Well, why is Rossi ashamed to admit he's Republican? He's listed his party as "prefers GOP" because he polls a number of points higher than when he lists "prefers Republican," that's why he wants to confuse the voters, and the King County Democrats want him to wear his affiliation clearly.
Doesn't sound desperate or pathetic to me, it sounds like both sides trying to control the conversation to achieve their objective. You know, sort of like a political campaign.