The large room was crowded and they were selling beer last night, so I was expecting a feisty endorsement meeting from West Seattle's 34th Legislative District Democrats. No such luck. State Senator Ed Murray won the sole endorsement on the second ballot with over 70 percent of the vote (60 percent was needed for a sole endorsement), and the drama was quickly over.

Murray flack Sandeep Kaushik seemed particularly tickled by the outcome. Without a native son or daughter in the race, he sees West Seattle as particularly up for grabs, and claiming the 34th Dems' sole endorsement on Murray's mailers should be particularly persuasive. No doubt.

For his part, endorsement runner up Mayor Mike McGinn seemed to take the rejection in stride. Once again McGinn did respectably well in the first round of balloting, squeezing into a runoff with 23 percent of the first ballot vote compared to Murray's 39 percent. But once their first choice was eliminated, Bruce Harrell and Peter Steinbrueck supporters overwhelmingly flocked to Murray.

McGinn's core base remains strong and loyal, but the "anybody but McGinn" camp is bigger. At least among Democratic Party activists.

As for the candidates, there wasn't much new in the way they attempted to sell themselves to the crowd. Murray once again touted his record in Olympia, emphasizing the need to work collaboratively (an implied dig at McGinn). "I want to show the state how liberals work together to get things done," said Murray. I dunno. Sounds like the collaborative Murray may be leaving Olympia with a chip on his shoulder.

McGinn responded with a laundry list of how great things are in Seattle under his watch—strong economy, low crime rate, balanced budgets—I guess exactly what you'd expect from an incumbent. In a sign that this primary may be shifting into a two-person race, McGinn closed his two-minute statement by issuing a variation on Murray's closing: "I want to work with you to make this the most progressive city in America." Same theme, slightly different frame.

Steinbrueck was a bit more energetic than I've seem him in the past, arguing that (unlike Murray) his years on the council have prepared him for city hall: "I don't need on the job training," Steinbrueck assured the crowd. "I've already been to mayor school." Steinbrueck also emphasized his roots, claiming that he knows the city better than the other candidates.

As for Harrell, he hit his usual social justice theme (an implicit dig at McGinn's SPD problems), while embracing some tax and spend populism. Harrell correctly pointed out that Seattle is a wealthy city, well capable of addressing our own needs, promising: "Lack of resources will never be an excuse in my administration." Harrell also attempted to match Steinbrueck's nativist cred. "I was born here," Harrell informed the crowd. "I will probably die here," he said morbidly.

Yeah, you know, unless he dies in his sleep. In which case Harrell might die in Bellevue.

And oh yeah. Kate Martin was there too. That pretty much sums up her campaign. At least she made it onto the ballot this time after the 34th's resident labor goon, Ivan Weiss, momentarily revealed his soft side, compassionately nominating Martin when nobody else stepped forward to do so.

As for the other endorsements, there were no surprises. Incumbent city council members Richard Conlin and Mike O'Brien easily won sole endorsements on their first ballots over respective challengers Brian Carver and Albert Shen. Michael Wolfe and Stephanie Bowman shared a dual endorsement for Port of Seattle Commissioner after Bowman just barely missed securing a sole endorsement on the first ballot.