Van Hollen Lone Statewide Republican Winner Amid Big Dem Wins

The AP has declared Republican J.B. Van Hollen the winner in the attorney general's race, according to unofficial returns, making him the only statewide Republican winner amid a big Dem sweep that saw Gov. Jim Doyle re-elected.

Unofficial returns with nearly all precincts counted showed Van Hollen with 1,061,991 votes to Kathleen Falk's 1,052,652. Falk, the Dane Co. exec, lost to Van Hollen after knocking off incumbent Democrat Peg Lautenschlager in the September primary.

Due to the narrow margin, Falk's campaign isn't quite ready to concede.

"Kathleen Falk has called J.B. Van Hollen to wish him the best," Falk campaign manager Tim Del Monico said in a prepared statement. "Given the narrowness of the election results, we will review the official canvass when it is completed by the Elections Board and evaluate the options at that time."

For now Van Hollen, a former U.S. attorney and northern prosecutor who stressed crime-fighting, appears to be the first Republican to win the AG's office since Don Hanaway in 1986. Hanaway held the office for one term before losing to Doyle.