Some odd bedfellows turned out for Republican mayoral candidate Mark DeSantis' rally last night -- including students, techies, lapsed Democrats and police union brass -- but then again, this was supposed to be a pretty odd election.

A 48-year-old bachelor making his first run for office, taking on the giant that is the city's Democratic Party, should not have had any chance to win. But the feeling in the room much of the night was a good one, probably because Mr. DeSantis' supporters thought they had a good chance at making history, win or lose.

At the very least, they had a shot at mixing up city politics for a change.

"Mark is not the typical, conservative Republican," said Chris Schultz, 30, a consultant and blogger who heads Democrats for DeSantis. "If this wasn't a mayoral election, but a national one, he would be an ideal Democratic candidate for people."

"I don't know how many times today I heard from my Democratic neighbors that this was the first time they were voting for a Republican," said Joe Weinroth, the GOP's 2005 mayoral candidate, who was crushed by Bob O'Connor. "It's a good sign. We're broadening the horizons for future candidates."

That optimism went south within 90 minutes of the polls closing and word got out that the Republican was getting pummeled -- again. A few of the people in the 200-strong crowd started pulling on their overcoats and heading out into the Downtown cold, even though it seemed like the party had just begun.

"Unfortunately, the voters of Pittsburgh are not enlightened enough yet to vote outside the straight [Democratic] party," Mr. Weinroth complained.

Supporters were hoping Mr. DeSantis, a consultant and professor who runs a South Side tech business, would at least do well enough to inspire more candidates from outside the usual orbit of old-school Democratic politics on Grant Street. That would be good for Democrats and Republicans alike, said Mr. DeSantis' chief strategist, Mike DeVanney.

"This shows you can offer a quality, qualified candidate. You don't have to be afraid to get into the fray, to get out there," he said.

Mr. DeSantis, who called Mayor Luke Ravenstahl to congratulate him on the win, then met with supporters at the stroke of 10 p.m., professed to be equally optimistic, despite the results.

"People are talking completely differently now about this city ... I'm so excited about my city I don't know what to say," Mr. DeSantis said. "We've changed Pittsburgh for the better, forever."

But the well-known Democratic registration edge proved too big once again, even for a candidate buoyed by high-profile endorsements, money and years of government experience in Washington, D.C.

"Hey it's a 5 to 1 margin. You've got a really high mountain to climb," Mr. DeSantis told reporters. Asked if his low vote totals signaled Pittsburghers are averse to change, he replied, "One third of them aren't against it. That's what matters most."

In coming months Mr. DeSantis said he would focus on starting a loan program for minority businesses and a referendum on consolidating city and county government. Asked if he would run for mayor again in 2009, he said "ask me after I've had a martini and sat on the beach for two weeks."

Despite the huge odds facing their candidate, most supporters meeting at Navarra, an event space on Seventh Street, Downtown, held out hope through the night that Mr. DeSantis would pull out a miracle win, or at the least pick up many more votes than any city Republican in decades. The main hope was he would establish a beachhead greater than the 37 percent Republican county executive candidate Jim Roddey got in the city in 1999.