Incumbent Democrat Jaret Gibbons of Ellwood City, seeking his second term, was leading Republican Bob Morabito. Much of the district is in Lawrence County, which was slow to tabulate and report results last night.

Two-term Republican Brian Ellis of Butler Township bested Democratic opponent Dave Wilson of Buffalo.

"It's humbling to think that the folks of the 11th District have that much confidence in me. In a year that was tough for Republicans nationwide, to be this successful on the local level is very humbling and gratifying," Mr. Ellis said last night.

He said he's ready to tackle what he believes will be one of Pennsylvania's biggest economic issues: its state budget. "It's my main goal to ensure there are no additional Rendell tax increases."

Mr. Ellis, 38, is co-owner of the Ellis Auto Group, which has dealerships in Lyndora, Penn and Emlenton. Mr. Wilson, 56, recently retired as a teacher of vocational education at Northern Westmoreland Career and Technology Center in New Kensington.

It was smooth sailing for one of Pennsylvania's most conservative Republicans, incumbent Rep. Daryl Metcalfe of Cranberry, who claimed a sixth two-year term.

Mr. Metcalfe, 45, has advanced a conservative agenda on a host of issues including illegal immigration, abortion and gay marriage.

His opponent, John Olesnevich, 60, of Middlesex, built his platform on more local issues, including infrastructure improvement and funding for mass transit. He had worked for a manufacturing company until he was disabled and currently is a substitute teacher in the Karns City School District and an income tax preparer.

Mr. Metcalfe said the result was evidence that the voters of the 12th District like what they've gotten the past decade and want more of the same in the coming two-year term. "I'll be fighting for the same issues I've been fighting for: limited, more efficient government, less taxation, local control of education, and traditional family values."

Incumbent Republican Jim Marshall, who rode a wave of anger over the aborted legislative pay raises two years ago to capture the predominantly Democratic district, won re-election.

His Democratic challenger, Dennis Rousseau, 57, of Chippewa, made no secret of his association with former Rep. Mike Veon, who is among those facing criminal charges in the Bonusgate investigation, and other Democratic powers-that-be, and promised to use those connections to the district's benefit.

It was an odd race, with the challenger feeling more like an incumbent and the incumbent feeling more like a challenger.

Mr. Marshall, 48, of Darlington Township, had been treated as something of an interim legislator by many, and said even his Republican colleagues joked about his scant chances for re-election.

"My party only has 30 percent of my district, but I work for everyone," Mr. Marshall said last night.

In the heavily Democratic district in Beaver County, 25-year-old Republican challenger Jim Christiana upset incumbent Vincent Biancucci, D-Center.

Mr. Christiana's strong showing was something of a surprise. The district, which covers Center, Monaca, Hopewell, Shippingport and other central Beaver County communities, is dominated by Democrats and has been for generations.

"This is a humbling experience," said Mr. Christiana, who was celebrating quietly with friends and family last night. "I have the utmost respect for Rep. Biancucci and his service to this district. Campaigns are tough. We worked hard to get our point across. I'm looking forward to going to Harrisburg to serve the people of the 15th District. The work is just beginning. I want to bring real reform to Harrisburg."

Reprising a 2004 showdown, Republican Mike Turzai crushed Democratic challenger Brad Cline.

Mr. Turzai, 49, of Bradford Woods, built his campaign for a fourth term on three themes: fiscal responsibility, economic competitiveness and government integrity.

"I've been a leader of reform and fiscal responsibility. And I've been a regional and community leader on issues like taking on the Port Authority and making sure that Pittsburgh really was back on an appropriate financial footing," Mr. Turzai said after results were in last night.

When the state House reconvenes, he pledged to continue his efforts to control state spending and cut taxes.

Mr. Cline, 40, of Richland, had said his top priorities were term limits for legislators, more state funding for education and property tax reform.

Democratic Rep. Tony DeLuca, who has held the seat for 13 terms, easily defeated Republican Joseph O'Connor, a newcomer to state politics.

Mr. DeLuca said he was "elated" at the victory and attributed his success to building a bipartisan coalition of voters.

"The people recognized that we have worked hard on behalf of the citizens and will continue to work hard," he said.

Mr. O'Connor, a retired purchaser for the municipality of Penn Hills, had said his experience in municipal government taught him that state government was too onerous and ran on a promise to shrink state bureaucracies.

Longtime incumbent Democrat Frank Dermody narrowly defeated Republican newcomer Jason Davidek of Fawn.

Mr. Dermody, 57, of Oakmont, has been in the House since 1991 and ran on his record, including sponsorship of legislation that helped Allegheny Ludlum in Brackenridge keep 2,500 jobs and add 100 more over the next five years.

Mr. Davidek, 29, has spent the past five years serving as a supervisor in Fawn, where he's been a lifelong resident. His campaign focused on reforming the political environment in Harrisburg. Changes he hoped for included reducing the size of the Legislature, self-imposed term limits and asking legislators to pay a portion of their health care.

