state lawmaker and Democratic Party of Hawaii chairman, was elected lieutenant governor in 2010. 
 
 Abercrombie chose Schatz from a list of recommendations from the Democratic Party of Hawaii that included U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa and and Esther Kiaaina, the deputy director of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. 
 
 Inouye had asked Abercrombie to name Hanabusa, who represents urban Honolulu's 1st Congressional District, as his "last wish" before he died last week at 88 of respiratory complications. 
 
 Jennifer Sabas, Inouye's chief of staff, issued a statement, saying, "Sen. Inouye conveyed his final wish to Gov. Abercrombie. While we are very disappointed that it was not honored, it was the governor's decision to make. We wish Brian Schatz the best of luck." 
 
 Hanabusa congratulated Schatz and said she "will continue to work to serve the people of our state, and support our delegation's efforts." 
 
 "Having served as chair of the Hawaii Senate Judiciary Committee when the succession law was passed, I fully respect the process and the governor's right to appoint a successor," Hanabusa said in a news release. 
 
 Schatz will become the state's senior senator. U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono, who was elected in November to replace the retiring U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, would be the junior senator. 
 
 Schatz will serve until voters in 2014 elect a senator to fill out the remainder of Inouye's six-year term, which runs through 2016. Schatz said he plans to run in 2014 and in 2016. 
 
 Schatz will be the youngest U.S. senator — for a few days. Mike Lee of Utah and Marco Rubio of Florida, both 41, are currently the youngest. Sen.-elect Chris Murphy of Connecticut will become the youngest at 39 when he is sworn in Jan. 3. 
 
 Inouye died Dec. 17 at 88 of respiratory complications. 
 
 The Democratic Party of Hawaii's state central committee heard from more than a dozen candidates this morning at the party's headquarters at Ward Warehouse before going into private executive session to come up with the short list. 
 
 Prior to Abercrombie's announcement, Hanabusa said in a video message from Washington D.C. that she is honored to have the senator's support but respects that it is the state central committee and the governor that will make the selection. 
 
 "Not one of us has any favorable rights to that position," she said. "Having said that, I also ask that each and every one of you consider what we are facing in Washington, D.C., and what his successor must be able to do. The most critical thing is they must be able to hit that ground running. 
 
 "We are being faced with major issues, the stability or our nation and our state is at risk. We are looking at the fiscal cliff. We are also looking at another debt ceiling debacle with the Republicans. And I believe that I have the qualifications to best address those concerns." 
 
 Schatz said that while no one could fill Inouye's shoes, he has the potential, because of his youth, to build up seniority over decades if he is appointed and supported by Democrats for election in 2014 and 2016. 
 
 "I want to be your senator because Hawaii's values need to be represented on the national stage, that compassion and a love of peace is a sign of strength, not of weakness, and that we can disagree without being disagreeable," he said. 
 
 U.S. Rep.-elect Tulsi Gabbard, who would be the first woman military veteran to serve in the Senate, also had applied for the seat. She said she has already made national connections since her November election that could be helpful to the islands. 
 
 "We're facing desperate times," she said. "Our new senators will have little power and no real seniority for at least 15 years. How can we solve this problem? We need someone in the U.S. Senate who will not only build seniority over time, but will immediately have influence and be effective despite the lack of seniority." 
 
 The state central committee, which allowed the public and the news media to witness the candidates' remarks, also heard from candidates former congressman Ed Case, state Senate Vice President Donna Mercado Kim, state Sen. Will Espero, Abercrombie deputy chief of staff Blake Oshiro and Oahu Democratic chairman and labor attorney Tony Gill. ||||| Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz of Hawaii was appointed Wednesday to succeed the late U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye. 
 
 Gov. Neil Abercrombie announced the appointment after receiving a list of three candidates from the state Democratic Party earlier in the day. The other candidates were U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa and Esther Kiaaina, a deputy director in the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. 
 
 Inouye died Dec. 17 of respiratory complications at the age of 88. He had sent Abercrombie a letter that day, saying he would like Hanabusa, 61, to succeed him. 
 
 "Sen. Inouye conveyed his final wish to Gov. Abercrombie. While we are very disappointed that it was not honored, it was the governor's decision to make," Jennifer Sabas, Inouye's chief of staff, said in a statement. "We wish Brian Schatz the best of luck." 
 
 Schatz will serve until an election is held in 2014. Had Hanabusa been appointed, a special election would have been needed to fill her seat. 
 
 Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had urged Abercrombie to name Inouye's successor before the end of the year. Schatz could be sworn in as early as this week, which would make him Hawaii's senior senator heading into the new Congress, which begins Jan. 3. 
 
 Sen. Daniel Akaka is retiring at the end of this Congress, after 22 years in the Senate. Democratic Rep. Mazie Hirono was elected in November to succeed him. 
 
