The election of Brown, currently the mayor of Oakland, extends California’s signature political dynasty. Both Brown and his father, Pat, have served as governor, and fifty-six years ago to the day, Brown’s father was elected attorney general.

“This crime fighting business goes back a long way in this family,” Brown said in remarks to the crowd. “I want to look back to the tradition as I look forward to the possibilities.”

Electrified by Democratic gains across the nation, about 500 state and local party leaders gathered at San Francisco’s Delancey Street Foundation, dancing to gospel music and cheering on the candidates. Brown shared the ticket with reelected Senator Dianne Feinstein and current Attorney General Bill Lockyer, who was elected state treasurer.

Longtime supporter Lynn Washington flew up from Los Angeles to attend the victory party. Washington said Brown's victory marked a second ascendancy for the former governor.

"Back in the day Brown was before his time," Washington said. "Now people are looking for a new direction, and Jerry's always had that direction."

Brown, the state’s nimblest political figure, who has served as secretary of state and governor, and is currently mayor of Oakland, defeated state Senator Chuck Poochigian (R- Fresno). Early results suggested Brown won handily, but not by the extravagant margins earlier predicted.

“My first order of business will be to strengthen law enforcement, fill the vacancies in the DNA offices and to meet with the governor,” Brown said. “It’s a very simple job. The attorney general has to defend our laws and do it in a way that is fair to everybody.”

He added that his career has prepared him for the post. “The attorney general is the defender of the public trust,” Brown said. “And there’s no substitute for experience. That’s something that I’ve got a lot of.”

Introducing the new attorney general, Senator Feinstein remarked that it was Brown's father, Pat, who gave her her first job in politics.

Also appearing at the celebration were San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Brown’s sister Kathleen, who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1994.

In brief remarks, Lockyer said, “I’m delighted that my successor will be Jerry Brown.”

Brown’s victory concludes one of the most contentious statewide races of the election, in which he and Poochigian attacked each other’s characters, competency and political records.

In 1970, Brown was elected secretary of state, and in 1975 succeeded Ronald Reagan as governor. Brown also ran for the U.S. Senate and made three unsuccessful bids for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Brown’s father, Pat, was a California political fixture, serving as attorney general and then as governor before Reagan. Brown’s sister, Kathleen, lost the governor’s race in 1994 to Republican Pete Wilson. His victory Tuesday marks his first return to statewide office since leaving the statehouse in 1983.

The attorney general is widely considered the second-most powerful position in state government after the governor, and its office has the resources to act on a vast scale, with a Department of Justice that includes 1,100 lawyers covering both civil and criminal law, and 500 law enforcement officers. "The office is a very large operation with finders in a lot of pies," said Gerald Uelmen, a professor at the Santa Clara University of Law.

In recent years, attorney generals such as New York’s Eliot Spitzer and outgoing California Attorney General Bill Lockyer have expanded and redefined the position, going after white-collar criminals with the same zeal once reserved for gangs. Lockyer in particular expanded the offices role in passing and enforcing environmental laws.

But despite the office’s inherently diverse responsibilities, both the Brown and Poochigian campaigns have shied away from talking about much more than being tough-on-crime. Poochigian assailed Brown’s years as mayor of Oakland, which saw a sharp spike in crime. Brown pointed to Poochigian’s lack of experience in dealing with law enforcement, and his lack of support for a ban on assault rifles.

Uelmen said that despite the campaign’s narrow focus, he expects Brown to continue Lockyer’s broad agenda. "I would think with the current public climate we could see an increased scrutiny of corporate crime, public fraud,” he said.

Poochigian faced an uphill battle from the outset.

“From the beginning Chuck had a huge obstacle to overcome in the tremendous name identity that brown brought to the race,” said Dan Schnur, a professor of political science at UC Berkeley and a California Republican political consultant.

Besides name recognition, Poochigian was burdened by his conservative stances on gun control and stem cell research.

During his governorship Brown developed a reputation of swooping down on an office and rearranging it without necessarily understanding what he was doing.

“I'm sure there are already people within the office that are looking for other jobs," Uelmen said.

Yet there are indications that with 20 more years of experience, Brown is a different sort of politician. While Oakland’s murder rate has remained high, Brown has brought economic development to the perennially blighted city, and become more of a centrist.

Sacramento, of course, already has one reigning star. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is likely to be reelected, and observers are eager to see how Brown and the new governor interact. In 2003, Brown praised Schwarzenegger for suppressing the reinstitution of the car tax, and in the run up to Tuesday’s election, Brown repeatedly expressed his desire to work with the governor on substantive issues.

"They are both very skilled politicians,” Uelmen said. “I think they'll size each other up very warily. Of course being from opposite political parties, there will be some mutual distrust. But they’re both savvy enough that I think they'll get along.”

Schnur added, “On the one hand, brown is so irascible that he might be less vulnerable to the Schwarzenegger charm. On the other hand, two fairly unique spirits might end up hitting it off.”

There’s even some speculation that Brown might make another bid for the governorship. Because his terms ended in 1983, before the 1990 term limits went into effect, Brown is eligible for another run.

“I can't figure out why the hell he wants to be the attorney general,” Uelmen said. “He very well might have some unfinished business in the governor's office.”

“It's hard for most people to look at the attorney generalship as Jerry Brown’s last public office," said Tim Hodson, executive director of the Sacramento State University Center for California Studies. “I would never count out Jerry Brown on anything. I would not be surprised if he decided to run for Pope."