After months of mudslinging in what some are calling the ugliest primary season in Montgomery County's history, Democrats gathered Thursday to kiss and make up.

The Woman's Suburban Democratic Club hosted the celebration in Rockville, which the group's vice president, Carole Brand, said is intended to unify Democrats after the primary.

The "Kiss and Make-Up" party is staged every four years in gubernatorial election years, said Brand, who added this year's primary was the most divisive for Democrats that she could recall.

"It takes time to heal from all of this," said Sen. Nancy J. King (D-Dist. 39) of Montgomery Village. "But I'm so ready to move on from all of this, and I suspect he is, too."

King was referring to her Democratic opponent in the Sept. 14 primary election, Del. Saqib Ali (D-Dist. 39) of Montgomery Village.

King defeated Ali in the primary battle, which included contentious mailings from both camps. Among the mailers was one from King showing Ali sleeping in the delegates' lounge in Annapolis.

King said Thursday that Ali, who did not attend the Democratic gathering, had called to congratulate her.

Former Del. Cheryl C. Kagan said she has attended every kiss and make up party since 1986, when she was a paid Democratic staffer. Kagan ran unsuccessfully in the primary against incumbent Sen. Jennie M. Forehand (D-Dist. 17) of Rockville.

"It's always important for Democrats to be united" going into the general election, Kagan said.

Forehand said serving with Kagan in the Montgomery County delegation made it difficult to compete against the former delegate.

"It's hard to run against someone you've worked with and been on the same team with," Forehand said.

Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) and Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown (D), U.S. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D) of Baltimore and U.S. Rep. Christopher Van Hollen Jr. (D-Dist. 8) of Kensington were on hand Thursday to rally the party. County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) also attended.

"The goal is to be united and work really hard to make sure we get Gov. O'Malley re-elected," Forehand said.

At least two candidates who lost their district races for Montgomery County Council attended the Democratic gathering: Sharon Dooley, who lost in District 2, and Ilaya Hopkins, who unsuccessfully challenged Councilman Roger Berliner (D-Dist. 1) of Potomac.

Del. Craig L. Rice (D-Dist. 15) of Germantown, who won in District 2, and challenger Hans Riemer, who beat one-term Councilwoman Duchy Trachtenberg (D-At large) of North Bethesda in last week's primary, also were there.

Trachtenberg did not attend.

Councilman Marc Elrich (D-At large) of Takoma Park, who was the top vote-getter in the Democratic at-large primary, said Democrats should remember what is important.

"There's not all that much difference between the Democrats," Elrich said. "But there's a ton of difference between us and the Republicans."

Nine losing Democrats in the District 16 delegate race gathered for a photo during Thursday's party, said Bill Farley, a Somerset Town Council member who was among those defeated.

Also at Thursday's event, O'Malley called Montgomery County the battleground for the gubernatorial race with former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R).

Leggett said the question is not whether O'Malley wins in Montgomery County, but by how great a margin.

"We need Montgomery County to win big," Leggett said.

Party officials, however, cannot take much solace in the county's Democratic turnout for the primary — 23.71 percent. By comparison, in 2006, when O'Malley was first elected governor, Democratic primary turnout in Montgomery County was 39.98 percent.

Leggett encouraged Democrats to unite to re-elect O'Malley.

"This is not about who you ran against, this is about what you're running for," Leggett said.