Three Democrats who lost in the primary for King County executive have endorsed Dow Constantine, a fellow Democrat.

Constantine announced today that State Rep. Ross Hunter, State Sen. Fred Jarrett and County Council member Larry Phillips are backing him over Susan Hutchison in the non-partisan race.

Hutchison insists that she is not, and has never been a member of either the Democratic or Republican parties, although she considered running for the U.S. Senate in 2006 as a Republican and has contributed $13,125 to Republican candidates and committees but none to Democrats.

It's no surprise the trio are backing Constantine. Jarrett said he pledged at the start of his campaign to support any Democrat that got through the primary. But Hunter and Jarrett based their campaigns in part on the idea the county has been mismanaged, something Constantine has had a hand in as a county council member since 2002.

Jarrett elaborated on his endorsement by saying Constantine shared his campaign themes -- of empowering employees and stressing performance management -- more than any other candidate. "I want to work toward a new paradigm in county government and I think Dow is the one who has the best shot at making that happen.