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Originally published November 1, 2014 at 6:13 PM | Page modified November 2, 2014 at 12:03 PM

Fueled by gobs of money and frustration over the past two legislative sessions, Democrats are on a quest to regain control of the state Senate.

To get the job done, they just might have to beat ... a Democrat.

Specifically, Sen. Tim Sheldon, a Mason County commissioner and small-business owner in Potlatch. His decision two years ago to start caucusing with Senate Republicans, along with state Sen. Rodney Tom, galled Democratic Party officials and left them counting the days until the 2014 election.

The Sheldon-Tom-GOP alliance upended the Democrats razor-thin majority, gave control of the chamber to the Republican-dominated Majority Coalition Caucus, and made life a lot tougher for Gov. Jay Inslee.

Sheldon is being challenged by Irene Bowling, backed by the party as the real Democrat in District 35. A win there Tuesday and another pickup elsewhere would put the Democrats back in charge in the Senate. Combine that with the partys continued control of the House, and Gov. Jay Inslee would have an easier time developing and enacting his climate agenda. Democrats also would like to pass a host of bills approved by the House in recent years that later died in the Senate.

If Democrats can regain the state Senate, theyll be on much more solid footing working with the governor and House, said Matt Barreto, professor of political science at the University of Washington.

Tom, who became the coalitions majority leader, is retiring this year, which has left Sheldon to face the ire from his Democratic Party, which is targeting District 35 and a handful of other Puget Sound region seats, including Districts 28, 30, 42 and 45.

The battle between the two parties has pushed huge amounts of TV ads and mailers into tiny legislative districts. California billionaire Tom Steyer has put $1.25million into state races to elect Democrats more friendly to climate change. Republicans, backed by some out-of-state money and in-state contributions, have matched those numbers.

And for Sheldon, the race also means a referendum on his maverick identity.

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To win back the Senate, Democrats target ... a Democrat