U.S. Rep. Tom Allen handily defeated Republican challenger Steven Joyce on Tuesday to represent the 1st Congressional District for a fourth term.

Unofficial results tabulated by the Bangor Daily News with 81 percent of the vote in shortly after midnight had the Democratic incumbent with 123,352 votes and Joyce with 70,446 votes. Allen led in all six counties in the district.

At 10:30 p.m., Joyce conceded, saying, “We lost the battle, but that’s it – it’s just a battle. It’s a very long war.”

Joyce told supporters at a Portland hotel, “Hundreds of thousands of people out there … agree with you and I.”

Allen, 57, of Portland, was first elected to Congress in 1994 and has had no close race since then.

A recent poll had him leading Joyce by nearly 40 percent.

TV news shows declared Allen the winner shortly after 8 p.m. At 10:45 p.m., Allen gave a victory speech, outlining the goals of his fourth term.

“What our work needs to be about is to create a sense of renewal for America,” he said.

Quoting from a recent public TV show about Thomas Jefferson, Allen said that, like Jefferson, he wanted all Americans to have “a roughly equal opportunity to a reasonable prosperity.”

The vote brought the country “one step closer to making that dream a reality,” Allen said.

Joyce, 33, of Kennebunk, served two terms as a state representative in the Legislature between 1994 and 1998 representing Kennebunkport and part of Biddeford.

At the polling place at the Camden fire station on Tuesday afternoon, Phyllis Banks, 51, said she voted for Allen. “I like his views. I like everything about him,” she said.

Anthony Kimball, 32, is a registered Green, but voted for Joyce. He said he was sorry to see no independent in the race.

Angela Bragg, 27, picked Joyce, saying she voted “all Republican,” and did not have strong feelings about the candidate.

An older couple, who did not want to be identified, said they voted the Democratic ticket, and were pleased to support Allen.

In Washington, D.C., for key votes through much of the fall, Allen did not campaign aggressively, but maintained a large lead in polls released in September and October.

He received the endorsement of most major Maine newspapers, hailed for his leadership on crafting a bill that would reduce the cost of prescription drugs and for his bipartisan work.

If returned to another term, Allen has pledged to work on a way for the federal government to help small businesses and their lower-income employees afford health insurance, possibly through grants.

At the last Federal Election Commission filing deadline covering the period that ended Sept. 30, Allen had $244,563 on hand for TV ads and other campaign efforts, while Joyce had $27,004 left.

Allen was able to donate funds to three other congressional candidates in other states, and to 2nd District Democratic candidate Mike Michaud.

Some of those interviewed at the Camden polling place knew little about Joyce. A late October poll found that 36 percent of likely voters had never heard of the Republican candidate.

Unlike Jane Amero, the Republican who lost to Allen in 2000, Joyce’s campaign aimed at presenting him as a conservative, not a moderate. Republican Party officials felt Amero was too similar in her views to Allen to mount a serious challenge.

Joyce supported President Bush’s bid to get congressional approval for a war in Iraq, and criticized Allen for opposing the measure that finally passed Congress.

Allen helped craft an alternative Iraq resolution in the House that would have required the president to get U.N. approval to enforce existing sanctions against Saddam Hussein. It failed to garner enough votes to pass.