(AP) ANCHORAGE, Alaska - After the toughest fight of his long political career, Alaska voters have returned Republican incumbent Don Young to the U.S. House for his 19th term.

Young, 75, defied pre-election pundits by surviving a strong challenge from Democrat Ethan Berkowitz. Young was returned to office despite being under investigation and linked to an ongoing corruption scandal.

The Associated Press declared Young the winner Wednesday, with Young getting 50 percent of the vote compared with Berkowitz’s 45 percent.

Berkowitz campaign spokesman David Shurtleff said the Democrat was not ready to concede. He said Berkowitz was spending the evening at home with his family and would not comment until more votes are counted.

With 30,000 or more votes still to be counted, Shurtleff said the campaign recognized it was unlikely that Berkowitz could pull out a win, but held out for that possibility.

"We are just going to wait it out," he said. "That is a huge amount of votes."

Calls to the Young campaign for comment were not immediately returned.

Polls before the election indicated that Young was trailing Berkowitz, even though Alaskans have not sent a Democrat to Congress since the mid-1970s.

In the Republican primary this year, Young edged Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell by 304 votes. Young told voters that, compared with Berkowitz, his experience, seniority and connections made him the best person for the job.

He repeatedly asked them, "Who can best do the job?" following up with a quick "I can."

Berkowitz, 46, said he believed Alaskans were ready for change _ a message that apparently fell flat with some voters.

Berkowitz is no stranger to Alaska politics. He was elected to the state House in 1996 and served five terms, part of that time as minority leader. He was Tony Knowles’ running mate two years ago when the former governor failed to win a third term.

Young, who brands himself a conservative who defends gun rights and stands up for the military, won despite facing investigations of his connections to an Alaska businessman convicted last year of bribing state lawmakers and an earmark in a spending bill that benefited a campaign supporter.

On the recommendation of his lawyers, he has refused to answer questions about why his campaign has spent more than $1 million on legal fees.

Both the House and Senate have requested an investigation into an earmark that made its way into the highway spending bill Young oversaw as chairman of the House Transportation Committee. The bill included $10 million to widen a Florida highway. The final version, until revised, redirected that money to an interchange that benefited a developer who did some fundraising for Young.

Young also is being investigated for his connections to VECO Corp., a former oil services company headed by Bill Allen, who has pleaded guilty to bribing Alaska state lawmakers.

Ted Stevens, Alaska’s senior senator, was found guilty last month of seven felonies for failing to disclose gifts and services from VECO to renovate his home.

Young has said he’s done nothing wrong. Stevens is fighting his conviction and also proclaims his innocence.

Young first won statewide office in 1973 in a special election after Rep. Nick Begich, a Democrat, died in a plane crash. With votes still being counted from the Nov. 4 election, Begich’s son, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, has taken the lead in a very close race against Stevens.