Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, D-Hawaii, will apply for an appointment to succeed the late Democratic Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, who died Monday.

A Hanabusa aide confirmed that she plans to submit an application to the state party, which will select a slate of three potential candidates for the post. Democratic Gov. Neil Abercrombie will select someone from that trio to serve the next two years of Inouye’s term.

As long as Hanabusa makes the short list — a near certainty — Abercrombie will likely pick her to be the Aloha State’s next senator. In the final days of his life, Inouye sent a message to Abercrombie saying he would like his political ally, Hanabusa, to succeed him.

The appointee will serve until after the November 2014 elections, when voters will elect a senator to serve out the remaining two years of Inouye’s term. Candidates will run for a full term in 2016.