 Schatz, 40, is a former state representative and a former chairman of the state Democratic Party. He also was a leader of President Barack Obama's campaign in Hawaii in 2008. 
 
 In making his case before the party's central committee Wednesday, he said he understood the importance of seniority in the Senate and said that if he was appointed, he would strive to make serving in the Senate his life's work. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Becky Bohrer can be reached on Twitter at http://twitter.com/bbohrerap. ||||| Schatz’s edge in the primary came despite a resounding defeat for his benefactor. | AP Photos Hawaii primary too close to call 
 
 HONOLULU — The Democratic Senate primary in Hawaii was too close to call Sunday morning, with the incumbent clinging to a slight lead and residents in a pair of storm-ravaged precincts yet to cast their ballots. 
 
 With all but two of the state’s 247 precincts reporting, Sen. Brian Schatz had a 1,635-vote advantage over Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, 49.3 percent to 48.6 percent, according to The Associated Press. 
 
 Story Continued Below 
 
 Schatz’s narrow edge in the Senate primary came despite a resounding defeat for his political benefactor, as Democrats here delivered an overwhelming rebuke to the man who appointed Schatz, Gov. Neil Abercrombie. The governor was defeated by a little-known state senator, David Ige. 
 
 But the voting isn’t over. The two precincts outstanding weren’t open on Saturday, and the more than 8,000 voters in areas of the Island of Hawaii that suffered the most devastation from Tropical Storm Iselle late last week will have the option of voting by mail over the coming weeks if they didn’t take advantage of early voting. That could lead to a frenzied push by both camps to corral voters in those areas — though Hanabusa would have to win the vast majority of the mail ballots, plus any remaining absentee ballots, to catch Schatz. 
 
 ( Full primary results here) 
 
 “If that’s what it comes to, we will get out there,” Schatz told Honolulu’s ABC affiliate, KITV. “I think we’re gonna regroup in the morning. … We feel really good. We’re not quite celebrating because it’s not quite over, but we’re really pleased with our lead.” 
 
 Hanabusa said she had no idea what would happen in the two remaining precincts but pledged an intense get-out-the-vote effort. 
 
 “This election is not over. It is far from over,” Hanabusa told supporters Saturday night. “No one’s gonna call this election because anything can happen.” 
 
 Abercrombie, seeking a second term, was crushed by Ige. Even a late-campaign radio ad by President Barack Obama, who grew up on the islands and remains popular here, couldn’t reverse Abercrombie’s slide. With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Ige led 67 percent to 32 percent, more than doubling Abercrombie’s total despite being vastly outspent during the race. 
 
 ( Also on POLITICO: Pollsters: 'Everything is terrible') 
 
 “Part of our democracy is the rough-and-tumble of electoral politics,” Abercrombie told staff and supporters in private remarks after his defeat. “I’ll be taking my leave of electoral politics this evening.” 
 
 Abercrombie quickly threw his support to Ige, telling campaign staff, “We need to work together, stick together, be together to move Hawaii forward, and he can count on me to do that.” 
 
 But some of his backers worried that Abercrombie’s ouster could embolden Republicans, who have their eye on regaining the seat they held for two terms last decade. 
 
 “I anticipate that the Republicans, nationally, are smelling blood,” Randy Iwase, the Democratic nominee for governor in 2006, told POLITICO at Abercrombie’s election-night event. 
 
 ( Also on POLITICO: Obama: No time limit on Iraq action) 
 
 Unlike the governor’s race, either Schatz or Hanabusa will be a heavy favorite to retain the Senate seat. 
 
 Abercrombie’s ouster — and the potential for more upheaval with the Senate primary still in doubt — is particularly shocking in a state with a long history of reelecting its officeholders. In fact, Abercrombie — who represented the state in Congress for 20 years before winning the governor’s race four years ago — became the first of the state’s seven governors to serve fewer than two terms since 1962, when its founding governor, William Quinn, lost reelection.
– The late Sen. Daniel Inouye's seat has been filled—although his replacement goes against Inouye's "last wish," the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports. Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie today chose Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz, a former leader of the state Democratic Party, to take Inouye's vacant seat in Washington. Schatz described himself as "honored" and "humbled' by the position. But Inouye—before dying of respiratory complications last week—had asked that Abercrombie choose US Rep. Colleen Hanabusa. Hanabusa was in contention along with other state officials, but Abercrombie picked Schatz after hearing from more than 12 candidates this morning. "Sen. Inouye conveyed his final wish to Gov. Abercrombie," said Inouye's chief of staff, the AP reports. "While we are very disappointed that it was not honored, it was the governor's decision to make." Schatz, 40, will serve at least until 2014, when voters will elect a senator to complete Inouye's six-year term ending in 2016. Schatz said he will be sworn in tomorrow so he can join Democrats on votes regarding the fiscal cliff.