HONOLULU -- Former U.S. Rep. Ed Case is the man to beat in the battle for U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie's seat in Congress, according to the KITV4-Honolulu Star-Bulletin poll. However, the man who has been the strength of Hawaii's Democratic party for decades is trying to change that.

The poll is the first independent, scientific poll of this election year.

U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye is sometimes seen all-powerful, but it is actually rare for him to publicly pick sides in a Democratic primary. His endorsement of state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa over Ed Case for Congress is putting his clout to the test.

"To come out and say no when all the time you are intending to do otherwise that is not my kind of guy. Colleen is my kind of gal," Inouye said.

Inouye restated a 4-year-old gripe that Case deceived him before challenging U.S. Sen. Dan Akaka. The endorsement by Inouye and Akaka of Hanabusa came just as KITV began polling likely voters. The results said that if the primary were held today, Case would beat Hanabusa by 15 percent. Twenty-three percent are undecided.

In a general election held today, Case beats likely Republican challenger Honolulu Councilman Charles Djou by more than 30 points. Hanabusa has seven points on Djou.

The senators' message against Case has yet to have its effect, Hanabusa said.

"I think that the poll ended and started a bit too early for that impact," she said.

Some experts think Inouye's criticism will not hurt Case because Case is proud of his independence.

"It's by no means a done deal that just because these heavyweights endorsed hanabusa that things are going to change," University of Hawaii political science professor Neal Milner said.

Inouye seemed to anticipate the poll, which also shows Case with the highest favorability ratings of the three candidates. Djou is in the middle on that scale and is surprisingly well known for a council member. That leaves Djou in a good position if the Democrat fight gets too bloody.

"Certainly with all the internal squabbling right now between my two opponents… you know that's for them to sort out," Djou said.

"We are not going to go negative on the other side. So if that happens, it's not going to be the result of what we do," Case said. Hanabusa said she is certainly not telling Inouye what to say on her behalf. If voters believe that, she could keep a clean image while Inouye goes after Case.

The poll was conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research Inc.