Jelly Bellies. Chocolate covered almonds. The obligatory shrimp tray. A fundraiser for Scott McAdams at state Sen. Hollis French's Anchorage home turned out both the Democratic old guard and a lot of new faces, French said -- plus, it turns out, Costco's Kirkland brand beer is tastier than you might expect.

"People were coming out of the woodwork because they wanted to meet Scott McAdams," said French, who just finished about 4,400 votes behind Ethan Berkowitz in the Democratic primary for governor. "They see a viable candidate, and a weak one on the other side, from our perspective, so let's make a push."

The state party's old guard was out in full force, French said, represented by former Gov. Tony Knowles; Joe Josephson, a former state senator and representative; and Chancy Croft, a former president of the state Senate. But there were also lots of new faces, he said, and McAdams spokeswoman Heather Handyside said she had trouble finding a parking spot (the McAdams camp brought the food, French said).

"It was like uncorking a bottle," French said. "Lots and lots of people wanted to come and meet Scott McAdams."

French said the fundraiser brought in about $19,000, though Handyside declined to confirm the figure. Early Thursday morning, French posted the following on his Facebook page: "Scott McAdams will at my house tonight! Let's be frank: he needs $. Come meet Scott, and bring some green to help him! We're asking for $250 per person. That's a lot, I know, but we have to raise some serious money quickly."

McAdams is also the number-one fundraiser on ActBlue, a website for campaigning Democrats, having brought in $126,580 as of Friday afternoon. Miller can no longer count on the Tea Party Express money that helped him get his name out in the primary, but he reportedly hired a D.C. fundraiser to go after K Street and PAC money.

"Who would have thought, six months ago, that we could have two Democratic senators from Alaska?" French said. "Nobody thought that."

Contact Joshua Saul at jsaul(at)alaskadispatch.com.