A remarkable grass-roots effort and voter dissatisfaction led to a stunning victory for Washington County lawyer Steven M. Toprani, who unseated longtime District Attorney John C. Pettit on Tuesday.

"It was a very well-run campaign -- it was masterful," said Joseph DiSarro, professor and chairman of the political science department at Washington and Jefferson College, of the Republican newcomer's effort.

A Washington Democrat, Mr. Pettit, 72, was seeking his seventh and final term in office.

Unofficial results show Mr. Pettit fell to Mr. Toprani by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, with 14,283 votes to Mr. Toprani's 27,129 votes.

Mr. Toprani said yesterday he was humbled and honored by the victory, but both candidates expressed surprise by the landslide.

There are about 1,200 absentee ballots yet to be counted, but they aren't expected to affect the lopsided outcome, according to county Elections Director Larry Spahr.

Mr. Pettit for the first time used television commercials, direct mail and a Web site in an effort to discredit Mr. Toprani, 28, of Carroll, for his lack of experience.

Mr. Toprani has never tried a case before a jury, but has worked in state government and his own practice since becoming a lawyer two years ago. His campaign raised far less than Mr. Pettit's, and focused on targeted mailings, along with radio and newspaper ads.

Mr. Pettit's Web site ridiculed Mr. Toprani as a "rookie" and "novice," but the claims apparently fell on deaf ears, as Mr. Toprani scored a huge bipartisan victory in a county with a 2.2-to-1 Democratic voter registration edge. A Republican hasn't been elected to the office in 44 years.

The Democratic Party split in its support of Mr. Pettit, with many committee people and party leaders working for Mr. Toprani behind the scenes, and in some cases outwardly, hosting bipartisan fund-raisers and wearing buttons with a black line drawn through Mr. Pettit's name.

"I think it's one of the most remarkable campaigns I've seen in Washington County in 30 years," said Dr. DiSarro, who touted Mr. Toprani's well-coordinated campaign to speak directly to thousands of voters as the perfect antidote for those tired of reading about Mr. Pettit's personal and political problems.

The "Pettit-fatigue" factor loomed large in the race, according to Dr. DiSarro. The district attorney recently faced an FBI probe into whether he abused his office, and questions over his relationship with a 31-year-old woman with a history of drug and prostitution arrests.

He had also been criticized for his use of questionable jailhouse informants in murder cases, which led to a case being overturned several years ago, and for his participation in a murder case involving a man to whom he owed money.

The first inkling that Mr. Pettit might have re-election problems came in the primary, when he had no Democratic challenger but an abnormally high undervote rate of 34 percent. In some precincts, more voters chose not to vote rather than cast a ballot for Mr. Pettit.

Democratic county Commissioner Larry Maggi, who won re-election Tuesday, said he was sensing waves of discontent with the district attorney's office as he mingled among voters this year.

"You could tell people were ready for change," he said.

Mr. Toprani said his campaign team felt early on that he had an advantage over Mr. Pettit, who many voters saw as an entrenched incumbent "who needed to go." The outcry got louder as the election neared.

"The last six or seven days we really felt the momentum," he said. "I'm thankful ... that people came out and saw the need to vote."

Mr. Toprani said he approached members of the Washington County Democratic Committee and convinced many of them, along with local law enforcement officials, to support him. Several local police chiefs recently have expressed frustration with the district attorney's office over dropped charges and cases that were never brought to trial.

"We knew this race was about John Pettit and about Washington," he said.

Mr. Pettit could not be reached for comment yesterday, but in a radio interview Tuesday night said he had expected to win by a narrow margin.

"I anticipated a close outcome," he said that night. "I truly thought we'd win."