Incumbent state House representatives in the northern suburbs kept their seats in Tuesday's election. And despite the Obama tsunami, even Republican office-holders weathered the storm. Most say they will continue to maintain the same stands on issues that resonate with constituents.

State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe of Cranberry -- a Pennsylvania poster child for the most conservative of causes -- says his sixth term will be devoted to those same causes.

"Limited, more efficient government, less taxation, local control of education and traditional family values," he said have been the hallmarks of his political career, which began with his election in November 1998.

Mr. Metcalfe, 45, easily bested his Democratic opponent, John Olesnevich, in Tuesday's general election. Mr. Olesnevich, 60, of Middlesex, appeared on the ballot by virtue of write-in votes in the spring contest. He worked for a local manufacturing company until he was disabled. He returned to college, received a teaching degree, and now is a substitute teacher in the Karns City School District and is an income tax preparer.

Mr. Metcalfe, who overcame a challenge by Robin Redding, of Cranberry, in the spring primary, said he will march to the same drum beat he's been sounding for a decade in his next two-year term because he believes these are the issues that are important to his constituents.

Those political positions on such topics as illegal immigration, abortion, and gay marriage have garnered headlines as well as the mantle as the state House's most conservative Republican.

He is vice chairman of the House Finance Committee and serves on the Education, Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness and the Labor Relations committees. He said he expects to be named a committee chairman for the new legislative term.

"I'm going to continue to do the work that the taxpayers expect of me,'' he said.

Among his immediate plans is a stop at a parent rally today that's planned for the South Butler County School District where a teacher strike is ongoing. Mr. Metcalfe opposes teachers' right to strike.

Mr. Olesnevich expressed dismay as the vote totals came in Tuesday night.

"I don't know what to say. I don't understand the voters. I'm grateful to the thousands of people who did vote for me, support me and help me," he said.

"We fought a hard battle and we thought it was time for him to go, but I guess the [majority] of voters of this district are satisfied with his performance," Mr. Olesnevich said.

The 12th District encompasses nearly two dozen communities in southern Butler County.

Incumbent Republican Mike Turzai won comfortably in his race against Democratic challenger Brad Cline to represent northern Allegheny County in the state House.

Mr. Turzai received 26,662 votes in the 28th District, according to unofficial results from the Allegheny County Division of Elections. Mr. Cline got 9,299 votes.

The 28th District includes Bradford Woods, Franklin Park, Marshall, McCandless, Pine and Richland.

"You try to be humble in running for re-election," Mr. Turzai said Tuesday night. "It was up to the voters to decide if I was doing a good job,"

The factors in his win were two-fold, Mr. Turzai said. "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 was back on an appropriate financial footing."

Tuesday represented the second time the two candidates faced each other. Mr. Cline lost a race for the House seat to Mr. Turzai in 2004.

Both men agreed on the need to reduce the size of the state Legislature.

Mr. Cline said he hoped that Mr. Turzai now will use his influence as a GOP leader to shepherd through that change.

"I'm disappointed, but the result was not unexpected," Mr. Cline said Tuesday after the results came in. "I want to congratulate Mike and look forward to seeing him focus on his desire to cut the size of the Legislature."

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

Mr. Cline said he planned to stay active in local politics and took satisfaction from his efforts on behalf of the successful Barack Obama presidential campaign.

Mr. Turzai, 49, lives with his family in Bradford Woods.

He has represented the 28th district since 2001. A lawyer, he is a former assistant district attorney in Allegheny County. He also has served on Bradford Woods council.

He has a bachelor's degree in English and history from Notre Dame and a law degree from Duke University.

He and his wife, Lidia, have three sons, Andrew, 9, Stephen, 8, and Matthew, 6.

Mr. Turzai emphasized three themes in his re-election campaign: fiscal responsibility, economic competitiveness and government integrity.

He pledged to continue to seek spending controls, a moratorium on borrowing and a reduction in the state's personal income tax rate from the current 3.07 percent to 2.93 percent.

He also promised to push for additional business tax relief.

Mr. Cline, 40, is single and lives in Richland.

He has a bachelor's degree in applied math and industrial management from Carnegie Mellon University and a master of business administration degree from the University of Pittsburgh.

He works in Robinson as a project manager for Celerity, a Virginia-based business and technology consulting company.

He is chairman of the Richland Democratic Committee and a member of the party's state committee.

