In contrast to Monroe County Democrats, who are fielding no Democratic challenger to Republican County Executive Maggie Brooks, Onondaga and Erie County Democrats are actually having primaries for the Democratic nomination for this post (h/t reader R). In Erie, it’s a three-way primary.

And both races are hotly contested. Here’s a quick summary of the race in Erie:

At this point, with just under a week left before the Democratic primary on Tuesday, September 18, Keane has raised a whopping $923,000 and Clark has accumulated $682,000. (Griffin has raised just $11,000.) But this is, after all, an important race. With Republican candidates currently out of favor on every level of government, and Democrats far outnumbering Republicans in Erie County, there’s a good chance that whoever wins this primary will go on to win the general election in November.

Despite the opportunity presented by, and the money involved in, this race, the candidates have run surprisingly simple—some would argue childish—campaigns. Keane and Clark have dedicated their time and money to creating two-dimensional caricatures of one another. It’s an old political trick that counts on effective doublespeak and an undereducated citizenry. For instance, Keane’s camp has labeled Clark a “Giambracrat,” because he endorsed Giambra in his 2003 re-election bid (as did many of Giambra’s current detractors). That way, every attack Keane directs at Giambra becomes an attack on Clark, as well as a promise that a Clark administration will be a retread of Giambra’s. Clark has attacked Keane’s nepotism, while hiring his brother-in-law as West Seneca’s dog catcher—the “highest paid in the state,” some say—and appointing his accounting partner comptroller. He’s held political office longer than Keane, to whom he refers as a “career politician.”

No matter what kind of campaigns were being run, having three Democrats out there vying for Maggie’s seat would focus a lot of attention on important county issues like the Water Authority scandal, COMIDA, and Ren Square.