Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey ousted in blow to progressives

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey (D) has lost the Democratic primary to a moderate challenger, according to Decision Desk HQ projections. 

The progressive Gainey, the city’s first Black mayor, lost to Allegheny County Controller Corey O’Connor, the son of former Mayor Bob O’Connor (D). 

The race in the heavily Democratic city, which hasn’t elected a Republican mayor in more than 90 years, is the latest battle between the progressive and moderate wings of the party following its loss in the presidential election in November. 

O’Connor won the race by about 5.5 percentage points, or just more than 3,000 votes, with 99 percent of votes counted as of Wednesday morning. His advantage came predominantly in mail-in ballots.

Gainey performed better with same-day votes cast in-person, but it ultimately wasn’t enough to hold off the challenge.

Gainey was first elected four years ago, ousting Mayor Bill Peduto (D) in the Democratic primary and going on to easily win the general election. 

While serving as mayor, Gainey has emphasized concentrating on the root causes of crime, investing in affordable housing, public spaces and infrastructure and increasing the use of renewable energy. He’s touted a drop in the city’s homicides as an accomplishment while campaigning.

But O’Connor has gone after Gainey’s record on various issues, with much of the focus of the race being on the city’s budget. 

A report from the city controller’s office warned earlier this year that the city is running out of money in its reserve account, and O’Connor has blamed Gainey for mismanagement. Gainey has acknowledged the city will have a tight budget in the coming years but dismissed some of the more concerning outlooks that some have raised. 

O’Connor has also criticized Gainey for years-long staffing issues in the police department, which has shuffled through multiple chiefs in just a few years. 

Internal polls at times showed O’Connor with a large lead, but that lead shrunk as the election approached. 

But O’Connor was able to pull off the win, having narrowly gotten the endorsement of the Allegheny County Democratic Party. Both candidates received endorsements from various local officials and labor unions, also splitting support among members of the Pittsburgh City Council. 

O’Connor has called for implementing strategic debt management practices and reallocating idle funds to address the budget and more staffing and funding for public safety services.

He thanked the city of Pittsburgh in a post on the social platform X, saying he built his campaign for the people neighborhood by neighborhood.

“I’m ready to get to work, and I’m grateful to have you with me as we take the next steps forward, together,” he said.

Gainey said in remarks Tuesday evening in response to the results that he is proud of his campaign and argued his work is part of a larger movement.

“A loss is not final,” he said. “They know there’s a new coalition on the rise.”

Gainey said he has no regrets and what happens now is just the next chapter.

“Don’t be defeated. Don’t be sad,” he told his supporters. “Be glad of the progress that we made.”

Updated at 9:54 a.m. EDT