ERIE -- The northwest corner of the state made a dramatic shift yesterday, as voters in District 3 ended a quarter-century of Republican representation by choosing Democratic newcomer Kathy Dahlkemper over longtime incumbent Rep. Phil English.

Mr. English conceded the race shortly after 11 p.m. even though it was still close with some precincts yet to report.

"We don't have all the results yet, but it looks like we came up a little short," Mr. English told supporters gathered at The Brewerie in the old Union Station downtown. "We're close, but it's no cigar."

Mr. English attributed his loss to being "heavily outspent" by his opponent in the Pittsburgh media market.

He said he was proud of his accomplishments in Congress, but "I don't plan to be a candidate in the future.

Mrs. Dalkemper, thanking supporters last night at the Saga Club in Erie, promised that her focus in Washington would be on jobs for this part of the state.

This year's contest pitted the seven-term incumbent against a political neophyte, a mother of five who defeated three men in the Democratic primary and then saw her chances take off as voters soured on those in power.

Mr. English and Mrs. Dahlkemper both hail from Erie. Both are Catholic, anti-abortion and pro-gun.

The differences between them -- as the debates, speeches and advertisements drove home -- were Mr. English's experience versus Mrs. Dahlkemper's promise of change.

Mr. English, 52, raised significantly more money than Mrs. Dahlkemper, but the national Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, sensing an opportunity, spent more than $1 million in TV ads for the challenger. At a Monday rally, she shared a stage with former President Bill Clinton.

Mr. English, a self-described moderate Republican, touted the benefits of his congressional seniority and reminded voters that he had supported the Bush administration only 50 percent of the time, including two votes against the recent Wall Street bailout.

As Election Day drew near, both campaigns realized they were in a dogfight. The Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call labeled Mr. English's seat one of the 10 most vulnerable this year. An independent poll in late October showed Mrs. Dahlkemper inching ahead of Mr. English, 49 to 45 percent, just within the margin of error.

Mrs. Dahlkemper's advantage was viewed as being in the more urban areas of the district -- the cities of Erie, Sharon, Meadville and Butler -- where she was expected to benefit from longtime union support and Sen. Barack Obama's presence at the top of the ticket. Her challenge was to sway voters in the suburban and rural regions, and to that end she spent day after day since her spring primary victory visiting neighborhoods, knocking on doors, introducing herself and listening to people's concerns. It was a routine that she kept up yesterday.

Mr. English, standing in his shirtsleeves on the lawn of the Trinity Lutheran Church in Butler yesterday, greeted voters on their way into their polling place, thanking them for their votes. He said the contest had been one of the toughest he'd faced, and the voting margins backed him up.

"This year we have been doing this much more intensively. Even if I just manage to switch a couple hundred votes, it's worth doing," he said, adding that the response had been very positive. "But I know that people who are unhappy aren't going to express themselves to me here on the sidewalk."

They did that in the voting booths.