Republican U.S. Rep. Charles Djou and Democrat Colleen Hanabusa are battling over Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District, but there’s a third person at work in the Nov. 2 general election: Ed Case.

Case, a Democrat, is not on the ballot.

But as the third top vote-getter in May’s 14-candidate special election, he and the 47,000 voters who chose him last spring are key players in the current contest between Djou and Hanabusa.

Djou won the district in the spring with 39 percent of the vote. Hanabusa garnered nearly 31 percent and Case drew almost 28 percent.

Hanabusa and Djou both say they need and are going after Case’s supporters. But some of Case’s Democratic allies question whether Hanabusa has done enough.