He displayed the same bright smile and wore a sharply tailored suit.

And when he took the microphone, the crowd erupted into cheers of "Kerry! Kerry!"

But it wasn't exactly clear last night whether Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts was yesterday's news or tomorrow's candidate.

In town for a Democratic fund-raiser to help pay some of the roughly $2 million in costs the party has incurred in its legal fight over Christine Gregoire's election as governor, Kerry joked about his loss last fall, which came when Ohio's electoral votes swung to President Bush.

"I'm going to take you home with me," he said to the party faithful at Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center in Discovery Park. "Actually, I'm going to take you to Ohio."

Later in his speech, Kerry noted that he had recently reread the New Testament, and he seemed ready to barnstorm in defense of Democratic values.

"I look forward to a debate on values all across the nation," he said.

Kerry also credited the state party for organizing on Gregoire's behalf and said the ideals of his failed candidacy still reverberate.

"You can do it because you did it right here in the state of Washington," he said.

Kerry's visit brought in $30,000 to $40,000, said Democratic Party Chairman Paul Berendt. The party has spent about $2 million on the election fight and reported last month that it was about $500,000 in debt to its law firm.

While last night's fund-raiser amounted to a tiny percentage of the total legal bill, Berendt said the high-profile event alerted supporters to the dire financial straits of the party.

"An event like this fires up the grass roots so the word gets out that we have a problem," he said.

Kerry was preceded by Gregoire and U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Tacoma.

Gregoire made few references to the court case challenging her election, which is being heard in Chelan County Superior Court in Wenatchee.

Noting that Kerry had already given Washington state Democrats $250,000 for the fight in December, Gregoire said: "When they are trying to bankrupt us from having a legitimate governor, Senator Kerry is here again."

While reeling off a list of accomplishments in her first legislative session, Gregoire said she experienced "one major failure": the gay-rights bill that died by one vote in the state Senate.

"I'm disappointed we couldn't step up and say we will have no discrimination against gays and lesbians," she said. "It's heartbreaking, but we will be back next year."

A handful of supporters of Republican gubernatorial challenger Dino Rossi stood across the parking lot of Daybreak Star, one holding a sign that read: "Living non-felons for Rossi," a reference to the upcoming court fight about how many felons cast illegal votes in the November election.

While GOP officials may not have agreed with the Democrats' message, they concurred with the method.

State Republican Party Chairman Chris Vance said he also is struggling to pay off legal bills — the party reported a debt of $370,839 last month — and he hopes to stage similar fund-raisers with big-name speakers. No plans have been announced.

Alex Fryer: 206-464-8124 or afryer@seattletimes.com