The Associated Press called the race as Shapiro boasted a nearly 250,000-vote lead over Heidelbaugh, a partner at the Pittsburgh-based Leech Tishman Fuscaldo & Lampl LLC.
Shapiro has worked to paint himself as a people's prosecutor who has wielded the Office of Attorney General in expansive new ways to pursue employment and civil rights cases, and to challenge Trump administration policies ranging from the rollback of environmental regulations to limits on employer-provided birth control coverage.
"Pennsylvania, it is the honor of my life to serve as your attorney general," Shapiro said in a Twitter post after the race was called. "I'm grateful and ready to keep taking on the big fights as the people's AG."
In her own Twitter post, Heidelbaugh refused to concede.
Instead, she pointed to Shapiro's own comments related to the ongoing presidential vote count in the state that the canvassing process needed to play itself out.
"Today, my opponent declared victory in the race for Pennsylvania attorney general, despite the fact that every legal vote in Pennsylvania has yet to be counted," she said. "This is hypocrisy in its truest form and a staggering conflict of interest. Josh Shapiro cannot have it both ways. Once every legal vote has been counted, our campaign will issue a statement accordingly, whether or not the final results are in our favor."
Shapiro, 47, was elected four years ago after stints as a state representative and as a commissioner in Montgomery County, which is just outside Philadelphia.
He previously served in an of counsel position at Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young LLP.
As he sought reelection, Shapiro touted his track record challenging Trump administration policies in court, shedding light on decades' worth of sex abuse allegations in Roman Catholic dioceses across Pennsylvania, and investigating the state's powerful natural gas industry over environmental violations.
But he drew criticism from Heidelbaugh for what she said were politically motivated cases meant to burnish his progressive credentials in pursuit of a potential run for higher office in the future.
Shapiro took over as AG following the scandal-plagued administration of Kathleen Kane, the first woman and first Democrat to win a campaign for attorney general since the office became elective in 1980. She was forced to resign in 2016 after being convicted for perjury.
--Editing by Bruce Goldman.
Update: This story has been updated to include statements from Shapiro and Heidelbaugh.
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