ELECTIONS '08

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Carolyn Crandall stood at the bar of the Courtyard Marriott Hotel in Oxnard on Friday night and surveyed the crowd. "There are this many Democrats in Ventura County?" she joked.

But there was a hint of truth in the shock in her voice. For 20 years, Republicans have outnumbered Democrats in Ventura County, often by wide margins. But by this month's primary election, Democrats had pulled nearly even, trailing Republicans by just 472 of the county's 383,273 registered voters.

They haven't won yet, but on Friday night at the Marriott, the Democrats were celebrating. About 300 people from all over the county, as well as party leaders and politicians from around the state, showed up for the inaugural Jack and Bobby Kennedy Dinner.

The $75-a-plate dinner was a fundraiser for the registration group Vote Blue, as well as an excuse to celebrate the party's gains in Ventura County.

"This is the next frontier for the Democratic Party, here in Ventura County," Eric Bauman, the chairman of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, said during the cocktail reception.

"What I'm here to do is to help provide support for my colleagues in Ventura County, to rally the troops, raise money, register voters, and I think we can make Ventura County go Democratic this time around," Bauman said.

"This is our year," said comedian and radio host Stephanie Miller, also a speaker at the dinner.

"If we can't beat George W. Bush this year, we should just quit," she added.

When reminded that Bush won't be on the ballot this year, Miller said, "John McCain is like Bush, only worse."

If there are any fissures in the party because of the fierce primary battle between Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama, they weren't evident at the Marriott on Friday. There were a few Obama-versus-Clinton debates, but they were all very cordial.

"There's just a lot of excitement in the party," said Ferial Masry, a Newbury Park Democrat who has run twice for State Assembly and plans to run again this year. "We don't care which one wins; we love both of them."

The Jack and Bobby Kennedy Dinner will be held every year, said Sue Broidy, an Ojai Democrat and one of the event's organizers.

It will be one of three annual events for the entire countywide Democratic Party, and the only one that's an evening affair. Broidy said she hoped to raise $5,000 to $10,000 for Vote Blue with the first Kennedy Dinner.