U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono will seek a third consecutive term when she runs for re-election in 2024, according to those close to her campaign.
The senator planned to make the announcement during a series of meetings in Hawaii, including a breakfast with the owner of Rainbow Drive-In and a roundtable meeting with Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke to discuss early childhood education in the islands.
Hirono, 75, a Democrat, is the first female senator and the first Asian-American woman elected to the Senate. It seems unlikely she will face much of a challenge in either the Democratic primary or general election.
According to the Federal Election Commission, Hirono had more than $913,000 for her re-election campaign as of Dec. 31, 2022.
The last time she was on the ballot, in 2018, Hirono easily won the general election, but her quest for a third term comes amid concerns about whether the nation's top political leaders are too old to effectively govern.
If re-elected, Hirono will be 77 when sworn in and 83 by the end of her term. She is also a survivor of stage-4 kidney cancer, first disclosed in 2017.
Hirono is a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, a former Hawaii lieutenant governor and a former member of the Hawaii House of Representatives.