U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, after a difficult Democratic primary, has chosen to keep his Republican opponent, Windward state Rep. Cynthia Thielen, at a distance in their general election campaign.

Thielen was appointed by the Hawai'i Republican Party as a replacement candidate, not elected by voters, and Akaka has declined invitations for debates or joint appearances and has instead met with voters at campaign events or communicated through media interviews and television advertisements.

Thielen's appointment, and Akaka's decision not to engage, has led to an abridged campaign. Akaka is expected to win a third full six-year term on Tuesday — his first victory in 1990 was to fill out the final four years of the late U.S. Sen. Spark Matsunaga's term — but Thielen is asking voters to at least compare their views.

Don Clegg, a political consultant, said the risk that Akaka might lose a few voters by ignoring Thielen is less than the danger of inviting a potential upset by participating in debates or appearances that might elevate Thielen's scrappy campaign. Akaka had one debate with U.S. Rep. Ed Case during the primary.

"The Akaka-Thielen campaign isn't even lukewarm. It's very distant and cool," Clegg said.

Akaka, 82, a liberal Democrat, and Thielen, 73, a moderate Republican, actually have similar views on many of the issues that have arisen during the Senate campaign this year.

Akaka opposed the war in Iraq and has called for a U.S. troop withdrawal by July 2007.

Thielen has said she likely would have voted for the initial invasion but believes that without substantial changes to the Bush administration's policies in Iraq there is no alternative other than troop withdrawal. Thielen also has said that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld should be fired for what she called his mishandling of the war.

But Akaka and the Democrats have been much more forceful about making the war, and President Bush, a campaign issue.

"I feel that since 2003 when we invaded Iraq until the present time this administration has not really shown leadership in trying to help Iraq govern itself," Akaka said in an interview between campaign stops. "I think that this country has been heading down the wrong path and it's about time we try to correct that path and improve the conditions there in Iraq."

Akaka and Thielen agree on the original Patriot Act that expanded electronic surveillance after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. But Akaka voted against reauthorizing the Patriot Act earlier this year because he felt it did not adequately protect civil liberties.

Thielen said she does not know how she would have voted on the extension but believes the federal government has not found the proper balance.

"I'm concerned that the balance isn't correct yet between American civil rights and the need to protect our country against terrorism," Thielen said in an interview at her campaign headquarters.

Akaka and Thielen both praise the intent of the federal No Child Left Behind education law to raise student achievement but want it amended to more accurately recognize school progress and be flexible enough to reflect the differences between states. Thielen, however, does not agree with Akaka and many Democrats that more federal money is necessary to implement the law. She said it is more important to direct existing federal and state education money into the classroom.

"I think that the No Child Left Behind program has really not taken care of the differences in states," Akaka said, "and so there really needs to be some flexibility in doing that."

The law directs schools to make annual progress toward having all students proficient in core subjects by 2014 and sanctions schools that do not meet benchmarks.

"There needs to be recognition when schools are making progress that instead of slapping them down with an arbitrary number, that the progress is recognized and encouraged and we can move them forward," Thielen said.

Both candidates also oppose privatizing Social Security, would reject anti-abortion judges nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court, and support strengthening the domestic maritime industry protected by the federal Jones Act.

The most glaring difference between the candidates during the six-week campaign has been over whether to allow oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.

Akaka has voted for drilling because of a promise he made in 1995 to Native Alaskans who favor oil and gas exploration for economic development. But Akaka has told environmentalists that, if re-elected, he would return to Alaska next summer and reconsider his position.

Thielen adamantly opposes drilling and places the issue within the larger context of the nation's dependence on fossil fuel. She has put promoting renewable energy such as wave power at the top of her campaign, but Akaka also supports investing in renewable energy and being more aggressive nationally about preventing global warming.

"Alternative energy is something I've worked on since the first day I've been in Congress," the senator said. "I think Hawai'i is the laboratory for all alternative energy."

Thielen said she would be at the forefront nationally on renewable energy if elected and believes the United States can eliminate its need to import foreign oil within a decade. She said the country will continue to have conflicts with the Middle East and be at risk for terrorism if it does not move away from imported oil.

"It's not going to be an easy goal. But I believe in American ingenuity, I believe in the American people, that we can do this if we set our mind to it. We haven't had any leadership in Washington, D.C., saying we absolutely must do it," Thielen said.

Clegg, the political consultant, said Thielen was a logical choice by the GOP to fill a vacancy on the ballot because she had a positive reputation as a state lawmaker and would not have to give up her state House seat to run. Thielen replaced former Navy pilot and motivational speaker Jerry Coffee, who won the Republican primary despite withdrawing because of illness.

Coffee, in his MidWeek column this week, wrote that he supports Thielen but has reservations about the fairness of the state law that allows for such appointments. Mark Beatty, a Kane'ohe attorney who finished second to Coffee in the Republican primary, questioned in an opinion article submitted to The Advertiser whether conservative Republicans might be better off leaving their ballots blank or even voting for Akaka because of Thielen's moderate views.

Thielen, a former environmental attorney who has served in the state House for 16 years, said she did not consider running for the Senate until she was approached to replace Coffee but now thinks environmental policy can best be changed at the federal level. She said she has been a Republican since college and believes the party can better represent small business and the environment. Her favorite Republican president is Theodore Roosevelt, who was known as a conservationist.

But Thielen said she would not be an automatic vote for Bush — who she said deserves a "C" grade for his performance — or Republican leaders in the Senate. "The party will not dictate my vote," she said. "It never has and it never will."

Akaka, who has served 14 years in the U.S. House and 16 years in the Senate, said the Islands need someone with his experience and personal relationships in the Senate during what could be a time of political transition.

His seniority puts him in line to possibly chair the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee and subcommittees on military readiness, national parks and government management oversight if Democrats take control of the chamber after Tuesday's elections.

"The spirit of the people of Hawai'i is so important to our nation. I've reflected that from the very beginning, because I think our nation needs that kind of relationship," Akaka said. "My heart is with the people of Hawai'i."

Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com.