One of Sen. Maria Cantwell's biggest critics will soon become an ally in her re-election campaign. Mark Wilson, an anti-war Democrat who has been challenging Cantwell in the primary, will endorse Cantwell at a press conference tomorrow. He will campaign full time for the first-term senator, according to a media advisory just issued by Cantwell's campaign.

Wilson, who in the past has run as a Green and Libertarian, has galvanized a group of anti-war Democrats, who have kept up months of criticism of Cantwell and her stance on the Iraq war and occupation. They have pressured Cantwell to publicly say her vote to authorize the invasion of Iraq was a mistake. Attorney Hong Tran is also challenging Cantwell on an anti-war platform but it has been Wilson who was in first and held the most support among the anti-war crowd.

Just this week the Washington Post said this in an assessment of Cantwell's race:

Cantwell has drawn the ire of the liberal left for her continued support for the war in Iraq (this stance breeds controversy in a state in which 59% of the population favors immediate withdrawal), although her recent vote in favor of the Levin-Reed amendment may help ease those tensions somewhat. Two anti-war Democrats are weighing primary bids against Cantwell and must decide by the filing deadline toward the end of the month. The question is not whether disaffected Democrats defect to McGavick but whether they stay home on Election Day.

The Cantwell campaign would not give any details of tomorrow's announcement. And I haven't been able to reach Wilson yet. The press advisory doesn't say Wilson will drop out, but does say he'll endorse Cantwell and campaign for her full time.

Wilson has been particularly sharp in his criticism of Cantwell, and not just on the war. At last month's Democratic state convention, he said, "You can't be a true environmentalist when you support the pillage and plunder of war or neo-con fast-tracking, free-trading policies."

On his Web site Wilson asks "Does Maria Cantwell really represent you?," and includes a list of things she voted for that he disagreed with, including the war, the Patriot Act, NAFTA, confirmation of Condoleeza Rice, and the Bush energy bill.

The Cantwell campaign bills tomorrow's event as a "major campaign announcement." Clearly the hope is that without Wilson in the race the anti-war and liberal criticism will subside.

UPDATE: I see the Cantwell campaign has also just issued a press release saying Dal LaMagna will be joining the campaign as a co-chairman. It certainly looks like the campaign is trying to boost Cantwell's standings among liberals in the party.

LaMagna, who lives in Poulsbo, comes with excellent progressive credentials. He is the founder of New York-based Tweezerman, a "personal care tools" company that, according to Cantwell's announcement, "practices responsible capitalism." LaMagna also started ProgressiveGovernment.org, which tracks Bush Administration nominees. The group also publishes a list of ideal candidates for Cabinet officers, including Congressman Jay Inslee for energy, Georgia Rep. Cynthia McKinney for Homeland Security andNoam Chomsky and Gary Hart for various positions.

(CLARIFICATION: Bill Moyer, executive director of ProgressiveGovernment.org and the associated Backbone Campaign e-mails to say I mischaracterize the Cabinet listings. Those names come from users of the site and are not the group's "ideal" candidates. The full list can be seen here. The conversation page I linked to originally shows those "nominees" who have agreed to participate in conference calls with ProgressiveGovernment.org.)

LaMagna has run for office in New York and is a regular blogger at the Huffington Post.

Wilson spoke with David Goldstein at horsesass.org who reports that Wilson had a personal meeting with Cantwell and "came away convinced that she's working to bring our troops home."

UPDATE UPDATE: Wilson is definitely part of the campaign. I tried reaching him by phone and e-mail today but never heard back. I did get this e-mail from Cantwell campaign spokeswoman Amanda Mahnke:

"Mark Wilson asked me to drop you a line in response to your message. He'll be speaking at the press conference tomorrow, so I hope you can make it... ."

What'll be interesting to see now of course is whether Wilson's supporters follow his lead. That'll be a hard sell. Chad Shue, a liberal blogger and Snohomish County Democrat, has been among Wilson's strongest supporters. He wrote recently on his blog, The Left Shue, about his enthusiasm about voting for Wilson instead of Cantwell in the September primary:

I don't know about you but I am tired of "lesser" and I am certainly tired of "evil". In September, Washington Democrats will have the opportunity to vote to a positive change in the U.S. Senate. Mark Wilson stands FOR American Labor, FOR American Civil Liberties, FOR Universal Healthcare, FOR a Responsible Energy Policy. As a matter of fact, the only thing Mark Wilson is against is the entire Bush/Neo-con/DLC agenda.

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE: One of my favorite places to take the pulse of Washington liberals is washblog. And sure enough they're already talking about Wilson's move there, with some wondering if this signals it is time to sing Kumbaya. One commenter there says Wilson accomplished something in his aborted campaign:

I'd like to think that his mere presence and the issues he brought up that divided us helped to move Cantwell back a little more to the left. At the least, it opened her eyes a bit. I'd like to think that way at least. And can we sing something else besides Kumbaya? Maybe some Pink Floyd or something? by Pen on Sat Jul 08, 2006 at 06:01:28 PM PST

And the Northwest Progressive Institute Blog declares that it is, in fact, time to begin singing:

The news, which may come as a surprise to many in the state's political circles, is a great sign that the State Democratic Party is quite healthy going into the 2006 midterm elections. While we Democrats prize dissent and the freedom to speak our minds, we also know how important it is to be united.

We can't win and become the majority party in Washington D.C. if we are fractured and splintered.