Incumbents had a pretty good day in most of the races for Anchorage state House and Senate races Tuesday, with both parties hanging onto most of their seats without much trouble.

The exceptions:

* The Baxter neighborhood's District 27, where incumbent Democrat Bob Buch and challenger Bob Lewis swapped the lead through the night. With all six precincts reporting, Buch was up by 67 votes of more than 6,100 cast.

* House District 19, where Democrat challenger Pete Petersen was ahead of incumbent Republican Bob Roses by about 130 votes with all seven precincts in. The district spans Muldoon and part of East Anchorage.

With about 40,000 absentee votes outstanding statewide and an undetermined number of early votes yet to be counted, both races looked to be too close to call Tuesday night.

The four state Senate races on the ballot in Anchorage on Tuesday held no surprises. Incumbents Bettye Davis, a Democrat, and Fred Dyson, a Republican, held insurmountable leads in Districts K (East Anchorage) and I (Eagle River and the military bases).

Republican Kevin Meyer, a state representative running for the Senate in District O, had more than twice as many votes as Democrat Doug Van Etten in a campaign to replace retiring state Sen. John Cowdery. The district includes Independence Park and the Campbell and Abbott neighborhoods.

Sen. Hollis French, a Democrat, was unopposed in running for re-election in District M (East Spenard, Turnagain and Inlet View).

Anchorage will continue to have four Democrats and four Republicans in the state Senate.

House seats in 16 Anchorage districts were also on the ballot, half held by Republicans and half by Democrats. Two of those were races with no incumbent, and in at least three others incumbents faced hard-charging opponents.

In House District 30, Democrat Lynda Zaugg was trying to take a seat that has gone Republican for more than a decade. But with all seven precincts in, Zaugg trailed Republican Charisse Millett, a former legislative staffer, by more than 1,000 votes. District 30 stretches roughly from Tudor Road south to O'Malley, and from Lake Otis and Brayton Drive on the west to Hillside Drive on the east.

Millett said late Tuesday that she was "overwhelmed and excited."

"I just want to thank all the volunteers and the neighbors who opened their doors to me and shared their ideas," she said.

In another race with no incumbent, Democrat Chris Tuck, an Anchorage School Board member, was ahead of Republican Ron Jordan by 158 votes with all seven precincts reporting in District 29, another South Anchorage district that lies between Minnesota Drive and Lake Otis Parkway, and from Raspberry Road south to O'Malley.

In District 21 - the Baxter neighborhood - incumbent Rep. Harry Crawford, a Democrat, was getting about three votes to every two cast for Republican Gene Brokaw with all six precincts in.

Another incumbent was under siege in District 28 (Bayshore and Klatt), where first-term Republican Craig Johnson faced a well-financed Democrat, Val Baffone. But with all six precincts reporting, Johnson was ahead by more than 950 votes.

Other Anchorage House races:

* District 17: Republican incumbent Anna Fairclough was unopposed. She represents Eagle River.

* District 18: Republican incumbent Nancy Dahlstrom was unopposed. She represents a sliver of Eagle River and the military bases.

* District 20: Incumbent Democrat Max Gruenberg beat Libertarian Scott Kohlhaas by a big margin. The district spans Mountain View and Wonder Park.

* District 22: Incumbent Democrat Sharon Cissna defeated Republican Mark Fish. The district covers the university and Airport Heights neighborhoods.

* District 23: Democrat Les Gara was unopposed in downtown and Rogers Park.

* District 24: Incumbent Democrat Berta Gardner won over Republican Uwe Kalenka in Midtown and Taku, taking about three votes to every two for Kalenka with all seven precincts reporting.

* District 25: Democrat Mike Doogan had a commanding lead over Republican Lynda Placek in East Spenard.

* District 26: Democrat Lindsey Holmes was unopposed in Turnagain and Inlet View.

* District 31: Incumbent Republican Bob Lynn was ahead comfortably in a three-way race with Democrat Pamela Freeman and Alaskan Independence Party candidate Daniel DeNardo. He represents the Huffman/Oceanview area.