John Morganelli, a district attorney from eastern Pennsylvania, is trying to go where no elected Democrat has gone before: into the state attorney general’s office.

But Mr. Morganelli, the five-term prosecutor from Northampton County, will have a tough time reaching his goal because he’s challenging a popular incumbent, Republican Tom Corbett of Shaler.

Mr. Morganelli has run for attorney general in the past, but lost in primaries. This year, it appears Mr. Morganelli has the Democratic race to himself.

But can he beat someone with statewide name recognition like Mr. Corbett? State Democratic party spokesman Abe Amoros thinks so.

“We think this is going to be a big year for Democrats,” he said. “As the [poll] numbers for President Bush are sagging, there is a lot of enthusiasm among Democrats for the presidential race. We feel it will be a banner year for Democrats, from the White House to state offices.”