In the primary election on September 14, it will finally become official: you'll only be able to vote for one party. At a time, that is, with the replacement for Washington state's old open primary system guaranteed to confuse some voters. The ballot selection of a party is for this election only, and no records are kept of the voter's ballot selection. Nonetheless, it means voters will need to be discerning as to which races--Democratic, Republican, Libertarian, or none--they want to influence.

To accommodate the new format, we've listed our preferences (where we have them) for each party ballot for each office. Wait a couple months and we'll tell you who we like for the overall picks.

As usual, caveats apply: these are our subjective picks, worth the paper they're printed on and not much more. Get a variety of sources and educate yourself. Don't take our word for it. And don't rely on voting to change things.

US Senator: On the Democratic side, corrupt Mom-in-Tennis-Guccis Patty Murray, who did at least cast one of the few Senate votes against the Iraq invasion, is running against two nuts; among Republicans, George "I can't count to three term-limited terms" Nethercutt is the favorite against arch-conservative Reed Davis. For now, skip it.

US Representative: The only competitive race is on the Eastside, where the 8th District's Jennifer Dunn is retiring. Among Democrats, KIRO Radio host Dave Ross could as easily have run as a Republican. The choice is between Microsoftie Alex Alben and retread Heidi Behrens-Benedict. She won't win, but Behrens-Benedict is a solid progressive and deserves support once again. Among Republicans, King Co. Sheriff Dave Reichert is the favorite; he's also an empty shirt riding the popularity of his work on the Green River Killer and the WTO protests, and should be stopped. Stop him with Luke Esser.

In the other districts, Jim McDermott, Adam Smith, Jay Inslee, and Norm Dicks are all running unopposed. On principle, don't vote for anyone with no opposition--although Jim McDermott and Jay Inslee both deserve support for their principled opposition to the Iraq war.

Governor: They both have their flaws, but here's a mild preference for Dem. Ron Sims over Christine Gregoire. Sims is moderately more liberal, but oversaw draconian cuts in social service budgets as King County Executive. Gregoire, on the other hand, was the bright star as state Attorney General who tried to craft a state-level Patriot Act, one fortunately beaten down by Adam Kline in the legislature. She would be no treat as governor. On the Republican side, Dino Rossi is a scary dude who will win, but there's also a Libertarian race with one good candidate: Ruth Bennett.

Lieutenant Governor: Democratic anti-drug incumbent Brad Owen is regrettably unopposed; among the Republicans, one would think at least one of the candidates would run against Owen by being critical of the War on Drugs or at least abolishing this useless office, but no such luck. Closest is Jim Nobles, who promises to ditch Owens' abolitionist soapbox and instead be a sort of "ombudsman" for citizens of the state.

Secretary of State, State Treasurer, State Auditor: No contested primary races.

Attorney General: On the Dem. side, cousins Mark Sidran and Deborah Senn square off. Sidran is running claiming that Senn would politicize the office--which she did as state Insurance Commissioner. Thing is, so did Sidran, as Seattle's City Attorney for 12 long, dark years, and while Senn fought all the right battles, just imagine what sort of faux Patriot Act Sidran would try to ram through if there were a terrorist attack on his watch. Vote Deborah Senn, in probably the single most important of the primary votes if you're trying to decide which ballot to use. On the Republican side, not only is Rob McKenna opposed to the Patriot Act, but if he wins there's a good chance Republicans would lose control of King County Council, where he now represents Bellevue.

Superintendent of Public Instruction: In this non-partisan race, Judith Billings, a former incumbent, gets the nod over current incumbent Terry Bergeson and a host of minor candidates, including the memorable political name KumRoon Maksirisombat and disturbed perma-candidate David Blomstrom.

Insurance Commissioner: Democratic incumbent Mike Kreidler is unopposed; three industry stooges are running on the Repub. side. Skip it.

State Rep. Dist. 11, Pos 2: Velma Veloria is retiring, and among the Democrats running to replace her, former Teamster official Bob Hasegawa is the clear favorite. Ed Prince is also progressive, but not well-known among African-American activists. Four undistinguished Republicans are also running.

State Rep. Dist. 36, Pos 1: Incumbent Helen Sommers has overseen the gutting of state social services in her role controlling the House budget committee, and now she's facing a spirited challenge from long-time peace and social justice activist Alice Woldt. For people in this district (Ballard/Fremont), this is a good reason to pick the Dem. primary ballot.

State Rep. Dist. 37, Pos. 1: Incumbent Sharon Tomiko-Santos is the choice over challenger John Stafford, who, we learn in the voters pamphlet, is "pursuing a full-time teaching position." Don't let us stop you, John. Incidentally, activist Kwame Wyking Garrett is running unopposed on the Republican side.

State Rep. Dist. 37, Pos. 2: Norm Rice protˇgˇ Eric Pettigrew barely won office two years ago, and didn't do much in Olympia; now he's being challenged by the more progressive Jeremy Daniels.

State Supreme Court Pos. 1: Superior Court judge Robert Alsdorf is the best of the batch, with a nod also to Mary Kay Becker in this crowded field. One to watch out for: Jim Johnson, a guy who has served as lawyer for many of Tim Eyman's initiatives.

State Supreme Court Pos. 5: Incumbent Barbara Madsen deserves re-election.

State Supreme Court Pos. 6: He's conservative and controversial, but incumbent Richard Sanders is also by far the best civil libertarian on the Supreme Court; he's an essential safeguard against an ever-bigger, ever-more-intrusive state.

Court of Appeals Div. No. 1, Dist. No. 1, Pos. 1: Incumbent C. Kenneth Grosse is being challenged by a former prosecutor, William Fosbre.

Superior Court, Pos. 13: Theresa Doyle has a good reputation from her years as a mental health court judge; she's now a Municipal Court judge, looking for a promotion against David Larson, who claims credit for having prevented the Seahawks football team from leaving in the '90s. Pity. Theresa Doyle.

Superior Court, Pos. 23: Eric Weston represented Omari Tahir-Garrett when he took a whack (or not) at Paul Schell a few years ago; he's not as well-qualified, however, as Julia Garratt. Trial lawyer Andrea Darvas is also running.

Superior Court, Pos. 42: Chris Washington has all the political endorsements, but the better choice is Catherine Moore, a King CO. Superior Court Family Law Commissioner with extensive experience helping victims of domestic violence. Defense attormey Mark Mestel is also running.

Superior Court, Pos. 45: This seat is being vacated by Robert Alsdorf; the best bet is widely endorsed Superior Court Commissioner Kimberley Prochnau.

City of Seattle Proposition No. 1: The Families and Education Levy is up for renewal, and contains a slight tax increase this time around. We need it. Yes.