PHILADELPHIA - Jim Eisenhower, the Philadelphia Democrat who lost the election for state attorney general four years ago, will again face a Republican from Pittsburgh as he seeks the office a second time.

And Tom Corbett, whose only previous elected office was as a township supervisor, must again take on a foe with strong support in the Philadelphia area, as he did in the attorney general's primary.

Both men won their party's nomination in Tuesday's primary to run for Pennsylvania's attorney general, the state's top lawyer, in the Nov. 2 general election.

In Butler County, Corbett got 13,261 votes to Castor's 5,794.

Eisenhower came in second in Butler County with 3,596 votes. Leading the voting in the county was Morganelli, with 3,672. Barasch got 2,673 votes.

Eisenhower and Corbett are former federal prosecutors with long resumes and little electoral experience, but nevertheless have chosen this route to return to public service.

Eisenhower, beaten by incumbent Mike Fisher in 2000, said he believes his party has a better chance than ever to win a job that has remained in Republican hands since 1982.

"Now we've got an open seat where we're not running against someone who controls the office and I think my ideas will resonate with the voters," Eisenhower said.

Eisenhower's victory was propelled primarily by strong support in his home town and the surrounding suburbs.

Corbett, the former U.S. attorney for the 25-county western district of Pennsylvania, was endorsed by the state Republican party, but still had to hold off an aggressive challenge by Bruce Castor, the Montgomery County district attorney.

The Republican race was unusually vitriolic, with each candidate running attack ads questioning each other's ethics.

Despite that, Castor conceded in a "cordial" telephone call before 1 a.m. Wednesday, Corbett said.

"He told me to go out there and win in November, to go get them and that's what we intend to do," Corbett said.

Corbett said he would have to develop a strategy to draw Democrats and independents to his side to bolster the outnumbered Republican voters.

Corbett carried most counties, including a huge victory in Allegheny County, where he lives, while Castor won big in his home county and the rest of the southeast.Eisenhower beat back a challenge by Northampton County's district attorney, John Morganelli, while David Barasch, the former U.S. attorney in Harrisburg, finished third.While the Democratic party decided not to endorse a candidate, the Republican party's endorsement sparked a bitter feud between Castor and Corbett.Among other things, both men accused each other of being beholden to an influential campaign donor with a criminal record.One Castor ad contended that Corbett's campaign was "bankrolled by a convicted felon who served time for political corruption." A Corbett ad questioned the motivation of Castor's generous donors, asking, "Was Castor bought? What do you think?"Running against the party-endorsed candidate brought Castor scorn from Republican leaders, but that did not stop him from leading the fund raising through April 12 in the $4 million primary.Castor said he had no regrets about the race, and felt he had no bridges to mend with the Republican party."I said from the beginning that I sought this office because I wanted to be attorney general, not because I wanted to be a statewide political player," Castor said. "And now I'll resume my duties as district attorney and a job I really love."The current attorney general, Jerry Pappert, a Republican, was not seeking to return to office. He was appointed by Gov. Ed Rendell to finish the term of Fisher, the two-term elected attorney general who was sworn in as a federal appeals judge in December. Pappert, Fisher's top deputy for seven years, agreed not to seek election as a condition of his appointment.