Like two equally popular homecoming queen hopefuls flirting shamelessly with the debate team to push them over the edge, Larry Phillips and Dow Constantine are zooming in on rural King County dwellers, hoping for a few extra votes.In Seattle, Constantine and Phillips have both been very successful at getting elected to represent their respective home turfs–Magnolia for Phillips and West Seattle for Constantine. And on paper, they aren’t philosophically too far off on the big Democratic base issues–they both like spending on things like health care programs, they’re both progressive liberals, neither would be considered part of Sarah Palin’s “Real America.” You get the drift.So there’s a good chance they’ll be splitting a lot of Democratic votes here in town. To that end, they’re looking beyond our borders to more bucolic settings to get a leg up on the opposition.It’s no secret rural residents deeply resent the land use decisions of the mostly-urban and Democratic county council and former Executive Ron Sims. The most hated recent move was the Critical Areas Ordinance that placed dramatic restrictions on property use. Rural residents got the ordinance tossed in the state appellate court. King County’s appeal to the state Supreme Court is still waiting on a decision. Both Phillips and Constantine are quick to say they better understand the plight of everyone living well off the I-5 corridor, from Maple Valley to Enumclaw. Constantine points to his representation of rural Vashon Island, which is part of his district.For his part, Phillips says that even though he doesn’t have rural areas in his district, he’s been aggressively reaching out, recently attending a hearing in Carnation on the floods. Constantine, Phillips says, put in an appearance as well, but came later and didn’t stay to hear every single person who came to testify. Phillips also proudly points out that he has support from the mayors of Issaquah, Maple Valley and Enumclaw.Unlike the race between Phillips and soon-to-be-former King County Executive Ron Sims, this one is shaping up to be less vitriolic. Both Constantine and Phillips remind that they’re long-time colleagues and allies. Phillips says he’s been “having a blast” since finding out that Constantine is officially in. “I think this is great, we haven’t had an exciting executive’s race for a long time.” Of course, it’s only February; there’s plenty of time for things to get ugly. And it’s entirely possible these won’t be the only two dogs in the fight. State Rep. Ross Hunter, D-Medina, is rumored to be considering a run. In addition to being not from Seattle, Hunter has the interesting distinction of being the guy crafting legislation the county desperately needs to pass in Olympia to avoid sinking that lifeboat–something that won’t help anyone’s career. If Hunter pulls it off, he might not only be in a unique position as a council outsider, but he could run on the “I bailed out your collective ass” platform.