Jill Martinez ran for Congress two years ago, lost badly and learned a lot.

This time, she was certain, would be different.

"We were ready to land running," she said Wednesday. "We were ready to go. We actually expected to beat (incumbent) Elton Gallegly."

Ditto for Mary Pallant.

"I was looking at being the nominee," Pallant said. "I had big money lined up for the general election."

But a funny thing happened on the way to November.

Little-known Marta Jorgensen — a candidate from Santa Barbara County who dropped out of the race in April and then jumped back in three weeks later with no expectation of winning — knocked off Martinez and Pallant on Tuesday in the 24th Congressional District's Democratic primary.

It was a victory that left Democrats in Ventura County shaking their heads

"She did absolutely nothing," Pallant said of Jorgensen. "We don't have a shot in that district now."

"It blows me away," said Ventura County Democratic Central Committee Chairman Bill Gallaher. "I'm still kind of shell-shocked. Obviously, Jorgensen had something going for her that the party leadership hasn't quite grasped yet."

Jorgensen herself seemed shocked Tuesday night when informed of the early results by a Star reporter. By Wednesday morning, she had a press spokeswoman returning her calls, declined to give interviews and reported that a statement posted on her Web site would speak for itself.

"The message is clear, the people have spoken!" the statement reads. "I promise to continue to work for America and every citizen in the 24th District because I believe you are worth it."

Republicans believe the Democratic surprise will work to their advantage. Privately, some said Jorgensen's victory comes at an opportune time for Gallegly because this year the national political environment is expected to be tough on GOP members of Congress.

County Republican Central Committee Chairman Mike Osborn said it will be difficult for Jorgensen to generate enthusiasm among local Democrats. "She's far from the darling of the party," Osborn said. "She was No. 3 in the batch."

Gallegly, seeking his 12th term, has not been seriously challenged in years. In the three elections held under the 2001 redistricting plan, he has never won by less than 24 percentage points.

Osborn said it would have made little difference which Democrat won the primary. He noted Gallegly warmed up for the general election by winning a 3-to-1 victory over Republican primary challenger Michael Tenenbaum.

"I think Elton is just so strong," Osborn said. "His Democratic opponent will be another in a long line of designated bleeders."

Jorgensen hails from the small town of Solvang in the northern part of the district and made few campaign appearances in Ventura County. Gallaher, the county Democratic chairman, said he has met her only twice, and once was at the state party convention in San Jose.

Yet Jorgensen beat two candidates from Ventura County, both districtwide and in the county. She finished with 46.1 percent of the vote, ahead of Martinez at 31.6 percent and Pallant at 22.3 percent.

The question of the day was: How?

Most attributed Jorgensen's strong showing to a favorable ballot designation. She listed herself as "educator," while Martinez was on the ballot as "businesswoman/housing developer" and Pallant as "insurance agent."

Robin Swanson, a Sacramento political consultant unfamiliar with any of the candidates in the 24th District primary, was given a summary description of each candidate and their ballot titles Wednesday and asked to guess the winner.

Swanson's immediate response: "I always like the ballot designation educator.' There's a reason people fight for that title. There's a reason people who want to run for office teach part time while they're doing other things."

Jorgensen taught technology at a private school in the Santa Ynez Valley last year and continues to offer private instruction in computer use.

Martinez, whose housing work is in the area of subsidized affordable housing, said she sought to use the designation "affordable housing developer," but that term was rejected by the secretary of state.

She said that since she has recently taught college-level business management classes, she could have used the designation "educator."

"You expect a certain number of voters to be swayed by ballot designations," Martinez said. "But you don't think that the whole thing is going to be dependent on a ballot designation."

One of the reasons she chose the designation she did, Martinez said, is she felt it might appeal to independents and moderate Republicans in November.

"I was thinking strategically about the general election," she said.

Now there will be no general election campaign for Martinez.

"It's sad, but it's humorous," she said. "We just have to laugh and go on. Politics is a funny thing."