Congressional candidate Colleen Hanabusa opened her campaign headquarters with a traditional Hawaiian blessing and a nontraditional show of support from the state's top two elected Democrats.

U.S. Sens. Dan Inouye and Dan Akaka were on hand yesterday to endorse Hanabusa as she seeks to succeed U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, who is resigning from the U.S. House of Representatives on Feb. 28 to concentrate on his run for governor.

Hanabusa, state Senate president, has declared for Abercrombie's seat along with fellow Democrat former Congressman Ed Case. City Councilman Charles Djou is the only major Republican in the race.

The two Democrats were expected to face off in the September primary, but Abercrombie's resignation triggers a special election to fill his seat until a permanent successor is chosen in the November general election.

A special election would be open to all candidates regardless of party affiliation.

While Inouye typically refrains from choosing one Democrat over another in a primary, that's not the case in the special election, he noted.

“;As a general rule, I've tried to stay away from endorsements of support before the primary, but this is a one-time election—all or nothing—and as far as I'm concerned, Colleen is the one that should represent us,”; Inouye said.

Case said he was not surprised by the endorsements.

“;We had understood that they might support and endorse Sen. Hanabusa, so it's not unexpected at all,”; Case said.

He dismissed notions that he had been a “;maverick”;—as Inouye described him—among the four-member, all-Democratic Hawaii delegation, saying he felt he worked well with the team on most issues.

“;I think there were some issues on which I simply, respectfully, disagreed with my colleagues,”; he said. “;I don't believe that my job as a member of the delegation is just to automatically vote or do what any one member of the delegation wants.”;

Case served in the House from 2002, when he won a special election to replace the late U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink, until 2006, when he unsuccessfully challenged Akaka in the Senate.

He plans to tout his seniority and familiarity in the race against Hanabusa.

“;I will go to the voters with my seniority, my experience in D.C., my relationships and my immediate knowledge of the issues,”; he said. “;None of that has to be learned or acquired.”;

Hanabusa was thankful for the support from the senators and said she would strive to live up to their expectations.

As for Case's contention that he has experience at the federal level, Hanabusa said it is just as important to have someone who can work as part of Hawaii's four-member delegation, which now includes Rep. Mazie Hirono, who replaced Case.

“;You need seniority, but you also need the support of others, as well,”; she said. “;If Ed had really felt that highly about seniority, he wouldn't have lost his or attempted to take someone out who has great seniority in Sen. Akaka.”;

With the two Democrats splitting the vote among party faithful, state and national Republican leaders have said they feel Djou would be the front-runner in a winner-take-all special election.

“;It clearly shows there's a lot of bad blood between the Case and Hanabusa factions,”; Djou said. “;From my perspective and my campaign, it's irrelevant.

“;Any sort of internal political machinations inside the Democratic Party—that's between Case and Hanabusa.”;