Abrecrombie might want to run himself, in which case he’d appoint a placeholder.
Entirely possible, and Abercrombie has a huge ego. But it would be a tough sell for two reasons. One, he's 74. Two, he already was in Washington as Honolulu's House Rep for over 30 years, and supposedly ran for governor because he wanted to spend more time there ... yet two years later he suddenly wants to go back? He'd get no extra seniority (from his House days) as a new Senator. I'm guessing Fat Neil stays in Honolulu. But who knows? His ego may be bigger than even I think it is.