Pittsburgh’s mayoral race has not been competitive on a partisan level since the 1930s, but all eyes are on which way the Steel City goes in Tuesday’s primary election as the Democratic Party faces a crossroads.
Incumbent Mayor Ed Gainey, seen as the more progressive choice in the race, is facing stiff competition from Allegheny County Controller Corey O’Connor, himself the son of a Democratic mayor of Pennsylvania’s second-largest city.
Gainey, the city’s first Black mayor, has at times cast himself on the national stage as a critic of President Donald Trump and his agenda, while also working to attract new business to Pittsburgh — including the 2026 NFL Draft. The draft is estimated to bring a $200 million economic boost to the area, according to a source familiar.
He previously pledged not to cooperate with federal ICE operations and has also called Trump’s budget cuts a “direct attack on working families” and the economy of Western Pennsylvania.
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“ICE is not going to end the situation of a failed immigration policy. What it’s going to do is create more situations where people feel scared, where people don’t feel safe,” Gainey said in January – a sentiment which earned the rebuke of another Pittsburgh politician, U.S. Sen. David McCormick, R-Pa.
“Gainey needs to follow the law and the lead of some other Democratic mayors working to keep our cities safe,” said McCormick, according to WTAE.
Gainey’s campaign has highlighted the mayor’s efforts to increase community policing and mental health professionals to assist in police response, while O’Connor also claims the mantle of the pro-police candidate.
Under Gainey, the city ranks first in state population growth and has increased its affordable housing by 1,600 units.
Working with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Gainey secured $600 million for downtown revitalization and improvements to the city’s iconic Point State Park.
“Thanks to our people-powered movement, our campaign has all of the momentum in this race. We’ve proven again and again since 2021 that when we come together — across race, across class, religion, age, across every line that’s ever been used to divide us — we are unstoppable,” Gainey said in a statement.
On the other side, O’Connor has support from some Republican donors, as well as the “old guard” Democratic base, according to The New York Times.
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Sen. John Fetterman, left, greets Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey at the Tree of Life memorial ceremony. (Getty)
“This is an election about Pittsburgh, about how we get our city back on the right track. It’s laughable to make arguments about progressive/not progressive. The outside groups that are meddling, I guarantee you – they haven’t looked at the records of either one of us,” O’Connor told the paper.
O’Connor’s campaign has also shown support for the resourcing of the police and his own plan to revitalize the downtown area. He has also received large outside contributions from groups like Common Sense Change Action and Democracy Wins, according to the Post-Gazette.
On the Republican side, retired Police Det. Tony Moreno – who lost to Gainey last cycle – is running in the GOP primary against clothier Thomas West.
The city has not had a Republican mayor since Mayor Charles Kline and Mayor John Herron in 1933.
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On the other side of Pennsylvania, the third-largest city – Allentown – visited multiple times by both Trump and former Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 sweeps due to its “swing” congressional district — will also be holding a primary Tuesday.
Like Pittsburgh, Allentown was historically an industrial center and home to both progressives and “old guard” Democrats.
Mayor Matt Tuerk, like Gainey, faces a challenge from a conservative Democrat – Councilman Ed Zucal — in another swing-state test of which wing of the Democratic Party is gaining prevalence. That city’s last Republican mayor, Bill Heydt, left office in 2002 and died in April at 86.
Fox News Digital reached out to O’Connor via the controller’s office and a campaign email, but he could not be immediately reached for comment.
