"The Democratic Party is being positively shaped by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocates who believe in Democratic principles of fair play, hard work, security at home and equal opportunity for all," said NSD Executive Director Jon Hoadley.

The increase in participation is due in part to the Stonewall Democrats' Pride in the Party program, which sought a 14% increase in participants to 321 from the 282 that attended Boston's Democratic National Convention in 2004. Pride in the Party set out to help LGBT hopefuls navigate the process of campaigning for, and being successfully elected as, delegates. Prior to the creation of Pride in the Party, the Stonewall Democrats coordinated an effort with state Democratic Party branches to court and secure LGBT delegates for the 2008 convention. All 50 states have responded, with 47 having established specific numerical goals for participation, and Alaska, Arkansas and Mississippi setting up inclusion programs. Five states will be sending LGBT representation to Denver for the first time: Hawaii, Mississippi, Montana, South Dakota and Tennessee. Also, 36 states and territories are expected to increase their LGBT participation compared to 2004.

A total of 358 participants from 48 states have signed on for this year's Denver event, running from August 25 to August 28, directly after the Stonewall Democrats National Convention, also taking place in Denver from August 21 to August 24. Notable names in these ranks include 21-year-old

Jason Rae of Wisconsin, the youngest superdelegate, Latina lesbian Sonya Lewis of Colorado, transwoman and aerospace consultant Amanda Simpson of Arizona, Minnesota labor leader Javier Morillo-Alicea, and Young Stonewall Democrats founder and Texan Paul Tran.

"The Democratic National Convention is an avenue for our community to participate in civic life and advance the values that the majority of Americans share," Hoadley added. "Many of our brightest elected officials, chapter leaders and party officers began their participation in Democratic politics as delegates to past conventions and by increasing the number of LGBT participants, we are growing the ranks of future Democratic leaders."