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Charles Djou has spent his political career as the outsider, the minority, the check on the majority’s power. Colleen Hanabusa quickly rose to a position of influence in Hawaii’s dominant party, and has experience as a leader and power broker.

Neither of them is ready for what’s coming in Washington, D.C.

If Republicans take over the House of Representatives, as widely expected, either Djou will find himself in the majority or Hanabusa will find herself in the minority — positions with which they’re both largely unfamiliar.

It will take a net gain of 39 seats to flip the Democrats’ current 255-178 advantage into a GOP-led House, and estimates are that they could gain much more.

“At this point, a Republican takeover of the House seems set in stone. A Democratic hold would amount to one of the greatest comebacks in political history,” Charlie Cook of the Cook Political Report wrote in a post titled “” on Oct. 23. “It looks as if we’ll see gains in the low to mid-50s, with numbers in the 40s or 60s possible but less likely.”

Nate Silver of the FiveThirtyEight blog hosted by the New York Times on Tuesday for the GOP, which would give it a 231-204 majority in the House. He said Democrats have just a 20 percent chance of maintaining control.

That adds a strange twist to a campaign that has focused so much on the policies of President Barack Obama and the Democrat-controlled Congress. Djou has run against the spending policies of the current majority and Hanabusa has said she’ll support Obama’s initiatives. But the roles they’re accustomed to are not going to be available for them in Washington.

Djou On Uncharted Ground

After two years as vice chair of the Hawaii Republican Party, Djou was elected in 2000, on his second try, as the representative of the 47th House District. He served as assistant minority whip and minority floor leader in , when the Republican minority included 18 of 51 representatives — far more than the six there are today.

In 2002, he was elected to a seat on the Honolulu City Council. Though the council is nonpartisan, Djou spent most of his time there casting dissenting votes to projects like the rail project. But he said Wednesday he spent some of his seven years in the coalition in power, so “being in the majority caucus is not foreign or strange for me.”

“It didn’t matter if I was in the majority or in the minority,” Djou said in a phone interview. “It was all about standing on principle and pushing what was in the best interest of my constituents and in the best interest of our community.”

Djou has gone back to being primarily a dissenter since he left the council for Congress in May. On the majority of the bills where minority Republicans and majority Democrats disagreed, Djou sided with his party — and lost.

Throughout his career, Djou has been able to stand his ground and stick to principles — particularly fiscal conservatism — without actually impacting the outcome of votes or the content of legislation. But should he win a second term as part of a second “Republican Revolution” — one that could even eclipse the 54-seat swing in 1994 — Djou could find himself suddenly in a position of great influence.

Perhaps sensing that Djou was vulnerable — after all, he’s the second-newest Republican in Congress and is facing a tough re-election battle in traditionally Democratic Hawaii — current Minority Leader John Boehner said he’d on the House Appropriations Committee. If Republicans do take back the House, Boehner is expected to become speaker, so Djou can probably take his promise to the bank.

“I think that speaks to my ability to be an effective member for Hawaii,” Djou said, pointing out that he would be just a sophomore on a committee that often requires that representatives wait three, four or even five terms. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye wasn’t named to the Senate Appropriations Committee until 1971, when he’d been in office for eight years.

Having a seat on the influential appropriations committee would give Djou a voice in many of the fiscal matters that come before Congress. Djou said he would be a “zealous advocate for the people of Hawaii,” but he wants to end the back-room, arm-twisting, vote-swapping budget process.

“Unless we are confident that Sen. Inouye at age 86 will still be there for another generation or two, then I think it’s important for Hawaii to join in transitioning from a pork-barrel basis to an open, honest and transparent budget system,” he said. The current system “is not in the best interest of our nation, it’s not in the best of our democracy, and it’s not even in the best interest of Hawaii.”

He said the last time Hawaii had a bipartisan delegation, Republican Pat Saiki was able to go to bat in the GOP caucus and make the discussion of ending live-fire training on Kahoolawe a “Hawaii thing” instead of just a “liberal thing.” Having a Republican voice in Washington is important for Hawaii, he said.

“We have a new generation and a new time here and we should be looking to establish and maintain a bipartisan delegation,” Djou said. “I think it is doubly important given the Republican ascendency that’s likely to happen come January in Washington, D.C.”

Hanabusa Lost In the Shuffle?

The change in leadership could be a big change for Hanabusa as well.

Right now, she’s a big fish in a little pond as one of just 25 Hawaii state senators and president of the chamber to boot. If elected to Congress, she’ll be one of 435 U.S. representatives and the new kid on the block — one of only a handful of new Democrats in the House.

But even worse is that Hanabusa could trade in her supermajority — 23 of those 25 Hawaii state senators are Democrats — for a job in the minority party in Washington, D.C. She says it’s critical that Hawaii elect another Democrat to help.

“If the Republicans take control of the House, it will be even more vital that we have strong voices supporting Hawaii values,” she said in a written statement.

“Every vote for Republican policies that deny rights and benefits to Americans, or turns our back on our kupuna and keiki moves our nation and our state farther away from the beliefs that make Hawaii a special place,” Hanabusa said. “I have committed myself to protecting and preserving our cherished values, and I will do that whichever party has control, but I would work even harder to provide a counterpoint to a majority that does not represent our interests.”

Hanabusa was first elected to the Hawaii Senate in 1998, and quickly moved up the ladder. She was chair of the Senate Committee on Water, Land and Hawaiian Affairs in 1999 and 2000. She moved up to vice president of the Senate and vice chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means in 2001 and 2002. She served as chair of the Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee and Majority Leader from 2003 to 2006.

In 2007, she became Senate president, making her the first woman to lead either house in the Hawaii Legislature.

Those offices have come with power, and have put Hanabusa in a position to shape state law. She prides herself on her record of getting things done, and she’s optimistic about the role she could play even if Republicans are in power.

“My legislative experience has taught me what it takes to build consensus and work with others who hold different views,” she said. “While I have served with the majority party in the State Senate, I have always worked to bring together those holding different views within the body.

“The Hawaii Senate is comprised of 25 very independent people representing a variety of views. I have been able to bring them together and pass bills that help the people of Hawaii,” she said. “I take pride in the fact that I have also earned the support and respect of our Republican members.”

In drawing a distinction between himself and Hanabusa, Djou regularly points out in debates that she has voted in favor of every bill that’s come up for final passage in recent years. Her reply: Of course I did, because nothing got that far without my say-so.

In Hawaii, she’s always in the room when decisions are made. In Washington, she’ll be on the outside looking in, but remains unfazed.

“I believe that I would be able to work with Democrats and moderate Republicans to be just as effective in the U.S. House,” she said. “That makes me very optimistic about my role in Congress, whichever party is in the majority.”