Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, a Democrat who took the helm of city government at age 26 after the death of the incumbent, was expected to win his first full term in Tuesday's election.

In Philadelphia, Democrat Seth Williams was favored to be elected as the city's first black district attorney.

In Harrisburg, the state capital, and York, which is still feeling the effects of race riots that occurred four decades ago, the Democratic nominees were black women running strong campaigns and hoping to make history by winning the top office in those central Pennsylvania cities.

Ravenstahl, who was the youngest mayor of a big city when he took over in 2006, faced opposition from two independents _ Franco "Dok" Harris, son of the former Pittsburgh Steelers star, and Kevin Acklin, a lawyer.

Ravenstahl has already won one citywide vote _ a special election in 2007 that allowed him to complete the last two years of his predecessor's term _ and the Democratic primary in May.

Williams spent 10 years working for Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham, Philadelphia's first female DA, who is stepping down after an 18-year tenure. His only opponent is little-known Republican Michael Untermeyer, whose prospects are dim in a city where Democrats outnumber Republicans 7-1.

Also in Philadelphia, Controller Alan Butkovitz, a Democrat, faced a re-election challenge from Republican Al Schmidt.

Harrisburg's mayoral race pitted Linda Thompson, the city council president who defeated longtime Mayor Stephen Reed in the Democratic primary, against Republican Nevin Mindlin, a lobbyist for the Pennsylvania Bar Association.

In York, Democrat Kim Bracey, the city's former community-development director, was competing against Republican Wendell Banks, who says his top priority is to attract an NFL team to the city.