Democrat Gary Peters has declared victory in an Oakland County congressional race against Republican Rep. Joe Knollenberg.

"It does feel good," said Peters.

With 81 percent of precincts reporting late Tuesday, Peters, a former state lottery commissioner, has 51 percent of the vote and Knollenberg has about 43 percent. Assisted-suicide advocate and independent party candidate Jack Kevorkian has 2.7 percent.

Peters told supporters that his campaign was "part of a bigger movement across America that elected Barack Obama president."

Knollenberg told his supporters that it had become "very obvious that it's going to be hard to win this race."

Knollenberg could become the first incumbent member of Congress from Michigan to lose a general election since 1996. He was elected to Congress in 1992.