Hawaii Senate primary is dividing Democrats along ethnic and generational lines
By Philip Rucker
HONOLULU — Daniel K. Inouye, the most revered and powerful figure in Hawaii political history, had a deathbed wish: that Gov. Neil Abercrombie (D) would appoint his protegee, Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, to replace him in the Senate. But Abercrombie upended this island state’s political order by tapping the younger Brian Schatz, then the lieutenant governor.
Now, a year after Inouye’s death, the former senator’s ghost lingers large over a bitter feud that is dividing Democrats along ethnic and generational lines here in President Obama’s birthplace. With the outspoken support of Inouye’s widow, Hanabusa is giving up her House seat to challenge Schatz in the 2014 primary.
Unlike in Republican primaries across the mainland, this is not a clash over ideology. Although Schatz is more progressive than Hanabusa on some issues, both candidates are considered solid lawmakers and viewed as safe bets in this overwhelmingly blue state to keep the Senate seat in Democratic hands.
Rather, the divide is personal, and it’s unique, like the state where it’s playing out. In Hanabusa’s candidacy, what remains of Inouye’s mostly Japanese American political machine is fighting for supremacy against a younger and whiter progressive wing that is trying to become Hawaii’s new ruling class.
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