CAMP HILL, Pa. - In his last official act as the Democrats' state party chairman, an exuberant T.J. Rooney roared into the microphone, "All those in favor of Jim Burn, rise and say 'aye.' "

As the officials rose in loud acclamation at the choice of his successor, Mr. Rooney added, "All those opposed, go to hell!"

The raucous accord contrasted with the Democrats' often contentious primary season. Meeting in a suburban Harrisburg motel, the Democrats hoped to put those and other fights behind them, as they chose the Allegheny County councilman as their new chairman and took the first steps toward what they hope will be a coordinated effort between their nominees' campaigns for governor and the Senate.

Their top-of-the-ballot nominees, Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato and Rep. Joe Sestak, do not know one another well and had few occasions to interact before their victories in May. They met shortly after the primary at the Philadelphia office of The Campaign Group, the media strategists who worked on both of their campaigns, to discuss their common challenges over the next few months.

Their still-tentative goal of working together was part of the resolution of one potential party conflict in recent days as Mr. Burn, the Allegheny County Democratic chairman, successfully headed off multiple threats to his quest to lead the statewide party organization.

In recent weeks, three candidates had emerged for the four-year term to succeed the outgoing Mr. Rooney - Mr. Burn, Marcel Groen, the Montgomery County chairman, and Chuck Pascal, a former Armstrong County party chairman. On the eve of the election, some campaign officials also discussed the possibility of turning to newly elected York Mayor Kim Bracey.

Mr. Sestak insisted Saturday that he would have been happy with any of the candidates but acknowledged that he had suggested casting the party net wider.

In conversations with other senior Democrats, he recounted, he said of each of the contenders, "It doesn't matter; if they're it, that's fine, but you may want to look at a woman."

Mr. Onorato is a longtime ally of Mr. Burn, his fellow North Catholic alumnus. But at least some senior members of his campaign were also intrigued with the prospect of Ms. Bracey as a new Democratic face with a compelling story as the first African-American mayor of a city that had been the site of deadly race riots four decades ago.

But the Bracey boomlet was a short one, as Mr. Burn signaled that he had no intention of getting out of a race for which he had been lining up votes for months. In the end, both Mr. Sestak and Mr. Onorato insisted that they were happy with the result.

Mr. Onorato said Friday night that he had told all the contenders that he would be pleased to work with any of them. He and Mr. Burn both said that he had never asked his classmate to withdraw from the race.

Mr. Burn had the votes, and, bowing to that arithmetic, Mr. Groen and Mr. Pascal joined in seconding his nomination. Both ended up in new positions that were described as part of the party's outreach offensive. Mr. Pascal said he would lead an effort to reach to groups who feel estranged from the party establishment.

"The task for me is to reach out to progressive groups, people who see the party as too insular," Mr. Pascal said. "We're defining this as we go along."

Another work in progress - an overall effort to coordinate the Senate and gubernatorial campaigns, will be quarterbacked by Mr. Groen, who chairs the largest of the vote-rich suburban counties that surround Philadelphia. In a state dotted with contested congressional races, Mr. Burn said, "When it can, it will work with the congressionals, but the primary focus will be the senate and governor.

An Onorato campaign figure said Friday that the two campaigns had just begun the effort to reach out to one another.

"It's getting better," he said of their communication.

Speaking just before Saturday's meeting opened in a suburban Harrisburg motel, Mr. Sestak, who ran against the party establishment in his victory over incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter, sounded open-minded but still cautious about the prospect of closer ties.

"We're stronger if it's a coalition ... if it's effective and efficient," he said.

But the retired admiral acknowledged that he still hadn't figured out exactly how to measure or implement a more coordinated effort. By necessity, Mr. Sestak mounted a solo effort in the spring as the party officials who met here voted overwhelmingly to endorse Mr. Specter. Mr. Sestak said Saturday that he was intent on reaching out to the party officials as well as labor leaders who had lined up against him.

He spent the morning on a round of visits to regional caucuses of party officials here and he said had already made more than 100 calls to labor figures since the primary.

"I had a list of 200 union members to call," he said. "[it was] down to 86 as of yesterday."

Rep. Scott Conklin is the Democrat's nominee for lieutenant governor. He also bucked the party organization as he won his primary against Jonathan Saidel of Philadelphia, who had the overwhelming support of Democratic officials. Mr. Onorato also won his nomination without the party's endorsement, although the organization was officially neutral in that race as none of the four candidates could muster the supermajority needed to be endorsed.

That recent history suggests one of Mr. Burn's challenges in reaffirming the clout of an organization with a mixed record of success in recent elections. The Democrats won the last presidential race in the state and its last two governor's races by landslides. But its judicial statewide candidates struggled in 2009, and it was 0-for-two in its primary endorsements.

Early polling has found encouraging numbers for both of the Republican statewide candidates - Attorney General Tom Corbett, the GOP choice for governor, and Senate candidate Pat Toomey - but Democrats here professed wary optimism that cooperation and a reversal of their voters' weak turnout in the last two elections could allow them to capitalize on their persistent advantage in voter registration

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