Voters sent Sen. Daniel Akaka and Rep. Neil Abercrombie back to Congress for another term and elected former Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono to take over the seat vacated by Rep. Ed Case. Because of a shifting political tide on the Mainland, the three Democrats head back as members of what may well be a freshly restored Democratic majority after years of Republican domination of both House and Senate.

That will have a huge impact here at home. Such a power shift also takes some of the luster off a convincing win for governor by Republican Linda Lingle, who failed to parlay her personal popularity into any gains for the GOP at the state or federal level.

As of today, Democratic control of the House is assured. That means Abercrombie, a member of the Armed Services Committee, will likely move up as chair of the subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces, where he is ranking member.

This committee has obvious direct impact on Hawai'i, which is home to huge military installations.

But the bigger news is in the Senate, which could well slip into Democratic control. At press time, the final numbers were still being counted. But Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid was declaring that the Democrats were back in control.

And here in Hawai'i, senior Sen. Daniel Inouye was acting as if there was no doubt at all.

He was positively crowing last night as he stood before celebrating Democrats to declare himself chair of the Commerce Committee, where he now serves as co-chairman with his good friend, Republican Ted Stevens of Alaska. And for good measure, he declared Akaka the new chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Akaka serves as the ranking minority member on that key committee.

There is no way to diminish the importance of the Commerce Committee to Hawai'i. The full name of the committee is the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and that says a lot.

If there is any committee that deals with the issues most vital to Hawai'i, it is this one. Communications, satellite technology, marine navigation, ocean policy, transportation issues ranging from airline and shipping regulation through mass transit issues, all issues involving interstate commerce, science and — for good measure — even sports.

Inouye is already a major player on this committee, in part through his good working relationship with Stevens. But if he ascends to the chairmanship, as he clearly believes he will, his clout and his ability to put his stamp on issues of vital importance to Hawai'i will be magnified.

About the only thing the Commerce Committee does not handle is the military. But no worries there. If the Democrats take over, Inouye moves into the chairmanship of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, the guys who hand out the money for military projects around the world. From that perch, Inouye keeps a close eye on the pipeline of defense spending that is helping keep the Hawai'i economy afloat.

Akaka's Veterans Affairs Committee is less sweeping in its jurisdiction and clout, but considering the number of active and retired military personnel in the Islands, it is an important post for the state.

So, at a federal level, it was a very good night for the Democrats.

They had plenty to crow about at home as well.

Despite Lingle's convincing bid for re-election (the first time in Hawai'i history a Republican has won not just one but two full terms as governor), the news for the local GOP was not all that good.

The party failed to make gains in the state Legislature, leaving Lingle with no choice but to work with an emboldened Democratic majority in both the House and Senate.

It seems clear that local Republicans will have to go beyond the popularity of this one individual before they can claim to be a true competitive political force in the Islands.

One place to look might be the campaign of Republican Cynthia Thielen, who managed a respectable showing against Akaka for the U.S. Senate despite a late start and little in the way of funding or a campaign organization.

In just a few weeks, Thielen was saying last night, she did about as well as any Republican has done against an entrenched Democratic Senator.

One of the keys to Thielen's campaign was that, like Lingle, she represents a moderate kind of Republicanism that fits well with local voters.

Over the next few years, one of the key tasks for local Republicans will be to analyze what makes candidates such as Thielen or Lingle popular in a nominally Democratic "blue" state, boil that to its essence, bottle it and sprinkle it liberally on the entire ticket.

For the Democrats, the task is to take the mantle of leadership they were given both in the Legislature and in Congress and use it wisely in ways that will encourage voters to look to their party again in elections to come.