FAIR OAKS - Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) said she hopes Democrats can pick up more than two seats in that chamber in the Nov. 4 election, after she took part in a Saturday rally for one of the party's targets in Assembly District 10.

A who's who of Sacramento-area Democratic legislators - and a few hoping to join that group - rallied about 70 volunteers before heading out to walk precincts in one of the races the party thinks it can win.

"There's a blue wave sweeping across this nation, and we have to make sure it comes across the state," Bass said. "We have some districts, and I'm sorry to say this was one of them, where we had to tell people, ‘No, this is not an automatic Republican district.'"

Speaking after the rally, Bass said she feels the chances of winning 10 are good. Democrats would need to win six for the all-important two-thirds majority in the state Assembly.

The party has targeted five seats across the state now held by termed-out Republicans: ADs 10, 15, 26, 78 and 80. Republicans are taking their best shot at replacing a termed-out Democrat in AD 30, in the southern San Joaquin Valley.

Similar campaign rallies were planned later Saturday in AD 26 as well as at noon Saturday in Stockton for Senate District 5, where Assemblywoman Lois Wolk (D-Davis) is hoping to replace termed-out Democrat Mike Machado (D-Linden).

In AD 10, where Republican registration outpaces Democrats by about two percentage points, party members believe that attorney Alyson Huber has a good shot at winning what's been a traditionally Republican-held seat, and thus adding to the party's lead in the Assembly.

Thus, not only Bass, but Assemblyman Dave Jones (D-Sacramento), Wolk and Assemblywoman Cathleen Galgiani (D-Livingston) made an appearance at the rally, along with several elected Democrats at the city level, and fellow Assembly candidate Mariko Yamada.

"These voters will go Democrat if we just reach out to them," said Huber, who lives in El Dorado Hills, to the assembled party volunteers.

Huber is running against Republican Jack Sieglock, a former city councilman and county supervisor from Lodi. Though Republicans have more registered voters, Democrats believe that the high number of decline-to-state voters in the district - about 16 percent of all voters - may swing the party's way on Nov. 4.

Bass said after the rally that the Democratic Party is riding high on energy generated by frustration with the war in Iraq and the limping economy.

"You're seeing a national collapse in the McCain campaign," she also said. "The challenge now is to get everyone to vote down ballot."

Bass had an answer for the suggestion that Democrats were gaining an advantage at the expense of people facing tough times.

"But the reason times are tough is because we've had such bad leadership in the last eight years," she said.

One other person who spoke said bad leadership is not just a cause to address at the presidential or state legislative level.

Bill Durston, a Gold River doctor making his second try at unseating U.S. Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Gold River) in the 3rd Congressional District, told party members that he believes Lungren's representation isn't meeting the job.

"Dan Lungren's got a tiger by the tail," Durston said, adding he plans on firing back soon at mailers Lungren's campaign has sent to voters that accuse Durston of not supporting troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. "He's going to hear from veterans about these outrageous attacks."

Durston said he'll be joined by veterans, former Republican congressman Pete McCloskey and Lieutenant Gov. John Garamendi at an event Monday in Capitol Park in Sacramento to respond to the mailers.

ELSEWHERE on PolitickerCA.com:

• Huber to have rally with Bass, Galgiani, Jones, Wolk and more
• Outside groups spending in four state Assembly races
• Garamendi endorses Durston, says Lungren needs to go