HONOLULU — Hawaii's lieutenant governor and former head of President Obama's 2008 election effort there has been named the state's newest U.S. senator, a choice that went against the dying wish of revered longtime Sen. Daniel Inouye.

Gov. Neil Abercrombie appointed Brian Schatz to the post Wednesday, instead of Inouye choice U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa.

The 40-year-old Schatz, a former state representative and onetime chairman of the state Democratic party, said his top priorities would be addressing global climate change, preserving federal funds used in Hawaii for things like defense spending and transportation, and getting federal recognition for Native Hawaiians for forming their own government, similar to many Indian tribes.