Republican Victor Crist was holding onto a small lead Tuesday night in the race for the state House seat vacated by Mary Figg, who left office after 10 years to run for the state Senate. Crist was making his first run for office against Democrat Carol Palomino. The winner will represent District 60, which includes Temple Terrace, the area around the University of South Florida, Tampa Palms, Lutz, North Tampa and Thonotosassa. Crist, who has been president of the USF Area Community Civic Association for the last few years, credited his work there and his grass-roots campaign for his strong showing Tuesday. "It's this type of basic, old-fashioned campaign that brought me forward," Crist said. Palomino, meanwhile, stressed her 12 years of experience in the political arena. The 43-year-old Palomino worked in the state Capitol as a committee staff member and later as a legislative aide to then-House Speaker H. Lee Moffitt. She is manager of intergovernmental relations at the USF cancer center that bears Moffitt's name. Born in Baton Rouge, La., Palomino lives in Lutz with her three children and her husband, attorney and former School Board member Raul C. "Sonny" Palomino. Crist, 35, was born in New Orleans and moved to Florida in 1968. He is single and lives in Temple Terrace where he is president of an advertising agency, Metropolitan Communications Inc. "We haven't popped the cork on the champagne yet," Crist said. "But we're very optimistic."