Al Gore endorses Schatz for Senate

Former Vice President Al Gore has endorsed U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz in the Democratic primary for Senate, citing the senator’s support for renewable energy.

Gore, one of the nation’s leading voices on the environment, pointed to the state’s increased renewable energy production under the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative. Former Republican Gov. Linda Lingle launched the initiative in 2008 that has continued under Gov. Neil Abercrombie, who had assigned Schatz, his lieutenant governor, to coordinate clean energy efforts.

"And we’re going to need Brian’s strong, outspoken leadership in Congress for many more years to get the job done," Gore said in a statement.

He also cited Schatz’s work with House and Senate lawmakers on carbon-pricing legislation, which would require large polluters to pay a fee based on the amount of pollution released into the environment. The fee could be used to help offset energy costs for low-income consumers and reduce the federal budget deficit.

U.S. Rep. Colleen Hana­busa, who is challenging Schatz in the primary, has said her leadership experience makes her more qualified than Schatz to carry on the work of the late U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye.

The Gore endorsement could be one of several that might help Schatz, who was appointed by Abercrombie in December to replace Inouye, make the case that he has the ability to build relationships that could help Hawaii. The election is for the remainder of Inouye’s six-year term, which runs through 2016.

Schatz has won the support of the Senate’s Democratic leadership, along with other senators whose backing could be important to a primary electorate that has been moving to the left in recent elections. U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, a respected progressive, sent out a fundraising appeal for Schatz last week that said the young senator would fight for progressive causes.

Neal Milner, a University of Hawaii at Manoa professor emeritus of political science, said he doubts Gore’s endorsement will have much influence on primary voters given that the former vice president has been out of office for a decade. He said Schatz, however, could fold it into a "campaign narrative thread that says, ‘Look at all these important Demo­crats that are supporting me.’"

Gore made a cameo in Hawaii politics in 2004, speaking at a Democratic rally at Farrington High School after polls suggested that the presidential campaign between President George W. Bush and then-U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., might be close in the islands.

In November, Schatz participated in a Hawaii panel for "24 Hours of Climate Reality: The Dirty Weather Report," part of Gore’s climate change project.

"I am tremendously thankful for the support of Vice President Gore," Schatz said in a statement. "He has long been a leader on creating a renewable energy economy. I look forward to working with him to expand our clean energy production, and bring good new jobs to Hawaii."