Here's some exciting news out of Hawaii. Democrat Colleen Hanabusa, the state Senate president, is expected to soon announce her candidacy for the First Congressional District in Hawaii. That's the seat being vacated by current Representative Neil Abercrombie who is stepping down to run for Governor.

The article in Politico is mostly about former Congressman Ed Case who is throwing his hat in the ring as well. But Case is a conservative Blue Dog and Hanabusa would be the better progressive choice.

Considered more liberal than Case, Hanabusa has earned a reputation as a no-nonsense leader who can bring both sides to the table to hammer out compromise and pass legislation, Castberg said. “You don’t really see anybody outspoken against her,” he said.

Every Thursday, she joins one of her Republican Senate colleagues, Rick Hamada, on his conservative talk radio show.

“That’s what this thing is about — it’s about relationships,” Hanabusa said. “One thing I do share [with Abercrombie] is the ability to have those kinds of relationships. I appreciate what it takes to be effective in D.C.”

Hanabusa is a fourth-generation Japanese-American who grew up in a rural town on the western coast of Oahu. She worked as a labor attorney and community organizer before being elected to the state Senate in 1998.

She was the first woman to lead either chamber in the Hawaii Legislature when she became Senate president in 2007.

She twice ran for Congress from the state’s other district, coming in a distant third in the 2003 special election won by Case. She entered a crowded primary field in 2006 when Case left the seat open and came much closer, losing to now-Rep. Mazie K. Hirono by less than 1 percentage point.

Can you imagine both Hanabusa and Hirono representing Hawaii? It would be a one-two progressive punch!