Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii, U.S. Senate)

Mazie Hirono

NOW/PAC is thrilled to announce its endorsement of Rep. Mazie Hirono (D), who is running for U.S. Senate from Hawaii. If elected, she would fill the seat of retiring Sen. Daniel Akaka.

Hirono currently represents Hawaii's second district. She was elected in 2006 and has served three terms; NOW/PAC endorsed her in all three races. Hirono has consistently co-sponsored legislation to advance women's rights and voted for NOW's issues. She has been recognized for her leadership in promoting quality early education for U.S. children. Pre-K Now, a national advocacy campaign of the Pew Center on the States, named Hirono its 2008 "Pre-K Champion" for her work and determination in passing the PRE-K Act (H.R. 3289) out of the Committee on Education and Labor.

Hirono's first job out of law school was serving in Hawaii as a deputy attorney general, before entering private practice. In 1980 she was elected to Hawaii's State House of Representatives, and in 1994 Hirono was elected and served two four-year terms as Hawaii's lieutenant governor.

Hirono was born in Fukushima, Japan. She became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1959, the same year Hawaii became a state. She is the first immigrant woman of Asian ancestry to be sworn into congressional office. NOW/PAC welcomes this exciting opportunity to elect Hawaii's first woman senator and the first Asian-American woman senator.

For more information, please visit Hirono's campaign website.

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