Democratic Party leaders, hoarse and exhausted after Tuesday's state caucus, have just been handed a new assignment: Find a way to tap into all that excitement over the presidential race.

Hawai'i politics, weighed down for years by dismal voter turnout and less-than-competitive local races, got a tremendous shot of energy from the 37,000 ballots cast in the party caucus. That's more than seven times the number that participated in 2004.

The voting experience was frustrating at some overwhelmed precincts, which struggled to handle the crowd. Makeshift ballots were substituted when the printed versions ran out. The party could have better anticipated the likely crowds, but given the unprecedented numbers, the scramble was forgivable.

What would be unforgivable is letting all the newly engaged voters disperse in silence.

Some registered as party members simply to have the chance to vote for Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton, but whatever threw the party and these voters together, there are many who may be inspired enough to keep the conversation going.

The Democrats should capitalize on the infusion of new blood. Party officials have vowed to maintain the connection with new voters, many of whom may be young, first-time voters.

Democrats must convince these participants that the party has relevance to their lives. The national organization promises to provide Web tools to help members network. This, at least, is a hopeful sign that the Democratic establishment is listening.

But those who voted Tuesday have to keep turning up at the polls, in November and beyond, even commit to seeking public office themselves. They hold the ultimate power and responsibility here, or the surge in civic engagement will simply wither as another footnote in Isle history.

That surge may have been a fluke, the result of an uncommonly enthralling national race and the rare circumstance that Hawai'i votes, this time, actually mattered.

But Hawai'i — and both major political parties — need a new generation of candidates, and voters who track their performance. And that's a development that can only be sustained if it's nurtured at the grassroots level.