CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Darrell McGraw fended off a stiff challenge from Dan Greear to win re-election as the state's attorney general.

With 1,887 of the state's 1,887 precincts reporting, the Democratic incumbent lead over Republican challenger Greear, 339,170 votes to 334,567.

Greear conceded the race Wednesday afternoon.

Both candidates spent the final few days before the election campaigning across the state.

McGraw, 71, a former state Supreme Court justice from Wyoming County, has been attorney general since he was first elected in 1992.

Greear, 40, of Charleston, is a former member of the House of Delegates.

During the campaign, McGraw's critics, including Greear, have questioned his methods of disbursing the nearly $2 billion in settlement money his office has generated during his tenure.

McGraw and his supporters maintain that many businesses want him out of office because he has held them monetarily responsible for bad business practices in West Virginia.

The Charleston Gazette is a member of the Politico Network.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Darrell McGraw fended off a stiff challenge from Dan Greear to win re-election as the state's attorney general.

With 1,887 of the state's 1,887 precincts reporting, the Democratic incumbent lead over Republican challenger Greear, 339,170 votes to 334,567.

Greear conceded the race Wednesday afternoon.

Both candidates spent the final few days before the election campaigning across the state.

McGraw, 71, a former state Supreme Court justice from Wyoming County, has been attorney general since he was first elected in 1992.

Greear, 40, of Charleston, is a former member of the House of Delegates.

During the campaign, McGraw's critics, including Greear, have questioned his methods of disbursing the nearly $2 billion in settlement money his office has generated during his tenure.

McGraw and his supporters maintain that many businesses want him out of office because he has held them monetarily responsible for bad business practices in West Virginia.

Last week, a group of pro-business organizations led by the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce and its national counterpart spent almost $700,000 on advertising in an attempt to oust McGraw. The group hired the Maryland-based Mentzer Media Services, the same firm that produced the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth's campaign against Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry in 2004.

Greear has pledged that as attorney general, he would turn any settlement money over to the Legislature. He also said he would take steps to make the selection of outside firms more transparent to the public.

McGraw maintains that the disbursal of settlement money is approved by court orders, and the vast majority of the funds have been turned over to the Legislature.

During his four terms in office, McGraw has filed lawsuits against several big companies, which have produced major settlements.

In 2004, Purdue Pharma, the makers of the painkiller OxyContin, agreed to a $10 million settlement over addiction claims. West Virginia also was one of the first three states whose attorneys general filed suit against the major tobacco companies in the 1990s, which resulted in a $200 billion settlement nationwide.

The Center for Individual Freedom, which twice fought for an injunction preventing election officials from enforcing electioneering laws that would have required it to disclose its funding sources, has run ads criticizing McGraw's handling of the Purdue Pharma settlement.

Greear beat Hiram Lewis, who lost narrowly to McGraw in 2004, in the Republican primary, 54 to 45 percent.

Reach Andrew Clevenger at aclevenger@wvgazette.com or 348-1723.