Former Rep. Ed Case will try for a congressional comeback.

“For me, the question has never been whether to continue my public service, but when and how,” the Democrat Case said in a web video and statement released Saturday.

The House was one of two positions for which Case publicly considered campaigning. Case surveyed voters in December to find out whether respondents preferred he run for governor or for the open 1st District seat in the House of Representatives.

The 1st District, which covers most residents of populous Oahu, will be open because of the decision by Democratic Rep. Neil Abercrombie to run for governor.

Abercrombie is regarded as perhaps the strongest Democratic candidate to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Linda Lingle .

“Congressman Abercrombie’s departure will leave a huge ‘puka’ in our congressional delegation at a critical time for our Hawai’i and country, and we must fill it without missing a beat,” Case said, using the Hawaiian word for ‘hole.’

“I can and will put my seniority, experience and relationships in D.C. to work on our challenges from day one,” he added.

Case held Hawaii’s other congressional seat, the “Neighbor Islands” 2nd District, from 2003 to 2007, winning on a pledge to shake up state politics. He did just that in 2006 when he launched a surprise Democratic primary challenge to longtime Sen. Daniel K. Akaka .

Case, who is nearly 30 years younger than Akaka, argued at the time that Hawaii needed a “new generation” of leadership. But Akaka, who has served in the Senate since a 1990 appointment, bested Case by 9 percentage points and went on to win a third full term.

After Case’s second House term concluded in January 2007, he joined the Hawaii law firm Bays Deaver Lung Rose & Holma and taught in graduate school.

Hawaii remains a Democratic Party stronghold, though Lingle proved that voters are willing to consider a strong Republican candidate.

The 1st District supported Barack Obama for president with 70 percent of its votes compared to 28 percent for Arizona Sen. John McCain , according to a CQ Politics’ analysis of the 2008 presidential vote by congressional district. Obama’s connections to Hawaii, his birthplace, contributed to his statewide support in November.

Case is the first major Democrat to announce his intention to run to succeed Abercrombie.