Hawaii's lieutenant governor to fill US Senate seat

Brian Schatz chosen 3 days after Daniel Inouye's funeral

POSTED: 4:05 PM Dec 26 2012   UPDATED: 7:36 PM Dec 26 2012
New Hawaii Sen Brian Schatz
(CNN) -

Hawaii's governor announced Wednesday that Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz will fill the seat left vacant by the death of longtime U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye.

Democratic Gov. Neil Abercrombie chose Schatz three days after the funeral for Inouye, 88.

Inouye, a Democrat, won his ninth consecutive term in 2010 and was the second-longest-serving senator in the chamber's history.

Inouye had recommended U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa as his replacement in a letter shortly before he died.

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