Voters on Tuesday sent longtime legislator Peter J. Daley back for a 14th term in office and made it clear that Washington County is Clinton country.

The weather was beautiful and turnout was relatively high at about 42 percent, but the news was dismal for Barack Obama, who received only 28 percent of the vote, compared to Hillary Clinton, with a whopping 71 percent, according to unofficial results.

Mr. Obama received a meager 12,432 votes, only a few hundred more than state Rep. Timothy Solobay, D-Canonsburg, who was uncontested in the 48th Legislative district. Clinton came away with 30,985 votes.

The county elections office dumped 13,000 voters off the rolls after the 2006 election because they hadn't voted or updated their records within the past five years. Those numbers were beginning to be made up somewhat this year, when several thousand new voters registered.

About 1,500 voters -- less than 2 percent of the county's electorate -- also changed their party affiliation, mostly from Republican to Democrat.

Though many feared party shifting was done mainly to bolster votes for Mrs. Clinton, who was perceived to be the weaker candidate against the GOP in the general election, the Associated Press reported last week that most Republicans who became Democrats voted for Mr. Obama.

Joseph DiSarro, professor and chairman of the political science department at Washington and Jefferson College, said intense local campaigning by both Clintons paid off, as well as negative campaigning questioning Mr. Obama's patriotism and experience.

"His comments about small town Pennsylvania obviously didn't help," nor did his performance in a Philadelphia debate a week before the election, Dr. DiSarro said.

Meanwhile, in a contentious write-in race for the Republican nomination in the 46th Legislative District, it appears Canton martial arts instructor and comic book store owner Frank Yuvan, 25, received enough votes to appear on the November ballot against incumbent state Rep. Jesse White, D-Cecil.

Mr. White, 29, a lawyer who is seeking a second term, was uncontested for the Democratic nomination with 10,639 votes. He also conducted a write-in campaign on the GOP ballot.

County Elections Director Larry Spahr said official vote totals weren't tabulated yet, but it appears Mr. Yuvan easily won the write-in contest.

In Mr. Daley's 49th District, he had no problem shutting down challenges from North Charleroi Tax Collector Barbara Reis and former Coal Center councilman Randy Barli. There were no Republican candidates.

Mr. Daley garnered 9,317 votes, to Mrs. Reis' 3,070 votes and Mr. Barli's 999 votes.

Mr. Daley, 57, a California lawyer, touted the millions of dollars in grants and improvements he's brought to the district during his 26-year tenure.

Located mostly in southern Washington County and in the Mon Valley in Washington and Fayette counties, the district also will benefit, Mr. Daley said, through the state's first technical college at the Mon Valley Career and Technology Center.

Mr. Daley credited his campaign team for their hard work, along with support from local unions.

"We worked really hard," he said. "We took nothing for granted."

As chairman of the House Commerce Committee, Mr. Daley said he's looking forward to returning for another term to tackle major issues, like a mortgage foreclosure package and an economic stimulus plan.