Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii)

Why He Matters 

Barack Obama’s 2008 election was a deeply personal one for Abercrombie. While a student at the University of Hawaii in the early 1960s, Abercrombie was close friends with the future president’s parents. And as a recent graduate, he knew the young Barack Obama in Honolulu.

“I would see ‘Little Barry,’ as his grandfather called him, all over. They walked everywhere. His grandfather took him everywhere. They met everbody and knew everybody,” said Abercrombie. “It was Hawaii. If you wanted to be friendly, wanted to see people, you could do it.” Abercrombie, Neil, “Decades of Hope Fulfilled,” lecture to University of Hawaii college students, Feb 19, 2008

That’s why, in the summer of 2009, when “birther” conspiracy theorists claimed that Obama had not really been born in the United States, Abercrombie knew better. In July, he rebutted them by sponsoring a House resolution that celebrated 50 years of Hawaii statehood and stated that Obama had been born in Hawaii. The resolution passed the House unanimously.

In addition to being a loyal friend of the Obama family, Abercrombie is a member of the House Armed Services Committee and a member of the House Natural Resources Committee. He is also a published author, having co-written the political thriller novel Blood of Patriots with Richard Hoyt in 1997.

In March 2009, he formally announced his candidacy for governor of Hawaii in 2010. Mari, Roger, KHNLHD, March 9, 2009  His campaign has already received endorsements from the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, Seafarers’ International Union, American Federation of Teachers, United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters, the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association, and Honolulu-born actress Kelly Hu, among others.“Abercrombie for Governor,” June 12, 2009

Path to Power

Abercrombie is a New Yorker by origin. He grew up in Buffalo and went to Union College in Schenectady to earn a B.A. in sociology in 1959. Following graduation, the University of Hawaii offered him a teaching assistantship in its sociology department.

“I think it was given to me specifically because I had come from the East Coast and they wanted some ‘cross fertilization,’” he said. “It had nothing to do with my scholarly abilities. They came later.”
Abercrombie, Neil, “Decades of Hope Fulfilled,” lecture to University of Hawaii college students, Feb 19, 2008

He continued his studies at the University of Hawaii, where he earned an M.A. in sociology in 1964 and a Ph.D. in American studies in 1974. He supported himself during these schools years by working a variety of jobs: as a waiter at Chuck's Steak House, a locker desk clerk at a YMCA, a custodian at Mother Rice Preschool, a probation officer and a construction apprentice program director. After earning his doctorate, he joined the University of Hawaii faculty as a sociology professor.   

Work and graduate studies kept him busy, but Abercrombie found time to run for the U.S. Senate in 1970 with a campaign that centered on his opposition to the Vietnam war. He failed to win the Democratic nomination, but he gained a base of supporters who backed his later, successful election in 1974 to the Hawaii State House of Representatives. 

“In the course of events, my name got out there, my views got out there and people got a sense of the kind of person I was,” he said. “And apparently not all of them disapproved.” Abercrombie, Neil,  lecture to University of Hawaii college students, Feb 19, 2008

He remained in the state house until 1978, when he won an election to the Hawaii State Senate. While a state senator, he chaired the Senate committees on Education, Higher Education and Human Services.

Hawaii’s 1st House district held a special election in 1986, and Abercrombie won to serve a three-month term. He sought a full term in 1986 but lost the Democratic primary to Mufi Hanneman, now mayor of Honolulu, who in turn lost the general election to Republican Pat Saiki.

He made a brief return to local Hawaii politics, serving as assistant to the Hawaii Superintendent of Education from 1987 until 1988 and as a Honolulu city council member from 1988 until 1990. “Congressman Neil Abercrombie: Representing Hawaii’s 1st District”

In 1990, Saiki vacated her House seat to run for the Senate. Abercrombie won a three-way Democratic primary and easily took the general election.  

The Issues

Abercrombie has voted with his Democratic colleagues 98.4 percent of the time during the current Congress and 91 percent of the time throughout his Congressional career. Washington Post, “The U.S. Congress Votes Database,” 2009

The Network

Abercrombie became an early supporter of Obama’s presidential bid and served as the honorary chair of the Hawaii Obama Campaign. At the campaign’s request, Abercrombie stumped for Obama in many other jurisdictions around the country as well: wintertime North Dakota, Northern Minnesota, desert towns in Nevada, and rural Iowa. “I’m from Hawaii, so they figure it’s a draw,” he said. “Who would be crazy enough to come to North Dakota in the middle of winter from Hawaii? So let’s come see this curious person.” Evans, Mike, interview with Rep. Neil Abercrombie, “Syndicated Radio,” April 13, 2009

Abercrombie supports other Congressional Democrats as chair of the Aloha Political Action Committee, which contributed $1,000 to the 2010 reelection campaign of Rep. Scott Murphy (D-N.Y.). The PAC lent back-to-back support in the 2006 and 2008 elections to Reps. Brad Ellsworth (D-IN), Baron Hill (D-IN), and Jim Marshall (D-GA).

Abercrombie’s own reelection campaigns draw their largest contributions from the International Longshoremen’s Association, the Seafarers International Union, the Laborers Union, Carpenters & Joiners Union and the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers. Center for Responsive Politics, “OpenSecrets.org,” 2009