Asian-american trailblazer’s tough road
Mazie Hirono defeated former GOP governor Linda Lingle to become the first Asian-American woman elected to the U.S. Senate.
Hirono’s biography is a classic American tale in which her family fled their homeland in search of a better life. Born in Fukushima, Japan, Hirono immigrated to Hawaii in 1955 with her mother and older brother when she was 8 to flee an abusive, alcoholic father.
They brought one suitcase and traveled in steerage to reach Hawaii, where they lived in poverty and shared a single bed in a single room in a boarding house. On the campaign trail, she recalled memories of breaking her childhood piggy bank to buy food for her family.
She eventually grew up to graduate from the University of Hawaii and earned a law degree at Georgetown University, which she translated into a political career.
She won a state House seat in 1980, where she carved out a role as a reliably liberal voice and consumer advocate. In 2004, she was elected lieutenant governor and, in 2006, to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Hirono has a consistently liberal voting record in the House. According to National Journal’s rankings, Hirono’s voting record was more liberal than 90% of her House colleagues in 2011.
The 2012 Senate race was not the first time Hirono and Lingle faced each other on a ballot. She unsuccessfully challenged Lingle for governor in 2002. But in 2012, the Democratic pull of Hawaii — President Obama’s native state — was too much for Lingle to overcome.
Unlike Obama, Hirono, 65, can never run for president because she is foreign-born. She lives inHonolulu with her husband and hermother.
— Susan Davis