Democrats torn by the Senate primary between U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka and U.S. Rep. Ed Case edged toward unity yesterday, but many of the party's leaders recognized that Case's insurgent campaign brought with it a lesson about change.

Akaka turned back Case with 54 percent of the vote to 45 percent on Saturday after getting substantial help from national and Island Democrats. The margin was personally satisfying for Akaka, who was criticized by Case during the campaign as ineffective, and it showed that the party's establishment can still deliver when challenged.

But the primary again exposed an apparent shift by many voters to the political center. Case was able to keep the primary close despite the hostility of traditional and progressive Democrats, proving his moderate message has an audience the party will need to capture for it to remain dominant in the years ahead.

"We need energy to bring in new people. And Ed represents that. Ed has a big future in the party," said Mike McCartney, the party's state chairman. "This isn't the end of Ed Case's political career. I expect to see him run for major office, be a leader in the party, and move it forward."

Former Gov. Ben Cayetano, whose own family was split between Akaka and Case, said Democrats likely will heal quickly from any internal wounds. He said the competition in the Senate primary and in the U.S. House primary to replace Case was good for the party.

"It demonstrated to people that there is talent in the Democratic Party, and I can't say that the Republicans have been able to show the same beyond Lingle," Cayetano said. "So I think, for the future, it bodes well."

IN AKAKA'S FAVOR

Akaka, 82, likely won the primary through his likability and the fundraising and organizational advantages that Case, 53, could not match. Political analysts interviewed yesterday also said that voter unease about the war in Iraq lifted Akaka, who had opposed the war and called for a timetable to withdraw U.S. troops.

Akaka took all four counties, although the primary was tighter on O'ahu than on the Neighbor Islands, which proved again to skew toward traditional Democrats. The 42 percent voter turnout statewide was only slightly higher than in the past two primaries, but the record number of absentee votes suggests that the Akaka campaign's deliberate outreach to absentee voters had an impact.

The voter breakdown also shows that Case was successful at convincing independent and Republican voters to pull a Democratic ballot, but not in numbers to overcome traditional and progressive Democrats who were more likely to vote in the primary. Only about 12 percent of voters Saturday pulled a Republican ballot, compared with about 30 percent in Case's unsuccessful 2002 primary for governor against Mazie Hirono.

Rick Castberg, a political science professor at the University of Hawai'i-Hilo, said Akaka's Island style and gentility likely helped him among voters who saw him as kupuna rather than an aging politician trying to hold on to his office.

"He's very outgoing and gentle. He never said anything negative about Case," Castberg said.

USING ALL RESOURCES

Some Democratic insiders have been amused at depictions of the party in the news media as a machine, given that various factions have been fighting one another internally throughout much of the party's five-decade run of power. But Don Clegg, a political consultant, believes the party's establishment was threatened by Case and brought out all of its resources for Akaka.

"They pulled out all the stops," Clegg said. "The Democratic machine is alive and well, but I think they were kind of lucky because of the environment in this election, because of the war in Iraq, made it easier."

Akaka, who spoke to Democrats at a unity breakfast early yesterday morning at the Pagoda Hotel, said he was humbled by the support.

"I feel humble. I feel grateful. I feel proud," Akaka said.

The senator said in an interview that he wanted to invite voters who picked Case to support him in the general election and said now is the time for Democrats to come together against the Republicans in Congress and the Bush administration.

Gov. Linda Lingle and state GOP chairman Sam Aiona said yesterday they had not decided on a replacement for Jerry Coffee, the former Navy pilot who won the Republican primary for Senate despite the fact he had withdrawn for health reasons in August. The party has until tomorrow to name a replacement to challenge Akaka in the November election.

"It's a big challenge, obviously, for someone to have only forty-five days in order to run a race," Lingle said, adding that the candidate might make an issue of how much campaign money Akaka has raised from national political action committees.

U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, who flew in Saturday afternoon to watch the returns with Akaka and returned to Washington yesterday, told Democrats at the breakfast that Akaka was his partner but has often not been recognized.

"They give me all the credit," Inouye said. "One person can't do the work. It takes a partnership, and he's a good partner."

'THEY MADE THE CHOICE'

Case did not appear at the unity breakfast because he had a prior engagement with a veterans' group. The congressman said he wanted to see the precinct breakdown in more detail before he made broader observations but noted that most voters pulled a Democratic ballot because of the interest in the primary.

As he did Saturday night, when he took responsibility for the loss in front of his family and volunteers, the congressman was at peace.

"The choice was given to the voters, and they made the choice," he said.

Case said he was still evaluating what he might do when his House term ends in January.

"It's an opportunity for me to see where I want to go with my future," he said. "As I've told you before, public service has been central to my life, and I can't see living a life without some form of public service. But it certainly doesn't have to include government."

Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com.