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"I do have a tough race and it's going to be so great to not have it be a primary, because there are very real differences between myself and my Republican opponent," Sorrell told a rowdy crowd of Democrats at a party unity rally staged at Burlington's Main Street Landing.

"For one, I'm admitted to the bar and can practice law in the courts of this state and he can't. He's wealthy; I'm not. He thinks we should drop the Vermont Yankee — the Entergy — appeal. There's no way we're going to do that," Sorrell said. "He thinks our food labeling laws are bad for business. I think they're good for consumers, and I'm going to uphold and enforce those laws."

Sorrell's pivot to the general election came just an hour and a half after Democratic challenger T.J. Donovan conceded to Sorrell by phone, admitting that he'd narrowly lost a rare, intra-party fight against the 15-year incumbent.

The race was too close to call when the candidates went to bed Tuesday night. At that time, Sorrell held a slim, 619-vote lead over Donovan, with the Associated Press still waiting for 13 of 258 precincts to report unofficial results. But as the numbers kept trickling in Wednesday morning, Sorrell held — and even expanded — his lead. As of this writing, Sorrell was up 21,102 to 20,408 — a difference of 694 votes — with just one precinct outstanding, the AP reported. Official, certified results may not be available until next Tuesday, according to Secretary of State Jim Condos.

The attorney general race is getting most of the attention on the morning after Vermont's 2012 primary, but as Paul Heintz wrote about in his Fair Game column on August 8, there were plenty of other interesting races dotting the state's voting landscape. Here's a roundup of some other notable results:

Governor - Progressive

First, the statewide races: Martha Abbott was the only announced candidate for governor in the Progressive Party primary, and it was expected that she would drop out of the race so as not to siphon away too many left-wing votes from Gov. Peter Shumlin. But some of Shumlin's most vehement detractors mounted a write-in campaign to nominate activist Annette Smith for the Progs.

See the rest of the results — with helpful charts and graphs — on Off Message.

Update: Donovan addressed reporters in Battery Park at 11:30. He said he had "absolutely no regrets" about the campaign and "left nothing on the table." Donovan said he would not request a recount.

"There is no reason to prolong this. I don't think a recount is warranted. I don't want to do that to the party."

With his wife, mother and sisters at his side, Donovan conceded, "I lost, I accept the results and congratulate Bill Sorrell. This was a campaign that educated many Vermonters about how important this office is."

Asked about his future, Donovan said, "I'm not thinking about the future, I'm thinking about all the work I need to do at home." 

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Paul Heintz is reporting on Twitter that T.J. Donovan has conceded the Democratic primary for attorney general to incumbent Bill Sorrell. Donovan scheduled a press conference to officially announce his withdrawal for 11:30 at Battery Park, before a 12 noon unity rally at Main Street Landing.

Breaking: @atgbillsorrell tells @seven_days: "@tjforag called me and very graciously conceded 10 minutes ago," pledged to help win in fall.

— Paul Heintz (@paulheintz) August 29, 2012

'@atgbillsorrell says: "@tjforag said absolutely no scars. Clean, hard-fought race & looking forward to supporting me in the fall."

— Paul Heintz (@paulheintz) August 29, 2012

Earlier: Sorrell Clings to Thin Lead in Attorney General Primary; Race Too Close to Call ... Donovan Tells Mark Johnson He's Likely to Concede AG Race to Sorrell

Appearing briefly on WDEV's Mark Johnson Show Wednesday morning, Chittenden County State's Attorney T.J. Donovan said that in his bid to depose Attorney General Bill Sorrell, "It looks like we'll fall a little short."

"I think we owe it to the voters of Vermont to make sure we get it right, but it does look like we'll fall a a little short," Donovan said just after 9 a.m. Wednesday.

With 245 of 258 precincts reporting, Sorrell holds a slim, 619-vote lead, according to unofficial tallies by the Associated Press. Sorrell has collected 20,639 votes to Donovan's 20,020.

Donovan said he called the incumbent AG at 8 a.m. and plans to call again at 10, once he has a better idea of the results — but the challenger did not sound like he would call for a recount, as candidates within 2 percent of the vote are entitled to do.

"What I told Attorney Gen. Sorrell is, this will not be dragged out. We'll do the right thing," Donovan told Mark Johnson. "I don't think [a recount] serves any purpose."

With a Democratic "unity rally" scheduled for noon Wednesday, Donovan said he expects to endorse Sorrell before then, so long as the numbers stay the same.

"There are no hard feelings and I think both of us worked hard and both of us have nothing left to give," Donovan said.

UPDATE, 8/29 at 10:00 a.m.: T.J. Donovan says he'll likely concede the race this morning. For the latest updates, stay tuned to our new politics blog, Off Message.

This story was reported by Paul Heintz, Tyler Machado and Andy Bromage

For weeks, the Democratic contest for attorney general seemed too close — and too unusual — to predict. Tuesday night brought no swift resolution.

At the end of primary night — with 245 of 258 precincts reporting — Attorney General Bill Sorrell held a narrow 619-vote lead over challenger T.J. Donovan, according to the Associated Press. But with more than 40,000 voters casting ballots, neither campaign seemed fully prepared to declare victory — or defeat. 