Trouble tabulating election results in Lawrence County made for a long night in the state house's 10th District, but in the end, Democrat incumbent Jaret Gibbons retained his seat by a comfortable margin.

The district covers portions of Beaver, Butler and Lawrence counties. Mr. Gibbons overcame Republican challenger Bob Morabito in those counties by 320 votes in Beaver, 636 in Butler and 1,898 in Lawrence, according to unofficial results.

Results were so late coming in Tuesday night that both candidates went to bed without knowing how they had fared.

"I think it was at 52 percent [of precincts reporting] when I went to bed," said Mr. Gibbons, of Ellwood City.

Electronic glitches with voting machines in two precincts appear to have held up the final Lawrence County tallies, Mr. Gibbons said.

During their campaigns, Mr. Gibbons, 28, and Mr. Morabito, 55, both said the economy, health care and revising the current tax structure should be legislative priorities.

They also said their ages and vastly different life experiences made them each uniquely qualified to represent the 10th District.

Mr. Gibbons said he understands his constituents' struggles because he and his new wife are dealing with financial decisions, such as buying a house, that are directly affected by the troubled economy. Also, he said he wanted to continue the work he began in his first term.

"I came in two years ago to move state government ahead and that's what I've done," he said.

During the campaign, Mr. Morabito, also of Ellwood City, said his 20 years in the U.S. Navy, from which he retired in 2001 as a commander, gave him the opportunity to deal with all levels of government. Life in the military taught him how to lead and govern and he would rely on those skills as a state legislator, Mr. Morabito said.

Yesterday, Mr. Morabito congratulated Mr. Gibbons on his win and thanked all the people who supported him during the campaign.

"This is how the process is supposed to work," Mr. Gibbons said. "I wish Mr. Gibbons the best of luck."

Mr. Gibbons said he's spoken to constituents about the issues that mean so much to them, including economic development, and he's ready to go about the business of addressing them in Harrisburg.

"These are the issues that I started with two years ago there's still more to get done," he said.

It was a hard-working, door-knocking, spaghetti-dinner kind of campaign for state Rep. Brian Ellis, of Butler Township, that won his re-election to a third term as District 11 representative in the state House.

But he doesn't expect to take a breather. "There's a lot of work to do,'' said Mr. Ellis, 38, a Republican.

"I don't think we can wait to June to start looking at the next [state] budget. I don't even want to wait until the next [legislative] session begins. We've got until Nov. 30 to work [in this session] and I think we should use that time,'' he said.

Specifically, Mr. Ellis said his immediate priority will be to look for ways to trim spending. "We have got to find a way to slow the rapid growth in spending or we'll be in a position where the governor will be looking for tax increases and that's the last thing we need in Pennsylvania with this economy the way it is,'' he said.

His pledge to never vote for a tax increase was one of the fundamental planks in his re-election platform. "I've never changed my beliefs, message or convictions,'' he said Tuesday night.

Mr. Ellis predicted that 2009 will be a particularly "tough year" for Pennsylvania. "We're looking at a very negative fiscal climate. It's my main goal to ensure there are no additional Rendell tax increases and that we continue to work for job creation in Western Pennsylvania."

He bested Democratic opponent Dave Wilson, 56, of Buffalo Township, who appeared on Tuesday's ballot by virtue of write-ins during the spring primary. Mr. Ellis was unopposed in the April balloting.

Mr. Ellis is co-owner of the Ellis Auto Group, which has dealerships in Lyndora, Penn and Emlenton. He has a bachelor's degree in communications from the University of Pittsburgh.

Mr. Wilson said last night he was surprised by the balloting results. "Well, the people spoke. It surprised the heck out of me but they spoke. Now, they'll have two more years of a legislator who isn't working in their best interests."

The 11th District includes Chicora, Donegal, Oakland, Clearfield, East Butler, Summit, Butler, Butler Township, Connoquenessing Township, Winfield, and Buffalo.

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

According to unofficial results, the vote was 14,053 to 13,373.

But even though he ended up on the losing end of the tally, Mr. Davidek saw a silver lining in the defeat.

With only a few hundred votes separating the candidates, he said he was encouraged by the number of crossover Democrats who voted for him.

"We made the race about Harrisburg. It's hungry for reform and I think it shows that there are certainly some people that believe that."

Mr. Dermody, 57, of Oakmont, did not return calls for comment.

He 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, 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 the state capital.