HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) 鈥� Challenger Corey O鈥機onnor ousted Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey in Tuesday鈥檚 Democratic primary election, beating an incumbent in a race that hinged on how Gainey was handling city finances, affordable housing and public safety.
O鈥機onnor is all but assured of winning November鈥檚 general election against a low-profile Republican nominee in a city that hasn鈥檛 elected a GOP mayor in nearly a century.
The race for Pittsburgh mayor hinged on local issues, driven by unhappiness in some quarters with Gainey鈥檚 management, rather than the questions dividing the national Democratic Party. On the other side of the state, won the Democratic primary for Philadelphia district attorney driven by nationalized themes of criminal justice reform and Krasner鈥檚 positioning himself as a guardian of the city against President Donald Trump鈥檚 conservative agenda.
O鈥機onnor, the Allegheny County controller, is the son of a former Pittsburgh mayor and had won the local party鈥檚 endorsement over Gainey, who had allied himself with progressives.
Gainey, the city's first Black mayor and someone who grew up in subsidized housing, beat predecessor Bill Peduto in 2021鈥檚 primary campaign. He portrayed himself as someone who sides with regular people and as a 鈥渕ayor that鈥檚 going to fight for you鈥� when the Trump administration threatens the city.
Gainey touted the city鈥檚 strong economy and contended that he had held the line against tax increases, been saddled with the mistakes of prior administrations and had overseen dropping crime rates.
But O鈥機onnor criticized Gainey鈥檚 management of the city, saying Gainey was reckless with city finances, fell badly short in expanding affordable housing, and lacked vision to bring businesses back to downtown after the COVID-19 pandemic and the devastating collapse of the hometown steel industry.
He also said people didn鈥檛 feel safe in Pittsburgh and that city vehicles 鈥� including snow plows and ambulances 鈥� were breaking down at critical times.
O鈥機onnor benefited from support from builders and developers amid friction over Gainey鈥檚 affordable housing plan, and O鈥機onnor's campaign and allied groups outspent Gainey's side, which had support from the liberal Working Families Party and Service Employees International Union.
Still, unions were divided in the race, and affordable housing groups had criticized Gainey鈥檚 efforts. O鈥機onnor, meanwhile, characterized the city under Gainey as headed for a 鈥渇inancial crisis鈥� that threatened quality of life and public safety, a crisis that O鈥機onnor confidently said he could fix.
Gainey, he said, was leading the city 鈥渄own a path of managing our decline.鈥�
鈥淭hat financial crisis is going to impact each and every one of us, each and every day,鈥� O'Connor said during a televised May 8 debate. "It鈥檚 going to stop our ability to fill in your potholes. It's going to stop our ability to buy new ambulances and equipment for public safety to keep you safe.鈥�
Gainey conceded Tuesday night and called himself a 鈥渕ayor of change鈥� who had worked to boost affordable housing, reduce the murder rate and let residents know that his administration was "there for them.鈥�
鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 the popular message, but it was the populist message,鈥� Gainey told KDKA-TV.
There were also two statewide courts contests on Tuesday鈥檚 ballots.
Here鈥檚 what to know about the contests:
Philadelphia district attorney
Krasner defeated Pat Dugan, a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and was the head administrative judge of the Philadelphia Municipal Court before he resigned to run.
Krasner is seeking a third term after withstanding by Republican state lawmakers and years of being a campaign trail punching bag for Trump.
Krasner has the benefit of in big US cities, including Philadelphia, after they rose sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dugan had aimed to make the race about Krasner鈥檚 crime-fighting policies 鈥� he called Krasner 鈥淟et 鈥檈m Go Larry鈥� 鈥� and accused the incumbent of staffing the district attorney's office with ill-prepared and inexperienced lawyers.
Krasner originally ran in 2017 on a progressive platform that included holding police accountable and opposing the death penalty, cash bail, prosecuting minor nonviolent offenses and a culture of mass-incarceration.
Like some big-city Democrats, Krasner has turned toward messaging, maintaining that he is serious about pursuing violent crime and touting new technologies and strategies that his office is using to solve or prevent crime.
Krasner has repeatedly invoked Trump and suggested that he was the best candidate to stand up to him. In a TV ad, he cast himself as the foil to 鈥淭rump and his billionaire buddies, the shooting groups and gun lobby, the old system that denied people justice for too long. They can come for Philly, but I鈥檓 not backing down.鈥�
Dugan had invoked Trump, too, saying in a TV ad that Philadelphia faces the threats of crime, injustice and a 鈥減resident bent on destruction.鈥� He also accused Krasner of failing to deliver 鈥渞eal reform or make us safe. Now he wants us to believe he can take on Trump? Get real.鈥�
Courts
Two statewide court seats are opening up, one on the Commonwealth Court and one on the Superior Court.
Democrats didn't have a primary in either contest, with Washington County Judge Brandon Neuman running uncontested for Superior Court and Philadelphia Judge Stella Tsai running uncontested for Commonwealth Court.
On the Republican ticket, Clarion County lawyer Maria Battista won the Superior Court contest, defeating the party-endorsed Ann Marie Wheatcraft, a Chester County judge. In the Commonwealth Court contest, Matt Wolford of Erie County, a former state and federal prosecutor, defeated Josh Prince of Berks County, a prominent gun rights lawyer.
The 15-member Superior Court hears appeals of civil and criminal cases from county courts. The nine-seat Commonwealth Court hears challenges or appeals from county courts in cases involving laws or government actions. Judges are elected to 10-year terms.
___
Follow Marc Levy on X at .
Marc Levy, The Associated Press
