Brian Schatz

Brian Emanuel Schatz (pronounced /ʃɑːtz/; born October 20, 1972) is an American politician who is the senior United States Senator for Hawaii. Schatz was appointed by Governor Neil Abercrombie to replace the U.S. senator Daniel Inouye after his death in 2012.

Schatz served in the Hawaii House of Representatives from 1998 to 2006, where he represented the 25th Legislative District, and was chairman of the Democratic Party of Hawaii from 2008 to 2010. He also worked as chief executive officer of Helping Hands Hawaii, an Oahu nonprofit social service agency, until he resigned to run for Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii in the 2010 Hawaii gubernatorial election as the running mate of Neil Abercrombie. He served as lieutenant governor until December 26, 2012, when Abercrombie appointed Schatz to serve out Daniel Inouye's U.S. Senate term until the 2014 special election. Upon his swearing-in, Schatz was the youngest U.S. Senator in the 112th Congress; in the current congress, he is the fourth-youngest, after Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Cory Gardner of Colorado, and Tom Cotton of Arkansas. Schatz won the 2014 special election to complete his term.