Early returns from Tuesday's election showed veteran Republican Congressman Howard P. "Buck" McKeon far ahead of his challenger in the race for the 25th District.

McKeon, 70, was on hand late Tuesday night at Republican headquarters in Santa Clarita, where supporters were mourning John McCain's loss to Barack Obama but celebrating victories of several local winners.

"The important thing to remember, this is America," McKeon said. "We've had tough times before and we've survived tough times. We want to get behind the new president and new government and wish them luck because we don't want them to fail."