“This has been a really long six months and I’ve said several times this is more a marathon than a sprint,” Sorrell told a crowd of supporters at Burlington’s Courtyard Marriott after emerging for the first time at 10:15 p.m. “We’ve got about a mile or so more to run, and I’m feeling great.”

Standing beside a screen projecting the night’s promising but uncertain results, Sorrell said, “We’ve got a while to wait, but that’s okay. Because between being 600 or so votes up and 600 or so votes down, I choose option A.”

Greeting supporters next door at the Burlington Hilton, Donovan told Seven Days that with a dozen precincts left to report, he “owed it to everybody to see what the votes are.”

But Donovan did not sound hopeful he would pull out a win.

"It's gonna be tough," he said, adding that he would be “unlikely” to call for a recount — as a candidate within two percent of a winner is entitled to do  — given the apparent size of Sorrell’s lead. "We've worked hard and I want to see this thing through. Somebody had us down 20 points a week ago.”

The AG's primary was the most expensive for that office in state history and the first competitive race for Vermont's top law enforcement job since Sorrell took office in 1997. Buoyed by $184,000 in super PAC advertising, Sorrell may well have fended off a challenge from an ambitious and well-organized young challenger who relentlessly hammered Sorrell's 15-year record during the five-month campaign.

For the second time in two years, Democrats faced the prospect of converging for a pre-scheduled "unity rally" on Wednesday with no clear winner. And with Republican AG candidate Jack McMullen waiting in the wings, Dems will be anxious to put the primary behind them and get the general election started.

With more than 40,000 primary ballots cast, voter turnout — while low compared to the 73,000 who voted in the 2010 Democratic primary for governor — was far better than the 30,000 some were predicting for Vermont's second August primary. The turnout rate was roughly 10 percent.

According to figures compiled by Vermont’s Secretary of State, which were not as up-to-date as the AP’s, Donovan took more than 6100 votes in populous Chittenden County, compared with Sorrell’s 5377. Donovan also topped Sorrell in Rutland City and Rutland Town 494-436 — and in Barre City and Barre Town 467 to 344.

But Sorrell pulled in strong numbers from Brattleboro (840 to Donovan’s 453), Montpelier (646 to Donovan's 517), Rockingham (425 to Donovan's 309) and a trio of Orange County towns — Randolph, Strafford and Thetford — whose turnout was likely driven by a competitive senate race there. In those three towns, Sorrell won 751 votes to Donovan's 542. Most importantly, Sorrell consistently outperformed Donovan in smaller towns throughout the state.

At the Hilton, Donovan's campaign party was a high-energy affair, with a DJ spinning Sheryl Crow, Dire Straits and other classic rock tunes. Supporters erupted in cheers when periodic vote counts showed Donovan on top. State Rep. Kesha Ram (D-Burlington), a Donovan supporter, clutched two speeches printed on blue paper — one for if Donovan won, another if he lost.

"I don't have a speech for a draw," remarked Ram, as the race looked increasingly like it would go into extra innings.

Shortly after 10 p.m., Donovan entered the hotel ballroom to address his cheering supporters. "I don't know where this is going to go tonight, but I'm not ready to concede," Donovan said. 

After that, Donovan thanked his wife, mother, state Rep. Joey Leddy Donovan (D-Burlington), and "the best governor in the history of the state of Vermont, Phil Hoff."

Sorrell’s campaign party, meanwhile, was a decidedly more low-key affair. Featuring soft strains of jazz on the P.A. and more wine-sipping than beer-guzzling, the crowd politely clapped whenever their candidate inched ahead in the vote tally. When Sorrell finally appeared at the end of the night, his supporters went wild. 

In thanking them, Sorrell tacitly acknowledged that many in the Democratic Party establishment backed his opponent.

“I want you to know that in a fight like this, you find out who your friends are,” he said. "And I will never, ever forget what you’ve done for me and what you’re doing for me right now. I am so proud of the campaign that we have run.”

VTDigger.org posted video of the AG's speech.

In the race to represent Chittenden County in the State Senate, all four incumbent Democrats running for reelection — Sens. Tim Ashe (9115 votes), Ginny Lyons (8825), Sally Fox (8523) and Philip Baruth (6836) — won slots on the ballot this November. Filling out the six-candidate Democratic slate are two Senate newcomers: former House member David Zuckerman of Hinesburg (7596) and Williston Selectboard member Debbie Ingram (5036). Former House member Peter Hunt of Essex (4576) failed to secure a berth on the ballot, while Burlington City Councilor Ed Adrian — who dropped out of the race a month ago — still managed to collect 3615 votes.

The Democratic slate will go on to face seven other candidates in the general election, including Republican incumbent Sen. Diane Snelling and former Progressive Burlington mayor Bob Kiss, who is running as an independent.

Chittenden Senate - Democrat (top 6 advance)

Franklin Senate - Republican (top 2 advance)

Governor - Progressive

U.S. Senate - Republican