Mazie Hirono's supporters call her progressive, a champion for workers and women, and an advocate for education.

Her detractors are more likely to talk about things she hasn't done, rather than criticize her track record.

Whether they like her or not, voters tend to know her name, and Hirono is widely considered the candidate to beat in the 10-candidate Democratic primary for the 2nd Congressional District seat, where name recognition is expected to be a major factor.

Hirono, a twice-elected lieutenant governor, is aware of this advantage. "A lot of the people in the 2nd Congressional District have seen my name on the ballot multiple times and have voted for me multiple times," she said.

Nevertheless, she is making a concerted effort to spread her message to all the voters, by way of TV and radio ads, direct mailers, phone calls and getting out into the communities in person.

Hirono says that during her 14 years in the state House, she moved an agenda to aid working people and families, helping to lower automobile insurance premiums and reform the workers' compensation system.

"My reputation was I was a real fighter — some people used to call me the "consumer crusader" — but I had a reputation for being fair, tough but fair, to the people who came before my committee, including the business community," she said.

However, the business community gave its support to Republican Gov. Linda Lingle during the 2002 election, when Hirono became the first Democrat in 40 years to lose a race for the top state seat.

Some observers speculate that if she wins the primary election, she could lose this U.S. House seat to a Republican, as well.

The Democratic hold in the 2nd Congressional District is considered tenuous enough for the National Republican Party to include it on the list of those it has a fair chance of turning.

"I think the Republicans would look very closely at pulling out the last playbook and see how they did it the last time," said John Hart, assistant dean of communication at Hawai'i Pacific University.

Hirono brushes off the suggestion she may be vulnerable and notes 2nd Congressional voters — who live on the Neighbor Islands and outlying areas of O'ahu — picked her over Lingle in 2002.

Meanwhile, while refraining from endorsing any candidate in the primary, the Hawai'i Democrats say this will be a priority race going into the general election. "We are very, very concerned about this race and we want to make sure we elect a Democrat," said local party chairman Mike McCartney. "We're going to get firmly behind the nominee."

For the primary, Hirono has been given a tremendous boost by the endorsement of EMILY's list, a national grassroots organization aimed at getting Democratic women who support abortion rights elected to office.

Peggy Egan, the organization's regional political director, said they decided to throw their support behind Hirono because she is in the best position to win.

"She is the best-known, best-liked and, when voters have a choice among all the candidates, Mazie leads with large margins," Egan said by e-mail. "We feel it is critical, not only for Hawai'i but for the nation, that the Democrats hold this seat so they can regain control of the House of Representatives."

Hirono is popular among liberal Democrats, who say she is committed to civil rights, social progress and justice.

"She's somebody I can trust because of her strong progressive track record," said Maui attorney David Raatz. "I know she's going to be able to hit the ground running."

Many prominent local Democrats are tight-lipped about who they're supporting in this primary, but some have been willing to speak on the virtues of multiple candidates.

State Sen. Suzanne Chun Oakland said of her former colleague, "Mazie comes with a lot of experience in all kinds of consumer-related issues. She made a real contribution in a lot of the consumer protection issues, workers' compensation, early childhood education and many women's issues."

Hirono said she has a record of getting things done, and had 120 bills passed during her 14 years in the state House.

She was instrumental in creating the Hawai'i Employer's Mutual Insurance Co. to protect small-business owners from paying disproportionately high workers' compensation claims. She named her cat Hemic after the state's nonprofit insurer.

As lieutenant governor, she was tasked with overseeing the first stages of the Pre-Plus program, and helped with the initial implementation and site selection.

Over the past three years, the state has built 15 Pre-Plus facilities at public elementary schools, serving 600 preschoolers across the state.

"It is an achievement that has increased the number of facilities," said Liz Chun, executive director of the Good Beginnings Alliance. "We're still fine-tuning the implementation. It has potential."

Although Hirono remained largely out of the public eye between the 2002 general election and her candidacy announcement earlier this year, she has added a few new lines to her resume.

She co-chaired the Hawai'i Women for Kerry Edwards effort in 2002.

She also founded the Patsy T. Mink Political Action Committee to raise money for Democratic women, who support abortion rights, seeking state office. Of the eight candidates the committee supported in 2004, seven were elected.

"I relate very much to Patsy," Hirono said, citing Mink's commitment to creating equal opportunities in education and justice.

Mink's daughter, Wendy Mink, and brother, Eugene Takemoto, have publicly endorsed Hirono in radio ads and mailers. A direct mailing they both signed reads: "We decided to support Mazie because she so embodies the commitment to public service that our beloved sister and mother always had."

Amy Agbayani, director of the University of Hawai'i's Student Equity, Excellence and Diversity program, said Hirono stands out in a field of strong candidates, due to her courageous support of the civil rights commission and same-gender marriage.

"I think she sees those as just fairness issues," Agbayani said.

Agbayani trusts Hirono to make the right decisions on federal issues like immigration. "We need some kind of reform, but I think the kind of bill that someone like Mazie would support would make sure we don't penalize and criminalize immigrants."

Hirono is an immigrant herself and readily shares the story of how her mom left a small town in Japan to give her children a better life in Hawai'i.

She speaks proudly of her public school education and putting herself through UH and Georgetown University.

Since 2002, she has returned to her native country as a guest lecturer at universities in Kyoto and Tokyo, talking to students about the U.S. actions in Iraq, among other subjects.

She also has found time to travel and spend time with her husband, attorney Leighton Kim Oshima, and her 82-year-old mother who has moved in with them.

Hirono also took time to focus on art, particularly ceramics.

"I've always loved art and this was a time for me to get back to some of the creative things I enjoy doing," she said.

However, politics is an art form and requires creativity, as well. "I always thought of it as my creative outlet," she said.

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.