HARRISBURG — Democrats with adjoining state House districts in northeastern Pennsylvania came out on top in caucus elections Tuesday, while the Republican floor leader beat a former speaker to win re-election.

Rep. Keith McCall, D-Carbon, was unopposed in becoming his party's candidate for speaker in the January vote. His election as speaker is nearly assured, but is not a certainty.

McCall said his thoughts on being in line for the honor were with his late father, who held the same seat before he did.

"I wish he could see me now," McCall said.

Rep. Todd Eachus, D-Luzerne, was elected floor leader, taking over from Rep. Bill DeWeese of Greene County. DeWeese, who has been Democratic floor leader or speaker since 1990, won a four-way contest to be named to the vote-gathering position of whip.

"One of my friends said it was like going for the silver medal instead of the gold," DeWeese said. "I'm a very happy guy."

Rep. Sam Smith, R-Jefferson, defeated Rep. John Perzel, R-Philadelphia, to retain the floor leadership job he has held since Perzel gave it up to become speaker in 2003.

Perzel reluctantly relinquished the speakership two years ago when Democrats reclaimed the majority by a single seat. He has since held the caucus-granted title of "speaker emeritus," and Smith said a decision about whether to continue that honorific will be made later.

"John's a fighter and he always will be a fighter," Smith said. "The key thing is, at the end John thanked me in a graceful manner and we'll be looking forward to see where we go as a team."

The Democrats are likely to have a five-seat advantage in the House next year, assuming they hold onto leads in three close contests that The Associated Press has not called since the Nov. 4 election.

Along with their majority status, however, comes a set of daunting problems that includes a ballooning state budget deficit and the need to deal with a Republican-controlled state Senate that has thwarted many of their initiatives in recent years.

"We recognize that we have some very difficult times that face us, and this is not unique just to Pennsylvania," said Rep. Dwight Evans, D-Philadelphia, re-elected as chairman of the Appropriations Committee.

McCall said he hoped to tackle improvements in health care, deal with the effects of the looming removal of regulation-era rate caps on electricity bills, address transportation needs and push for cuts in residential property taxes.

He said "everything is on the table" in relation to reform efforts, and that the 11 p.m. curfew and 24 hours' notice before voting — rules adopted two years ago — will remain in force.

"The bottom line is this: I want to be all-inclusive," McCall said. "That will be my style."

Smith said he expects the House Democrats to closely follow Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell's agenda.

"I really believe that they'll try to continue down the path of going along with whatever the governor wants — that's where they'll be," Smith said.

Rep. Mario Civera, R-Delaware, re-elected as his party's ranking member of Appropriations, said he was anxious to address the state's dwindling tax revenues.