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War has broken out in the neatly tended suburbs east of San Francisco Bay, over a simple question: Is only one kind of Democrat allowed in blue California?

In a special election for a single seat in the state Senate, millions of dollars have been spent in a pitched battle for the answer.

The combatants are organized labor and a man it has spent three years trying to bury, Orinda Mayor Steve Glazer, an unlikely foe given his lifelong role as a political strategist for labor-backed Democrats and their causes. The only reason Glazer may survive Tuesday's election is that he has some moneyed guardian angels who have pumped in hundreds of thousands of dollars on his behalf.

Nature abhors peace, at least in politics, so it was inevitable that in a state controlled by one party the schisms would begin to show within. But like a family gathering where niceties suddenly give way to an explosion of long-nurtured grievances, it has gotten quite brutal.

In Walnut Creek and Concord and the neighboring environs, voters are being barraged with messages decried by the opposing side as nasty or misleading or flat-out devious. It's all that and more, powered by money, money and more money.

"From the outside people say, 'California, this great blue state,'" Glazer said. "When you look beneath the surface it is not so cozy. It's not about Democrats versus Republicans. It's now back to what type of Democrat is an acceptable Democrat."

Or, as labor leaders would put it, it's about preserving the gains for which they have long fought against Democrats, if need be, just as they have fought against Republicans.

"We will continue to educate voters about the candidate's views on issues critical to our members, confident the vast majority of voters share our middle-class agenda," said Jon Youngdahl, executive director of SEIU California, the coordinator of the biggest anti-Glazer effort.

The stakes are huge in every direction. For Democrats like Glazer who have embraced labor-opposed changes to teacher tenure or government pensions, it is about retaining a foothold in a party where union views are dominant. (His biggest benefactor, Bill Bloomfield, a wealthy Southern California businessman, backs education changes fought by unions, one of the reasons he cites for spending more than half a million dollars to boost Glazer.)

For unions, it is about reminding current and future politicians that their money comes with a demand of loyalty, an exchange that has grown more important as voters veer from their desires.

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Bay Area state Senate race pits unions against Democrat Steve Glazer