Rep. William Kortz won a second term, easily defeating Republican Dan Davis of West Mifflin.

Mr. Kortz, 53, is on leave from his job as operations manager at the U.S. Steel Irvin Plant in West Mifflin while he serves in the Legislature. Mr. Davis, 44, of West Mifflin, is a senior project manager at L. Robert Kimball & Associates.

Mr. Kortz was among the freshman class of 53 new legislators elected two years ago when voters were angry with incumbents who had voted themselves pay raises during a wee-hours session. They later rescinded the raises.

"I think it's an affirmation from the people of the 38th District that they are satisfied with the job we've done and they want us to continue with the job that we started," Mr. Kortz said last night.

Mr. Davis said he wasn't surprised by the outcome, given that the district is 70 percent Democratic. "I'm still proud of what I did. I just wanted to make sure that I was a candidate and people did have a choice."

Longtime incumbent David Levdansky, D-Forward, narrowly turned back a challenge from Republican Monica Douglas, president of Elizabeth Borough council.

Mr. Levdansky, 54, will serve his 13th term. Ms. Douglas, 37, executive director of the Allegheny County Republican Committee, also ran unsuccessfully against Mr. Levdansky in 2002.

Mr. Levdansky said he believes the race was close in part because Ms. Douglas sent out 11 negative campaign mailers in the past 12 days, accusing him of corruption. He said be believes Ms. Douglas' campaign was funded largely by the National Rifle Association in retaliation for legislation he sponsored earlier this year that would have required gun owners who discover their firearms lost or missing to report it within 72 hours.

Ms. Douglas, who refused to concede last night, acknowledged that the NRA provided some support for her campaign.

"This victory is really the culmination of a lot of hard work by me and my staff," Mr. Levdansky said.

Democrat Matt Smith of Mt. Lebanon easily won his second term, defeating GOP nominee Jim Blazeck, also of Mt. Lebanon.

Both candidates campaigned on the need to reduce the Legislature's bloated budget.

Mr. Smith, 36, an attorney, was an outspoken critic of Democratic leader Bill DeWeese and supported reform measures in his first term.

"The voters are saying they like what we've done in the first two years," he said last night. "People want us to execute change."

Rep. Mark Mustio, R-Moon, easily turned aside a challenge by Democrat Ayanna Lee, also of Moon.

Mr. Mustio, sipping an IC Light while watching election returns on TV with friends and supporters at Jacksons Moon Township, said Ms. Lee's campaign failed to persuade voters of the need for change in his district.

"The voters of the 44th District have rejected negative campaigning and supported reforming government and continuing economic development in the airport area," he said.

Mr. Mustio, president of HHM Insurers since 1981, was elected to the House in 2003. He previously had served as a Moon supervisor.

Ms. Lee, 34, is a commercial real estate lawyer at Reed Smith, Downtown.

Both candidates advocated cutting the size of the Legislature by 20 percent and reducing its budget.

Rep. Jesse White, 30, of Cecil, won his second term, defeating Republican Frank Yuvan, 26, of Canton.

Mr. White said he knocked on 4,000 doors in a grass-roots campaign to keep the seat. "We made a decision from the very beginning to run a positive, issue-based campaign. I chose to stay away from negatives," he said, accusing Mr. Yuvan of not following suit.

Mr. Yuvan, a martial arts instructor and owner of The Gaming Dungeon, a comic book store in Washington, said more should be done to help small businesses.

Six-term incumbent James Casorio Jr. held the seat despite an energetic challenge from Republican Susanna Lisotto.

Mr. Casorio, 44, of North Huntingdon, also defeated Ms. Lisotto, manager for a national hospice care provider, in 2002.

Ms. Lisotto, 50, of Penn, who ran on a platform of reducing the size of the Legislature and making it part-time, was counting on disenchanted voters who believed the Legislature was bloated. Mr. Casorio touted his constituent service.

In the race for the seat being vacated by longtime Rep. Tom Tangretti, Republican Tim Krieger narrowly defeated Democrat John W. Boyle.

Mr. Krieger, 46, of Delmont, said he wanted to see Pennsylvania implement a part-time Legislature, similar to Virginia's.

Mr. Boyle, 43, a Greensburg attorney, supported several sweeping reform proposals, including reducing the size of the Legislature and returning its $200 million legislative surplus to taxpayers.

Republican Mike Reese, 30, of Mount Pleasant Township, an assistant director of financial administration for Westmoreland County, won the seat held by retiring Rep. Jess Stairs.

He handily defeated Democrat Michael J. Obarto, 49, a Unity supervisor.This story was reported by staff writers Rachael Conway, Karen Kane, Brian David, Torsten Ove, Len Barcousky, Moriah Balingit, Doug Oster, Mary Niederberger, Maria Sciullo, Amy McConnell Schaarsmith, Linda Wilson Fuoco and Jon Schmitz.