An enduring truth about Hawai'i politics was hammered home again Saturday night in the big race between Democrats Ed Case and Daniel Akaka for their party's senatorial nomination.

What matters in Hawai'i, particularly in the primary where the vast majority of folks pull a Democratic ballot, is not how popular you are in general, but how popular you are among the folks who actually vote.

In short, Case lost in part because he was unable to turn out big numbers of voters in areas where he was popular, while Akaka was able to cash in at the ballot box in his areas of strength.

It is not a new story, but it is a tale of frustration for anyone who seeks to break the established Democratic stranglehold on the vote in contested primaries.

Now, the general election is a different story, as Gov. Linda Lingle demonstrated with her win over Democrat Mazie Hirono four years ago. Lingle's moderate brand of politics appealed to Republicans, independent voters and "time-for-a-change" Democrats.

A candidate with almost precisely the same message would have had a much tougher time in the primary. In fact, that is exactly what happened when Case came up just a little short in his primary challenge against Hirono.

This time around, Case did best on O'ahu, where the bulk of Hawai'i's primary votes are to be found. But even on O'ahu, he lost to Akaka by nearly 6 percentage points.

The story was even grimmer for the upstart Case campaign on the Neighbor Islands.

On Maui, which had the worst turnout of any of the counties, he lost by close to 27 percentage points. And on Kaua'i, Akaka pushed Case out of the way by close to 21 percentage points.

Case's best Neighbor Island performance was on the Big Island, but even here Akaka finished out the day with a comfortable 9-point lead.

It's possible to drill into the districts a bit and find the same pattern, perhaps even more vividly obvious than at the county or statewide level.

On the Big Island, for instance, one can compare the Republican-leaning 6th District (Kailua-Keauhou) with the traditionally Democratic district of Hilo.

Four years ago, Case beat Hirono in Kona but lost to her in Hilo. The pattern repeated Saturday, with Case beating Akaka in Kona but losing to him in Hilo, even though that's his hometown.

And there were more votes overall in Hilo than in Kona, so the "value" of popularity in Hilo counted for more than the value of popularity in Kona.

Shift to O'ahu and the same picture emerges.

Traditionally Republican Waikiki went for Case this year as it did for him in 2002 against Hirono. But the total number of votes was quite small and the turnout was minuscule.

LOYAL SUPPORTERS

Meanwhile, in traditionally Democratic District 34 (Pearl City, Newtown, Royal Summit), Akaka was the victor this year as was Hirono in 2002.

The total number of people who voted Saturday in just Pearl City alone was more than double the number of those who participated in Waikiki.

To underscore the point, there was little action other than the senatorial race on the ballot in the 34th, where the incumbent was unopposed and the senator representing the area was not up for election this year.

But out they came, and vote they did.

By contrast, Waikiki had a spirited Democratic primary for the House as well as a contested Republican primary.

But the election still couldn't draw flies.

ABSENTEE WILD CARD

The other wild card in this election was absentee voting, which was at a record high. The day may come when absentee votes overwhelm the behavior of high-turnout districts, but that day would appear to be a long way off.

In all but a handful of precincts, Akaka handily won the absentee vote against Case.

Bottom line: In politics it doesn't matter if they love you. What matters is if they vote.

Reach Jerry Burris at jburris@honoluluadvertiser.com.