The race for Michigan governor narrowed again yesterday when state Sen. Alma Wheeler Smith of Salem Township dropped out, reducing the field of candidates seeking the Democratic Party's nomination to three. Smith will join U.S. Rep. David Bonior's gubernatorial campaign as Bonior's running mate and candidate for lieutenant governor, should Bonior win the Aug. 6 Democratic primary.

The decision leaves Bonior, former Gov. James Blanchard and state Attorney General Jennifer Granholm as the remaining Democratic candidates in the race. State Sen. Gary Peters of Bloomfield Township dropped out last November and is now seeking the Democratic nomination for attorney general.

Smith, who has represented Ann Arbor and other parts of Washtenaw County in the Senate since 1994, had been trailing far behind the other three candidates in polls. The first to announce for governor and the only black candidate from either party, she had consistently registered in the low single digits among Democratic voters, usually garnering only 1 to 2 percent.

The decision to team up with Bonior, the former House Democratic whip from Mt. Clemens, joins two candidates who were registering at the bottom of recent polls. Bonior registered only 12 percent in an EPIC/MRA poll conducted last week and reported in the Detroit Free Press, lagging far behind Granholm and Blanchard, who polled 46 percent and 32 percent, respectively.

"They are teaming up because they both believe Michigan needs a governor that puts working people first," Bonior's spokesman Mark Fisk said. "They share the same values and they both want to change Michigan."

The joint effort interestingly pits a staunchly pro-choice state legislator with a congresswoman with a mixed record on abortion. Bonior was given a 45 percent rating by the National Abortion Rights Action League for his House votes in 2001.

"They disagree on some issues but they agree on so much more," Fisk said.

Bill Ballenger, a former state senator and now editor of the Inside Michigan Politics Newsletter, said Smith's candidacy was doomed from the beginning with three more high-profile candidates in the race.

"It's a chicken and egg thing," he said. "You don't get the (poll) numbers until you get your name out there and you can't raise money and build name recognition until you've got the poll numbers."

"I'm sure this district appreciates the work she has done and wishes she could serve them longer," said Eric Feldman, chair of the University's chapter of College Democrats.

Bonior's announcement is unusual given that gubernatorial candidates usually do not select their running mate until they have secured their party's nomination for governor. Ballenger suggested it might be an "act of desperation" on Bonior's part.

Bonior and Smith planned a series of appearances around the state today and tomorrow to make their joint candidacy official. Their final stop is tomorrow at 10 p.m. at the Arbor Brewing Company on Washington Street.