Trying to stay in the political game, former congressman Ed Case, who came in third in the May special election for the 1st Congressional District, issued his endorsements for the upcoming general election.

A message e-mailed to supporters yesterday begins:

Dear Friend:

My name is Ed and I’m a moderate independent.

He goes on to state that the choices for the top two races (Hawaii governor and CD1) are difficult, notably because while all of the candidates are accomplished and capable, none has pursued a particularly moderate independent path during their time in office.

Not surprisingly, he picks Abercrombie/Schatz over Aiona/Finnegan and Colleen Hanabusa over Charles Djou.

In the end, it should and does come down to their values: what they believe and whether their perspectives and solutions would work best for most for longest. It should and does come down to who can and will govern under the bigger tent.

In this contrast of values and governance, I choose Abercrombie and Hanabusa.

Yes, it is in part because they are, like me, Democrats, and because I believe that, in this partisan world, our party – on balance, over time and despite missteps – has offered the better overall solutions. But that’s not ultimately why. The why is that I believe their values and abilities better represent the mainstream of our Hawai‘i, where us moderate independents live and work.