SALEM - For Gov. Ted Kulongoski, the path to re-election has become a little more difficult.

The refusal of one of the state's largest public employee unions to endorse Kulongoski could leave the Democratic incumbent without one of his most potent weapons this fall - thousands of union volunteers willing to go door-to-door to help him win re-election.

Kulongoski, who agreed Monday to face his Democratic primary opponents in a pair of April debates, is counting on union help for what could be a tricky general election campaign against the Republican nominee and independent contender Ben Westlund, who's been tailoring his message to moderate Republicans and disaffected Democrats.

At least for the May 16 primary election, though, the Service Employees International Union this past weekend threw its support to Kulongoski's Democratic challenger, former State Treasurer Jim Hill.

That came one week after another major public employees union, the Oregon Education Association, refused to back Kulongoski in the Democratic primary and instead adopted a “no endorsement” stance.

Joe DiNicola, president of SEIU Local 503, said Hill was the “overwhelming” favorite of union members because of his support for affordable health care, increased state support for local schools and reforming Oregon's tax system to make corporations “pay their fair share.”

DiNicola fended off questions about whether the union would come to Kulongoski's aid in a November general election race in the likely event that Kulongoski emerges from the May primary as the Democratic nominee.

“SEIU members are energized about Jim Hill's entry into this race, and the opportunity to have a real leader step up for Oregon,” he said. “All of our focus is on winning the Democratic nomination for Jim Hill and making sure he is on the ballot in November.”

In the 2002 governor's race, unionized workers and teachers across the state were instrumental in Kulongoski's narrow victory over Republican Kevin Mannix.

Hundreds of union volunteers went door-to-door and helped run phone banks in a get-out-the-vote effort, particularly in the Portland area, that helped Kulongoski defeat Mannix by a scant 36,000-vote margin statewide.

Many public employees felt betrayed, however, when the Democratic governor pursued an overhaul of the public employee retirement system that reduced benefits as a way to avert a projected multibillion-dollar deficit facing the system.

Cameron Johnson, spokesman for Kulongoski's re-election campaign, said the Democratic governor was “disappointed” but not surprised by the SEIU's endorsement of Hill.

“The governor had to make difficult decisions during tough economic times, including reform of the PERS system,” he said. “But he looks forward to working with SEIU and hopes to win their support in the general election.”

Johnson also noted that Kulongoski has won endorsements from some private labor groups, including the United Food and Commercial Workers, the Teamsters and the Oregon State Building and Construction Trades Council.

However, the SEIU, which has two locals in Oregon with more than 40,000 members, is one of the largest labor entities capable of providing a major boost to contenders in statewide races.

Political analyst Jim Moore said the depth of union dissatisfaction with Kulongoski is noteworthy, but SEIU members will likely work hard to defeat the Republican nominee in the fall election.

That especially will be the case if the GOP nomination goes to Portland lawyer Ron Saxton, who once suggested that firing public employees and then rehiring them with different benefits may be the only way for the state to lower the cost of the pension system, Moore said.

“Gov. Kulongoski has done a really poor job of maintaining his political base with the unions, but I certainly don't see the unions sitting out the race if Kulongoski is the nominee,” said Moore, who teaches political science at Pacific University in Forest Grove.