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It is Hirono unleashing a fiery political temper as she blasts Republicans in general and President Donald Trump in specific. Read more

In December 2012, Brian Schatz, Hawaii’s lieutenant governor, became just the sixth senator from the 50th State. Now he is the state’s senior senator, gaining that rank with a month more of senatorial service than Sen. Mazie Hirono.

The political twist is that Hirono, who for decades liked working behind the scenes, and Schatz, who while not a scene stealer but as a state legislator didn’t shy away from the spotlight, have somewhat changed places.

It is Hirono unleashing a fiery political temper as she blasts Republicans in general and President Donald Trump in specific.

For instance, she canceled her meeting with U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh when Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen entered a guilty plea in federal court, potentially implicating Trump in a crime. Said Hirono: “Trump, who is an unindicted co-conspirator in a criminal matter, does not deserve the courtesy of a meeting with his nominee — purposely selected to protect, as we say in Hawaii, his own okole.”

Now it is Schatz being hailed for his savvy, quiet moves consolidating power and building Democratic alliances among Senate colleagues.

A New York magazine item last month said Schatz, without being a candidate, is a player in the upcoming presidential political season.

“Slowly and beneath the radar, the low-profile 45-year-old progressive senator from Hawaii has already started leaving his mark on that race,” said the profile written by Gabriel Debene- detti.

It explains that Schatz, by pushing Senate Democrats to adapt progressive causes and sign on to positions that will write the 2020 presidential Democratic textbook, is causing “Democratic leaders (to) view his style as representative of the party’s future.”

“A young legislator from a deep blue state who could easily be reelected for years to come, it’s no stretch to think he could one day wield serious power in the Senate,” Debenedetti wrote.

In an interview in his Honolulu office last week, Schatz reflected that since being appointed by former Gov. Neil Abercrombie to fill the Senate seat upon the death of Hawaii’s Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, his own political style has grown and changed.

“At the beginning … my focus was to continue the good work of my predecessor and to secure federal funding. What has changed is Trump has caused all of us to evaluate whether all of us are doing enough, and I have found that there is a role for me in fighting for our core values,” Schatz said.

“The learning curve will never end but I think I have earned the respect of my colleagues. I do the work, people appreciate those who can think through legislative matters and be helpful on policy and political strategy.”

In some ways, at an early political age, Schatz already has it all. He is Hawaii’s senior senator.

“This is the only job I want. I think now I won’t be running for anything else — governor or mayor. Not running (for president) puts me in a small group in the Senate,” Schatz said.

Schatz remains a canny politician and is proving himself a Democratic counterpoint to Trump on Twitter.

Noting that Twitter’s brief message limit “lends itself to cynicism and snark,” Schatz reports his list of followers has grown from 10,000 to 133,000 as the political wars rage on Twitter. Schatz posts his own remarks, he said, without benefit of running them by a public relations or communications team.

“It is not without risks and I have said some dumb things. It is really good for certain things. People get to hear from me in a way that they don’t feel like they are being sold soap. If I tweet from the cloakroom or 10 feet from where I am going to make a vote, they know it is real,” he said.

In many ways then, Schatz himself appears to be becoming a Senate reality for a long time to come.