Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, with his wife Erin, proclaims victory Tuesday night over Republican Mark DeSantis in the Pittsburgh mayoral election. Ravenstahl will finish out the term on Bob O'Connor, who died in October 2006.

PITTSBURGH — Mayor Luke Ravenstahl challenged the city's residents to forget the past and start believing in themselves and the city after he won the election Tuesday to finish out his predecessor's term.

The 27-year-old had been dogged by questions about his age and limited life experience since he became mayor in October 2006 after the death of Mayor Bob O'Connor. But Ravenstahl easily fended off an aggressive challenge by Republican businessman Mark DeSantis, calling his win the "dawning of a new day in Pittsburgh — the beginning of the next Pittsburgh renaissance."

"We need to start believing in ourselves once again. We need to start believing in Pittsburgh," Ravenstahl told supporters gathered at a downtown hotel Tuesday night. "Let us recognize Pittsburgh as the great city it is."

Ravenstahl won with 64 percent of the vote. The city's last two elected mayors also won with large vote totals — 67 percent for O'Connor and 74 percent for his predecessor, Tom Murphy, both Democrats.

Ravenstahl had been heavily favored to win. The city hasn't elected a Republican mayor since the Great Depression, and Democrats hold a 5-to-1 advantage in voter registrations.

DeSantis entered the race just five months ago after winning the GOP nomination as a write-in candidate. In conceding the election, DeSantis said he believed his supporters had changed the city's political landscape.