The Fresno mayoral race has been a snoozer, with none of the candidates possessing the charisma of termed-out incumbent Alan Autry, or even Dan Whitehurst, the man he defeated in 2000.

But, with early voting underway and three weeks remaining before the June 3 primary, things are heating up, as Republican activists focus on bringing down Henry T. Perea, the presumptive front-runner in the nonpartisan race.

From the start, it was clear that the Lincoln Club would back termed-out City Council Member Jerry Duncan for mayor. Duncan is a a conservative Republican and close to Mike Der Manouel Jr., chairman of the Lincoln Club of Fresno County.

But there was a mystery: Would the club attack Perea or Ashley Swearengin, another leading contender, in an effort to boost Duncan into the November runoff?

The answer is in: Even though candidate polls, as well as the ABC30 polls, indicate that Duncan must leapfrog Swearengin to make the runoff, the Lincoln Club is going after Perea.

The club's Website has video of Perea attending Hillary Clinton's appearance at Fresno High and a "Case against Henry Perea" feature that serves up 10 reasons why he "should not be Fresno's next mayor."

Among the claims: Perea isn't qualified to be mayor and he's a liberal Democrat, to boot. For the record, Perea is in his second term on the City Council, as is Duncan. Painting the moderate Perea, who has conservative backing, as a liberal won't turn him into an also-ran.

If the club wants to elevate Duncan, it should contrast his stand on the issues to Swearengin's positions. But the Lincoln Club won't -- because she's a Republican.

Bottom line: Perea and Swearengin, each with widespread community support, will cruise through the primary, leaving Duncan and his Lincoln Club cronies to ponder what went wrong.