It's been a primary campaign of ups and downs. But for now, Brian Ellis is atop the roller coaster.

And he's bracing for another wild ride in the next six months leading to the fall election.

Ellis snatched the Republican nomination Tuesday in a heated three-candidate race, winning nearly 44 percent of the vote in the state House of Representative's 11th District.

The victory means Ellis, 34, of Butler Township will square off against Democratic nominee Fred Vero in the Nov. 2 election for the seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Rep. Guy Travaglio.

But after a hard-fought primary win, Ellis was not thinking about the looming campaign. Instead, he was looking forward to a getaway vacation with his wife, Monica.

"I haven't evaluated the fall race, but we won't be taking anything for granted" said Ellis, co-owner of Hansen Auto Sales and Lyndora Beverage. "I'm taking some time off and afterward, I'll focus again on the campaign."

Ellis, in winning the nomination, received 3,016 votes, according to unofficial results. Marci Mustello, an aide to Republican U.S. Rep. Phil English, finished second with 2,145 votes, followed by the Rev. Bill Glassman with 1,679 votes.

The 11th District comprises the city of Butler; Buffalo, Butler, Clearfield, Donegal, Oakland, Summit, Winfield and Connoquenessing townships; and Chicora and East Butler boroughs.

"I'm pleased with the margin of victory," said Ellis, reveling with supporters at Serventi's restaurant in Butler. "I didn't have a firm idea of how it would ultimately play out.

"But we were confident with how the people were responding to my positive campaign."

Mustello, 33, of Butler Township, thought her campaign had clicked with voters. But that was not the case, she conceded.

"I don't know what was in the voters' minds," she said. "We had the issues - jobs, the economy, tax reform. We had the polls covered and we were confident based on the word on the street."

Ellis suggested his stance on the issues, particularly a call for property and business tax cuts, attracted voters. But there was more to it than that.

"This campaign and our success is indicative of what the people look for in a candidate - someone with real-life experiences, not the same type of politician bred over and over again," he said. "The result, I believe, is based on the type of leader voters are looking for."

Ellis two years ago won the GOP nomination, narrowly defeating Glassman in a three-candidate field. He later lost the election to Travaglio.

But the close race against the incumbent was enough to convince Republican leaders in Harrisburg that Ellis was their man in this year's primary.

Or so Ellis thought until earlier this year, when GOP leaders and the House Republican Campaign Committee abandoned his candidacy, pulling their money and other resources from his campaign.

The HRCC in January pulled its support of Ellis after rumors surfaced late last year about the candidate's drunk driving arrest 10 years ago.

Ellis on Jan. 21 publicly disclosed his 1994 arrest for driving under the influence, as well as having been cited for smoking marijuana and twice for underage drinking before he was 21.

Suddenly, Ellis saw state Republicans throw their support behind Mustello.

A number of Butler County party officials criticized the HRCC decision to "punish" Ellis for "youthful indiscretions."

Ellis' decision to go public with his past and admit his mistakes seemed to rally voters to his side, according to Russ Anderson, chairman of the county Republican Committee.

"Many saw this as having happened so long ago, and they realized Brian had turned his life around since then," Anderson said. "I think many voters sympathized with him."

Voters, meanwhile, were also apparently turned off by the amount of money pumped into Mustello's campaign by the HRCC and Republican leaders and political action committees.

Mustello, largely due to party backing, spent more than $40,000 in the campaign as of two weeks before the primary.

Ellis and Glassman, meanwhile, had spent $17,000 and $7,500, respectively, on their campaigns as of April 12.

"I think the voters were concerned that Harrisburg was spending so much money in this primary," Ellis said.

Glassman, 41, a Meridian pastor, could not be reached for comment after Tuesday's results.

Despite her defeat, Mustello remained upbeat.

"I feel good. I gave it my best shot," she said. "This campaign was without a doubt one of the best experiences of my life."

The HRCC is now likely to once again support Ellis in the fall. But the Republican nominee said he was not immediately banking on being bankrolled.

"The HRCC has 203 House races to consider and choose where they will get involved," he said.

But he is aware that Democrats in Harrisburg will be fronting Vero with cash in hopes of a November victory.

"I would anticipate Governor (Ed) Rendell and House Democrats to be very interested in this seat and to contribute a lot of money to keep this seat they've held for many years," Ellis said.

"I would hope the Republicans would view it the same way."